Cato Podcast
Cato Institute
Each week on Cato Podcast, leading scholars and policymakers from the Cato Institute delve into the big ideas shaping our world: individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Whether unpacking current events, debating civil liberties, exploring technological innovation, or tracing the history of classical liberal thought, we promise insightful analysis grounded in rigorous research and Cato’s signature libertarian perspective. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 12, 2026 • 23min
Washington's Tariff Whack-a-Mole
Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 sat dormant for 50 years for good reason. Cato's Clark Packard and Alfredo Carrillo Obregon break down why courts keep rejecting the administration's tariff theories and what the looming Section 301 investigations mean for American importers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
11 snips
May 7, 2026 • 40min
The Growing Farm Subsidy Boondoggle
Clark Packard, trade and agriculture policy researcher, and Chris Edwards, fiscal expert on government spending, dissect booming US farm subsidies. They trace how relief turned into sprawling supports. They explore who wins, tariffs that backfire, crop insurance problems, sugar protectionism, and why separating SNAP from farm legislation could curb log-rolling.
10 snips
May 5, 2026 • 40min
Rethinking How America Treats Opioid Addiction
Helen Redmond, Harlem filmmaker, journalist, and licensed clinical social worker with 20+ years working with people with substance use disorder, discusses how methadone clinics feel carceral and trace back to Nixon-era crime control. She explores DEA influence, racialized access between methadone and buprenorphine, COVID-era take-home rules, and international alternatives to current U.S. treatment models.
12 snips
Apr 30, 2026 • 47min
The Cure for the WHO
Roger Bate, fellow at the International Center for Law & Economics, brings expertise on global health institutions. He discusses WHO mission creep, how funding and leadership shifted priorities, and the organization’s failures during COVID. He also explores deference to China, a slimmer multilateral role focused on standards and sample sharing, and ideas for restoring accountability through funding reform.
Apr 28, 2026 • 55min
Congress Is AWOL in America's Iran War
The War Powers Resolution allows the president up to 60 days of defensive latitude in introducing U.S. forces into hostilities; it is not a blank check for open-ended war. Cato's Molly Nixon and Katherine Thompson examine what the law actually says, how Trump's strikes on Iran test its limits, and whether the looming 60-day deadline could force Congress to act. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
13 snips
Apr 23, 2026 • 32min
Subsidize a Diagnosis, Get More Diagnoses
Adam Omary, a researcher on human progress, and Jeff Singer, a health policy expert, discuss how shifting diagnostic tools and incentives inflated autism counts. They unpack DSM changes, Medicaid and parity-driven reimbursement effects, evidence of overbilling, and broader risks of medicalizing behavior. The conversation also covers federal audits and proposed fixes to align incentives and strengthen accountability.
Apr 21, 2026 • 25min
The Surveillance Program Congress Can't Quit
A deep dive into 18 years of warrantless surveillance under FISA Section 702. They trace the program’s post‑9/11 origins and how Congress tried to legitimize it. The conversation covers how collection and database searches sweep up Americans’ data and why the secret court process is flawed. They outline realistic reform options and the political fight over reauthorization.
Apr 16, 2026 • 39min
How to Fix Washington's Affordability Crisis
Stephen Slivinski, a housing and zoning economist; Colin Grabow, a trade and transportation policy analyst; and Jai Kedia, a monetary policy researcher. They discuss rising consumer prices, oil shocks spreading into groceries, zoning and permitting reforms to boost housing supply, tariffs and the Jones Act raising food and transport costs, and rules-based monetary policy to improve price stability.
8 snips
Apr 14, 2026 • 24min
Who Actually Pays Federal Taxes?
Adam Michel, director of tax policy studies and tax-policy expert, breaks down who actually pays federal taxes and why the code is so tangled. He covers tax incidence and progressivity. He discusses growing loopholes, trade-offs between special preferences and simplicity, and reform ideas like low flat-rate consumption taxes and protecting investment.
13 snips
Apr 9, 2026 • 47min
Orbán's Hungary: Model or Cautionary Tale?
Johan Norberg, senior fellow and author focused on freedom and public policy, outlines Hungary as a test case for post-liberal national conservatism. He discusses dismantling checks and balances, court-packing and electoral engineering. He covers media capture, loyalist capitalism, big family subsidies with limited effects, and how weakening institutions fuels corruption.
