Cato Event Podcast

This panel discussion will feature the researchers behind the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s (FIRE’s) 2025 College Free Speech Rankings, which offers insights into the state of free speech across US colleges. The panelists will share and explain the methodology used to rank schools, the contemporary challenges of measuring speech climates, and salient trends discovered from this year’s data. Panelists will address issues affecting free expression, including administrative policies, student activism, and faculty perspectives on free speech. The discussion will provide a breakdown of the highest- and lowest-ranking schools to inform students, parents, and policymakers about campus speech environments and encourage colleges to foster a culture of open expression.

Civil discourse is an important aspect of a free and pluralistic democracy. That said, many people do not participate in civil discourse. There are several reasons for this: fear of being wrong, lack of rhetorical skill, negative emotionality, etc. What’s more, this refusal or inability to speak to those with whom we disagree is growing by the day.Join our virtual discussion as scholars Erec Smith and Jonathan Rauch discuss the art of “mutual persuasion” in a turbulent time.This conversation is being supported by Project Sphere, a collaboration between the Cato Institute and the Brookings Institution that creates a constructive space to discuss areas of disagreement in a civil forum. Our goal is to resist political polarization by emphasizing areas of agreement even within contentious conversations. To learn more, visit Pro​ject​Sphere​.org.

What role should tariffs play in the economy? Would tax credits for newborns ease childhood poverty? How might housing be made to be more affordable? In many ways, the 2024 presidential election has been one of dueling and sometimes complementary economic proposals from both major candidates. Join Sphere Education Initiatives on October 29 from 7:30–8:30 p.m. EDT for this webinar exploring the economic policy visions and proposals of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.In their attempts to persuade voters and build winning coalitions, both major party candidates have offered a slew of proposals to change everything from the tax code to the core tenets of trade policy. Which policies have a realistic shot of implementation? And what would be the practical effect on the economy and our lives should they be successful? Brendan Duke, the senior director of economic policy at the Center for American Progress, and Scott Lincicome, the vice president for general economics at the Cato Institute, will join Sphere Education Initiatives for this timely pre‐​election conversation.

Cato will continue rising to meet liberty’s greatest challenges—from executive power to out-of-control spending in Congress—because doing so is our moral responsibility. Cato president and CEO Peter Goettler will provide an overview of Cato’s commitment to keeping liberty alive for future generations, our priorities, and the investments we are making to advance our vision of a free and open society in which liberty allows every individual to pursue a life of prosperity and meaning in peace. Peter also looks forward to receiving your feedback in a Q&A session.In 2008, Senior Vice President for Policy Gene Healy wrote The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power because he believed the American presidency had become an extraconstitutional monstrosity and a libertarian nightmare, “the source of much of our political woe and some of the gravest threats to our liberties.” For the 2024 presidential election, Cato is re-releasing Healy’s book with a new foreword calling on Americans to change what we ask of the office—or we’ll continue to get, in a sense, what we deserve.The modern presidency has become a job that is everything from culture warrior in chief to guardian angel. And in our partisan myopia, we’ve unwittingly created the infrastructure for autocratic rule and sectarian warfare. How did we get here, and what can we do to prevent the presidency from tearing the country apart?

Cato will continue rising to meet liberty’s greatest challenges—from executive power to out-of-control spending in Congress—because doing so is our moral responsibility. Cato president and CEO Peter Goettler will provide an overview of Cato’s commitment to keeping liberty alive for future generations, our priorities, and the investments we are making to advance our vision of a free and open society in which liberty allows every individual to pursue a life of prosperity and meaning in peace. Peter also looks forward to receiving your feedback in a Q&A session.In 2008, Senior Vice President for Policy Gene Healy wrote The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power because he believed the American presidency had become an extraconstitutional monstrosity and a libertarian nightmare, “the source of much of our political woe and some of the gravest threats to our liberties.” For the 2024 presidential election, Cato is re-releasing Healy’s book with a new foreword calling on Americans to change what we ask of the office—or we’ll continue to get, in a sense, what we deserve.The modern presidency has become a job that is everything from culture warrior in chief to guardian angel. And in our partisan myopia, we’ve unwittingly created the infrastructure for autocratic rule and sectarian warfare. How did we get here, and what can we do to prevent the presidency from tearing the country apart?

Journalists have been the targets of government surveillance, harassment, and violence for over a century—both in America and abroad. Modern surveillance technologies—facial recognition, artificial intelligence, spyware, and more—make it increasingly easy for governments to track not only journalists but also their sources, putting both at risk.How many journalists or news organizations have been negatively impacted by these developments? How is the journalism profession responding to these threats? What measures can democratic governments take to help protect journalists facing these perils? How has the resolution of the Julian Assange case affected the political, legal, and technological dynamics involved in protecting journalists and their sources? Our panel will tackle these and related questions.

n the four years since nationwide protests against police misconduct rocked the nation, momentum for police reform has stalled. At the same time, state and local law enforcement entities are constantly seeking to upgrade their abilities to conduct various forms of surveillance—whether using traditional human informants or emerging digital or forensic technologies. These developments arguably represent major day-to-day threats to individual rights.What changes, if any, have we seen in policing practices at the federal, state, and local levels since the George Floyd murder protests in the summer of 2020, particularly as they pertain to monitoring protests and civil society groups? To what extent are law enforcement organizations using human informants to infiltrate groups engaged in First Amendment–protected activities? How have federal courts been dealing with cases involving surveillance, human or technical, since the summer of 2020? Our panel will discuss these and related issues.