Cato Event Podcast

In June 2025, when stepping into the Federal Reserve Board’s role of vice chair for supervision, Michelle W. Bowman announced a comprehensive review of the bank capital framework. Since that time, she has introduced changes to two of the framework’s four pillars, the supplementary leverage ratio and the stress-testing regime. As a next step in the comprehensive review, the Federal Reserve, together with the other federal bank regulatory agencies, will introduce proposed changes to the risk-based bank capital requirements.Join Vice Chair for Supervision Bowman at the Cato Institute as she details her comprehensive review and what is next for bank capital requirements and Basel III.

President Trump has launched a war with Iran, leaving the American public with more questions than answers. Great uncertainty remains around the war’s strategic objectives, the duration of the campaign, and its long-term impacts on the United States, Iran, and the Middle East. Join us for a conversation with leading experts who will examine the possible trajectories of Operation Epic Fury and its broader consequences for the region and beyond.

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, many of us think about the heroic figures who formed the foundation of our democracy. The Prohuman Foundation and Sphere Education Initiatives are excited to support you in thinking about these brave Americans by highlighting five unsung heroines who greatly influenced America’s Founding: Elizabeth Freeman, Anna Smith Strong, Nanyehi (Nancy Ward), Deborah Sampson, and Esther de Berdt Reed. During this webinar, we will dive deep into five lessons that encourage students to discover character strengths such as curiosity, courage, humanity, grit, and compassion while developing key skills in literacy and civil discourse. You will hear from the Prohuman Foundation and Sphere about the various ways to engage with these women’s stories in helping your students learn to recognize their own capacities for developing character strengths in their own lives.The webinar will consist of two parts. The first part will include a conversation between the Prohuman Foundation and Sphere to set the stage for understanding the unique opportunities presented by this collaborative effort. The second part will include deeper dives into the lessons themselves and the practical, tangible tools that can be applied in secondary classrooms. Educators will be empowered to use these resources to help their students develop a growth mindset, cultivate positive connections, engage in civil discourse, and respect viewpoint diversity.

Thirty years ago, as part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Section 230 became law. The law was the result of a bipartisan effort that saw the potential of the internet and sought to encourage innovation and opportunities for online speech. Thirty years later, the law remains crucial to users and innovators of all sizes; however, it has been criticized by both the left and the right.Join us for a day featuring panels on the history of Section 230, the current impact, debates, and legal challenges around the law, and how it might interact with future content moderation strategies including decentralization and technologies such as artificial intelligence. The event will also feature a live virtual conversation with one of Section 230’s co-authors, Senator Ron Wyden (D‑OR).

Thirty years ago, as part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Section 230 became law. The law was the result of a bipartisan effort that saw the potential of the internet and sought to encourage innovation and opportunities for online speech. Thirty years later, the law remains crucial to users and innovators of all sizes; however, it has been criticized by both the left and the right.Join us for a day featuring panels on the history of Section 230, the current impact, debates, and legal challenges around the law, and how it might interact with future content moderation strategies including decentralization and technologies such as artificial intelligence. The event will also feature a live virtual conversation with one of Section 230’s co-authors, Senator Ron Wyden (D‑OR).

Thirty years ago, as part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Section 230 became law. The law was the result of a bipartisan effort that saw the potential of the internet and sought to encourage innovation and opportunities for online speech. Thirty years later, the law remains crucial to users and innovators of all sizes; however, it has been criticized by both the left and the right.Join us for a day featuring panels on the history of Section 230, the current impact, debates, and legal challenges around the law, and how it might interact with future content moderation strategies including decentralization and technologies such as artificial intelligence. The event will also feature a live virtual conversation with one of Section 230’s co-authors, Senator Ron Wyden (D‑OR).

Thirty years ago, as part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Section 230 became law. The law was the result of a bipartisan effort that saw the potential of the internet and sought to encourage innovation and opportunities for online speech. Thirty years later, the law remains crucial to users and innovators of all sizes; however, it has been criticized by both the left and the right.Join us for a day featuring panels on the history of Section 230, the current impact, debates, and legal challenges around the law, and how it might interact with future content moderation strategies including decentralization and technologies such as artificial intelligence. The event will also feature a live virtual conversation with one of Section 230’s co-authors, Senator Ron Wyden (D‑OR).

The debate about US policy toward China hinges on rarely stated judgments about the nature of the challenge. Is China mainly a revisionist or a status quo state? Should the United States keep all its international commitments amid China’s rise? What military posture can best defend those commitments? In his latest book, Retrench, Defend, Compete, Charles Glaser assesses these first-order questions and promotes an alternative US strategy toward China that would retrench from some US commitments in Asia and bolster others. Please join us as Glaser and Patricia Kim discuss the book and grapple with the range of US choices, from grand strategic judgments to specific foreign and military policies.

The Qur’an famously declares, “There is no compulsion in religion.” Yet, various forms of religious compulsion persist today in parts of the Muslim world, including death penalties for apostates and blasphemers, legal inequalities that disadvantage women and non-Muslims, and “morality police” who enforce strict norms on society.In this new book from the Cato Institute, Mustafa Akyol has assembled a team of Islamic scholars and intellectuals to articulate arguments against oppressive interpretations of Islam. Drawing on scriptural insights and contemporary realities, they contend that the Qur’anic principle of “no compulsion in religion” should be embraced fully, without exceptions.At this forum, Akyol will summarize key arguments from the book. Mirwais Balkhi will offer his commentary on the book’s significance for Afghanistan and the broader Muslim world.