The Cato Weekly Podcast - Cato Institute

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The $650,000 Question: How Steel Protectionism Fails Nov 04, 2025

Show notes

For 60 years, the U.S. government has protected the steel industry through tariffs, quotas, and Buy American mandates. Yet steel costs remain among the highest globally, and protectionism has extracted a staggering price: $650,000 in economic damage for every steel job saved, and 75,000 manufacturing jobs lost in 2019 alone. Cato's Clark Packard and Alfredo Carrillo Obregon investigate why protectionism failed and what market-based solutions would actually work.

Show Notes:

https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/steeled-protectionism

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Five* Types of Innovative "Schools" Oct 30, 2025

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School choice isn’t just about choosing different schools—it’s about unbundling education itself and trying new things to get kids excited about learning. Cato scholars Neal McCluskey and Colleen Hroncich envision a future where adults educated through innovative institutions bring diverse perspectives to workplaces and communities.

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Political Pressure and Monetary Policy Oct 28, 2025

Show notes

Both Republicans and Democrats pressure the Fed toward different agendas, revealing deeper institutional problems. Norbert Michel and Jai Kedia argue that broad discretion and an inflated view of the Fed's influence enable mission creep and capture regardless of who holds power. The solution? Congressional legislation establishing clear rules.

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Feeding AI's Energy Appetite Oct 21, 2025

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Travis Fisher and Jennifer Huddleston discuss how outdated energy policies created barriers to new generation just as AI data centers began demanding unprecedented amounts of power. They imagine a path forward using free market policies in both AI and electricity to create previously unimaginable levels of human flourishing and prosperity.

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Peace President? Oct 16, 2025

Show notes

President Trump is taking a victory lap for brokering peace in Gaza—while simultaneously escalating the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine and launching airstrikes against suspected cartel boats. Our panel assesses Trump’s Nobel ambitions, celebrates this year’s actual Peace Prize winner, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.

Justin Logan, "The Case for Withdrawing from the Middle East," Defense Priorities, September 2020.

Ian Vasquez, “Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan Champion of Freedom, Wins the Nobel Peace Prize,” Cato at Liberty blog, October 10, 2025.

Ian Vasquez and Marcos Falcone, “Liberty Versus Power in Milei’s Argentina,” Free Society, October, 2025.

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Protecting Immigration Enforcement Officers and the Constitution Oct 14, 2025

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According to recent government data, immigration enforcement has become a much more dangerous job. David Bier and Patrick Eddington discuss the policy tradeoffs driving these numbers, previous administrations' efforts at mitigating mass immigration, and how to craft a more just, effective and safe immigration policy.

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Trump Universities? Oct 09, 2025

Show notes

President Trump’s new “Compact with Academia” aims to reshape higher ed using the leverage of federal funds. Our panel unpacks the constitutional risks of Washington’s latest salvo in the campus culture wars. Plus, shutdown week two: will the administration deliver on federal job cuts or is it Grim Reaper cosplay?

Neal McCluskey, "Higher Ed Compact Is More of the Same, Worse," Cato at Liberty blog, October 7, 2025.

Adam Michel, "Six Reasons to Not Extend the Enhanced Obamacare Subsidies," Cato at Liberty blog, October 7, 2025.

Neal McCluskey, "Court Rightly Finds for Harvard Against Trump Administration," Cato at Liberty blog, September 4, 2025.

Dominik Lett, "Revoking IEEPA Tariffs Will Not “Lead to Financial Ruin,”" Cato at Liberty blog, October 3, 2025.

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Protecting Expression in Crisis Oct 07, 2025

Show notes

Robby Soave, senior editor at Reason and co-host of The Hill's Rising, join's Cato's Thomas A. Berry and David Inserra to discuss the state of free speech following the Charlie Kirk assassination and Jimmy Kimmel suspension. They examine how recent administrations have engaged in government jawboning to suppress speech and conclude that consistent First Amendment principles must prevail regardless of which party controls government power.

Show Notes:

https://www.cato.org/blog/kimmel-cancellation-dangerous-sign-free-speech

https://www.cato.org/blog/americans-must-remain-committed-free-expression-after-assassination-charlie-kirk

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Shutdowns and Shadow Dockets Oct 02, 2025

Show notes

The federal government shuts down as the Supreme Court returns. Our panel looks at the Trump team’s plan to use the shutdown for mass layoffs —and previews a new Supreme Court term packed with big fights over tariffs, emergency powers, and the future of “independent” agencies.

Romina Boccia, "Thoughts About The Impending Government Shutdown," The Debt Dispatch, September 30, 2025.

Jeffrey Miron, "Some Libertarians Cheer When Government Shuts Down: Here's Why They Shouldn't," Vox, January 21, 2018.

Ryan Bourne, "The Libertarian Experiment That Isn't," Cato at Liberty blog, January 11, 2019.

Thomas A. Berry, Brent Skorup, and Charles Brandt, "Learning Resources v. Trump," Cato Amicus Brief, July 30, 2025.

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How Government Shutdowns Actually Work Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

Will congressional inaction lead to a government shut down? Do shutdowns halt the government in its tracks, and if not, who decides what stays and what goes? What does it mean for President Trump -- or the rest of us?

Cato's VP for Government Affairs, Chad Davis, in conversation with Patrick Eddington, senior fellow in homeland security and civil liberties at the Cato Institute.

Correction: The 35-day shutdown in late 2018 into early 2019 was over Trump's demand for $5.7 billion in federal funds for a border wall. The shutdown over Dreamers was three days in January 2018.

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