Project Sphere Podcast

The war on drugs is America’s longest war, and it continues to this day. Most agree the War on Drugs has been a failure and public sentiment is shifting. Today, state legislatures in the U.S. are passing laws legalizing and decriminalizing drugs. Regarding harm reduction, what public policy on drugs will help people the most? In this episode, John Hudak, senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution; Jeffrey Miron, vice president for research at the Cato Institute; and Sally Satel, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute discuss: which public policy on drugs most effectively prevents harm: prohibition or legalization?More Sphere episodes here

What has the election revealed about the country? And what does this say about who Americans really are, what they want and where we are headed? In this episode, Elaine Kamarck, Founding Director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution; P. J. O’Rourke, bestselling author and H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute; and Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor for National Review and visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute discuss: what has 2020 taught us about democracy?Watch the EpisodeProject Sphere

Police are supposed to preserve and protect, but problems in policing have begun to dominate the national debate. And what will the resulting policy changes look like? And will these reforms address what is going on? In this episode, Clark Neily, vice president for criminal justice at the Cato Institute; Arthur Rizer, director of criminal justice and civil liberties at R Street; and Rashawn Ray, David M. Rubenstein Fellow – Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution discuss: what would meaningful police reform look like?Watch the EpisodeProject Sphere

Some say in this election the very soul of the country is at stake. Others want to make law and order the primary issue. But what about debt, spending and war? Henry Olsen, Washington Post columnist and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center; Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; and Emily Ekins, research fellow and director of polling at the Cato Institute will discuss: are Americans talking about the most important issues this election cycle?Watch the EpisodeProject Sphere

How concerned should we be with wealth or income inequality in the United States? Are there other concerns (like burdensome regulations) that ought to take precedence? And how much of the economic inequality we see in the United States is driven by differences in opportunities? And, in all of these cases, what’s the proper response in the form of public policy? Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute and Jonathan Rauch of the Brookings Institution tackle these questions.

The federal government already provides a great number of programs to help people attend college. Are the rising costs of higher education due, in part, to the federal government’s credit availability to students? Is affordability the leading barrier to college, or is it actually college completion? In this podcast, Neal McCluskey, the Director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute and Michael Hansen, the Herman and George R. Brown Chair and Director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution will discuss whether there is a proper role for government in higher education.

As families try to balance work and childcare, a popular answer is to have government mandate paid family leave. Will mandating paid leave help families or could a law hurt the very workers it is meant to help? Veronique de Rugy, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center and adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute; Rachel Greszler, research fellow at the Heritage Foundation; and Camille Busette, director and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution will discuss in this episode: should the United States mandate paid family leave?Learn More: "COVID-19 Is Not a Good Reason to Enact a Permanent Federal Paid-Leave Entitlement," By Veronique de Rugy and Donald J. Boudreaux"How to Claim a Paid-Leave Victory That Isn’t," By Veronique de Rugy"Parental Leave: Is There a Case for Government Action?" By Vanessa Brown Calder"Poll: 74% of Americans Support Federal Paid Leave Program When Costs Not Mentioned — 60% Oppose if They Got Smaller Pay Raises in the Future," By Emily Ekins

War has long been the subject of vigorous debate. The United States Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war and appoints the president as commander-in-chief of the military. When it comes to war, who holds the power to ultimately decide the actions of the United States? Gene Healy, vice president at the Cato Institute; David B. Rivkin Jr., partner at BakerHostetler; and Margaret L. Taylor, governance studies fellow at the Brookings Institution will discuss in this episode: does the president have the power to start a war?Learn More:"The Long Road Ahead for the Congressional Resolutions on Iran," By Scott R. Anderson, Margaret Taylor"On "Imminence": Absence of Evidence is Evidence of Absence," By Gene Healy"Repeal Old AUMFs and Salt the Earth," By Gene Healy"Congress Declares War, but Only the President Can Make It," By David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey