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Cato Podcast
Free Markets for Electricity
Ep. 55
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As data centers begin demanding power at the scale of entire cities, the electricity system is running headlong into regulatory barriers built for a different era. The Cato Institute's Travis Fisher sits down with Glen Lyons, the founder of Advocates for Consumer Regulated Electricity, to explore proposals for off-grid utilities, Senator Tom Cotton’s new legislation, and how market-based approaches could accelerate supply while protecting consumers from rising costs and reliability risks.
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112. AI: Must We Act Now?
41:08||Ep. 112Artificial intelligence could transform productivity, employment, and living standards. But does that mean governments should “act now” to “steer” the technology? Economist John Cochrane joins Cato’s Ryan Bourne to explain why he thinks a prominent economists’ letter gets the problem wrong, whether fears of mass job loss are justified, and how speculation about AI’s potential is already shaping public policy.
111. Happy 60th Birthday, Now Pay the Bill
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110. The Wisdom of Crowds: An Intro to Prediction Markets
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109. The Fight Against Financial Surveillance
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108. Why Is Childcare So Expensive?
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104. Proud to Be American, Worried About What's Next
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