Cato Event Podcast

Since June, news reports based on documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have revealed the depth and breadth of NSA surveillance activities. The NSA scandal’s many dimensions include: mass domestic surveillance of telephone call information; allegations that officials deceived Congress, the courts, and the public about the nature of the NSA’s programs; alleged access to the Internet’s backbone and the traffic of major Internet companies; and systematic efforts to undercut the use of the encryption that secures communications and financial information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Purchase BookThe Constitution was designed to limit government power and protect individuals from oppressive regulation and the tyranny of majorities. But those protections are meaningless if judges aren't committed to enforcing them. America's judges have largely abdicated that responsibility. Instead of judging the constitutionality of government action, courts too often simply rationalize it. The problem lies not with the Constitution but with courts' reflexive deference to the other branches of government. From the abandonment of federalism to open disregard for property rights and economic freedom, the Supreme Court consistently protects power at the expense of liberty. Terms of Engagement combines real-world examples of the harm wrought by judicial abdication with a rigorous case for a more engaged judiciary, offering both an indictment of the current system and a guide to reform. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Purchase BookAfter its release in 2009, The Beautiful Tree drew widespread praise. The book tells the remarkable story of author James Tooley's travels from Africa to China, and of the children, parents, teachers, and others who showed him how the poor are building their own schools and learning to save themselves. Publishers Weekly declared it "a moving account of how poor parents struggle against great odds to provide a rich educational experience to their children." Writing in The Claremont Review of Books, John Blundell called it "a masterpiece." In conjunction with the release of the book's paperback edition, James Tooley will discuss the extraordinary changes in educating the poor that have occurred since The Beautiful Tree was published, as well as his experiences as a cofounder of both Omega Schools, a chain of low-cost private schools in Ghana, and Empathy Learning Systems, an educational service company that runs a chain of inexpensive private schools in Hyderabad, India.We hope that you will join us to hear James Tooley discuss what's going right in some of the world's poorest nations and communities. The entrepreneurial spirit, Tooley makes clear, and the love of parents for their children, can be found in every corner of the globe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is the Common Core? Supporters assert that it is a high-quality, voluntarily adopted set of national mathematics and language arts standards that will help transform American education by aiming all students at uniform, lofty goals. Opponents argue that adoption of the Core was federally coerced, the standards are of dubious quality, and one size simply cannot fit all. Meanwhile, polling shows that the large majority of Americans know nothing about the standards, despite the fact that they are being implemented in 46 states. We hope you'll join us for a freewheeling debate that promises to be not only highly engaging, but highly informative. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Only a few weeks ago, President Obama seemed set on intervening militarily in Syria. He asked Congress for a vote authorizing the use of force, despite polls showing Americans were overwhelmingly against intervention in Syria. He then made his case in a primetime address. That, too, fell flat. Luckily for Obama, something strange happened leading up to the speech: diplomacy. Assad agreed to give up his chemical weapons. But will this U.S.-Russia accord work? How long before the calls for the United States to “do something” begin again? And did the president respect Congress’s war powers? Cato scholar Christopher Preble has followed developments closely since the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011. He’ll provide a much needed update on the situation and take your questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The World Trade Organization has been a pillar of the global trading system since its inception in 1995, serving an especially important role in the adjudication of trade disputes and, ultimately, helping to subdue protectionism. But the failure of multilateral negotiations to achieve broader and deeper reductions in global trade barriers, while bilateral and regional agreements have flourished, raises important questions about the WTO and its future. Will large agreements that establish new rules in new areas, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, relegate the WTO to insignificance, merely lower its profile, or provide a much-needed jolt by suggesting best practices that will ultimately strengthen the multilateral system?Additional Resources Speaker Biographies Washington Trade Report, Volume XXIX, Number 37, September 30, 2013. "Saving Multilateralism: Renovating the House of Global Economic Governance for the 21st Century," by Jennifer Hillman, Brussels Forum Paper Series, March 2010. "An Emerging International Rule of Law? The WTO Dispute Settlement System's Role in its Evolution," by Jennifer Hillman, Ottawa Law Review, Vol. 42, No. 2, 2010-2011. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Purchase Book A leading justification for the growth of government is the supposed need to control the power of big business and to spread the benefits of the liberal economic order to the greatest possible number of beneficiaries. However, according to Randall Holcombe and Andrea Castillo, the expansion of government results in a different concentration of power: cronyism, in which some people — typically the wealthy and the politically well-connected — have access to privileges that are denied to the rest of the population. Please join us for a discussion of real-world manifestations of big-government cronyism, ranging from central planning to environmentalism and industrial policy, and an exploration of how they invariably enable small groups of individuals — the cronies — to gain at the expense of everyone else. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations have just completed their 19th round, and there is talk now that they are nearing the "end game" and a deal might be reached by the end of the year. However, there are reportedly still many unresolved issues and a fair amount of work ahead. Is a 2013 completion date realistic? If not, when will the TPP countries reach agreement? And if they do, what will the U.S. Congress think about the deal? Please join us for a discussion of these and other issues related to the TPP. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.