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The Triumph of Fear: Domestic Surveillance and Political Repression from McKinley Through Eisenhower
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The September 6, 1901, assassination of President William McKinley by self-professed anarchist Leon Czolgosz triggered a nationwide political backlash against the killer’s like-minded political adherents. It also served as the catalyst for the expansion of nascent federal government surveillance capabilities used against not only anarchists but socialists and members of other social or political movements that were challenging the prevailing political, economic, and social paradigms of the day. And it was the ensuing, decades-long persistent exaggerations of domestic political threats from those movements that drove an exponential increase in the frequency and scale of unlawful government surveillance and related political repression against hundreds of thousands of individual Americans and civil society organizations.
The Triumph of Fear is a history of the rise and expansion of surveillance-enabled political repression in America from the late 1890s to early 1961. Drawing on declassified government documents (many obtained via dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests and lawsuits) and other primary sources, Cato Institute senior fellow Patrick Eddington offers historians, legal scholars, political leaders, and general readers surprising new revelations about the scope of government surveillance programs and how this domestic spying helped fuel federal assaults on free speech and association that continue to this day. Join us for a conversation about the book with Eddington led by Caleb Brown, Cato’s director of multimedia.
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The Allure of Bad Economics: Why Big Government Policies Keep Gaining Ground
53:21|Please join us for a cocktail reception and conversation in NYC this fall. We are pleased to have New York Post columnist and author Rikki Schlott in conversation with Cato vice president for general economics and Stiefel Trade Policy Center Scott Lincicome as our featured speakers.Rikki and Scott will examine New York City’s mayoral race as a microcosm of a troubling trend: Gen Z’s embrace of socialist policies that purportedly fix real economic problems many Americans are facing today. Using candidate Zohran Mamdani’s surprising victory as an example, they’ll explore how economic pressures and uncertainty are driving many voters toward progressive solutions like industrial policy and rent control, even though free market approaches, including zoning reform and deregulation, offer better, proven pathways to genuine, broad-based prosperity. Why are government-centered policies gaining traction when market-based solutions have historically delivered economic growth, lower prices, and higher living standards?As we approach Cato’s 50th anniversary in 2027, our mission is clear: to keep liberty at the forefront of national debates and ensure a freer future for generations to come. To meet this challenge, in May, Cato publicly launched the Vision for Liberty Campaign—a bold initiative to expand our impact and accelerate the spread of the ideas that drive human flourishing. Cato president and CEO Peter Goettler will discuss Cato’s policy priorities, as well as how we are developing new audiences and scaling our educational programs.Welcoming Remarks and the Vision for Liberty - Cato On Tour Oct. 2025
21:15|Please join us for a cocktail reception and conversation in NYC this fall. We are pleased to have New York Post columnist and author Rikki Schlott in conversation with Cato vice president for general economics and Stiefel Trade Policy Center Scott Lincicome as our featured speakers.Rikki and Scott will examine New York City’s mayoral race as a microcosm of a troubling trend: Gen Z’s embrace of socialist policies that purportedly fix real economic problems many Americans are facing today. Using candidate Zohran Mamdani’s surprising victory as an example, they’ll explore how economic pressures and uncertainty are driving many voters toward progressive solutions like industrial policy and rent control, even though free market approaches, including zoning reform and deregulation, offer better, proven pathways to genuine, broad-based prosperity. Why are government-centered policies gaining traction when market-based solutions have historically delivered economic growth, lower prices, and higher living standards?As we approach Cato’s 50th anniversary in 2027, our mission is clear: to keep liberty at the forefront of national debates and ensure a freer future for generations to come. To meet this challenge, in May, Cato publicly launched the Vision for Liberty Campaign—a bold initiative to expand our impact and accelerate the spread of the ideas that drive human flourishing. Cato president and CEO Peter Goettler will discuss Cato’s policy priorities, as well as how we are developing new audiences and scaling our educational programs.A Costly Distraction: US–China Competition in the Middle East
01:29:34|The United States continues to allocate substantial military and diplomatic resources to counter Chinese influence in the Middle East. However, Beijing has shown little interest in assuming a dominant security role in the region, raising doubts about the effectiveness of framing US engagement through the lens of great-power competition. As policymakers debate the United States’ global commitments, a critical assessment of the rationale, risks, and opportunity costs of current US policy in the Middle East is necessary.This forum will bring together leading experts to examine China’s core regional interests, the risks of overstating China’s ability and desire to dominate the Middle East, and opportunities to better align US force posture with actual interests in the region.Join us at the Cato Institute for a timely conversation on the future of US strategy in the Middle East.Cato Free Speech: Debate Are Contemporary Understandings of the First Amendment the Best Way to Protect Free Expression in the 21st Century?
52:32|Online platforms have created unprecedented opportunities for individuals to share ideas and reach wider audiences. Supporters of these platforms point to how they have reduced barriers to participation, providing new and creative opportunities for discourse and connection. Critics, however, raise concerns that these platforms can allow the spread of misinformation, the amplification of offensive speech, or the power of private companies to shape which voices are heard and which are silenced. The internet has become a central arena in debates about the scope and limits of free expression.The United States has long valued the First Amendment’s broad protections, but public support is waning. A 2024 Freedom Forum poll found that only 58 percent of Americans would ratify it today—down five points in four years. Critics argue that certain types of speech, while legal, can cause harm or suppress the voices of vulnerable groups. Free speech advocates warn that narrowing protections will risk government censorship and shrink the space for open debate.This tension raises an important question: Are current interpretations of the First Amendment sufficient to safeguard free expression in the digital age? To mark Free Speech Week, we are hosting two prominent scholars to debate this issue.Peak Human: What We Can Learn from History’s Greatest Civilizations
01:20:34|Sphere is excited to engage our educator community in discussion about the factors that contributed to the rise and fall of some of humanity’s greatest civilizations. Through a moderated discussion with author Johan Norberg, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, we will explore seven of humanity’s greatest civilizations—ancient Athens, the Roman Republic, Abbasid Baghdad, Song China, Renaissance Italy, the Dutch Republic and the Anglosphere—featured in his new book, Peak Human. We will examine their contributions to societal progress during each of their golden ages and unpack valuable lessons we can learn from them. Following moderated discussion, we will walk through how to support student exploration of these topics with Sphere content author and alumnus Sean Kinnard.Fifty-Five Years of the Bank Secrecy Act
01:05:22|Since its passage in 1970, the Bank Secrecy Act has fundamentally transformed the relationship between Americans and their financial institutions, creating an unprecedented surveillance apparatus that monitors virtually every financial transaction. What began as a tool to combat tax cheats has evolved into a comprehensive system of financial monitoring that affects everyone.This timely discussion will explore how the Bank Secrecy Act has shaped modern banking, its implications for Fourth Amendment protections, and the urgent need for reform in an era of increasing digital surveillance. Our panel will examine the intersection of financial privacy, technological innovation, and constitutional rights, offering insights into how we can restore the balance between security and liberty.Join us for a critical examination of the Bank Secrecy Act as it reaches its 55th anniversary—a milestone that calls for urgent reflection on the state of financial privacy in America.The $15 Trillion Emergency Spending Loophole
01:00:15|Congress has spent $15 trillion through emergency designations since 1991, which is equivalent to half the entire publicly held debt of the United States. Emergency designations have enabled more than $12.5 trillion in spending since 1991—comparable to the entire amount spent on Medicaid and veterans’ programs combined—and added an estimated $2.5 trillion in associated interest costs.Join the Cato Institute on Tuesday, October 7, at 2 p.m. EDT for an online discussion with other congressional staffers on how Congress can rein in similar fiscal abuses. We’ll highlight bills that are now before Congress that would curb emergency spending loopholes, and we’ll explore opportunities for lawmakers to lead or join promising reform efforts. A live Q&A will follow.A Conversation with Former BLS Commissioners William Beach and Erica Groshen
01:03:28|Free markets are a core principle of libertarianism, and data are a central element to furthering economic freedom.Accurate data are essential to researchers of all philosophies—liberal, conservative, and libertarian—and all researchers must rely on objective facts as a baseline to inform policy and have legitimate debate in the marketplace of ideas.For better or worse, the federal government is currently one of the main sources of economic data, and users must be able to rely on the objectivity of its data.Given recent events, is there a legitimate reason to rethink how government data are compiled? What is the role of private institutions? Are there changes that could be implemented to better serve the researchers who utilize the data most? William Beach and Erica Groshen, former heads of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Norbert Michel, vice president and director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, will address these questions.Please join us for this timely and important discussion, led by these influential thought leaders, about the data that inform the government’s policies.Teaching in the Age of AI: Policy Insights and Classroom Applications for Civil Discourse
01:27:58|Artificial intelligence is evolving quickly, shaping conversations both in policy circles and in classrooms. On one hand, policy debates continue over regulation, ethics, and the role AI should play in society. On the classroom side, teachers are examining practical ways AI could enhance learning. This webinar offers educators a chance to learn about the current policy landscape alongside considering how AI may be used to support civil discourse in the classroom. Join Sphere on October 2nd from 7:30–9:00 pm Eastern via Zoom to explore this conversation further.Sphere invites you to join this webinar designed to bring clarity and spark conversation. In the first part of the webinar, leading scholars, Jennifer Huddleston of the Cato Institute and Tatiana Rice of The Future of Privacy Forum, will unpack the current AI policy landscape and explore the opportunities and challenges it presents. In the second part, practicing Sphere alumni educators, Kimberly Hammers of Chesapeake Public Schools and Sasha Litzenberger of Mesa Public Schools, will share how they are experimenting with AI to foster civil discourse skills