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The Cato Weekly Podcast – Cato Institute — Government
The Cato Weekly Podcast – Cato Institute

Every Tuesday on The Cato Weekly Podcast, leading scholars and policy analysts from the Cato Institute delve into the big ideas shaping our world: individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Whether unpacking current events, debating civil liberties, exploring technological innovation, or tracing the history of classical liberal thought, we promise insightful analysis grounded in rigorous research and Cato’s signature libertarian perspective. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright: © Cato Institute 2025

Latest Episodes:

Fallout From the Minnesota Fraud Scandal Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

Cato's David Bier and Chris Edwards discuss the welfare fraud scandals in Minnesota, including the $250 million Feeding Our Future scam, to explain how federal money flowing through state programs creates weak oversight and incentives for abuse. They argue that the structure of federal aid to states, not immigration or individual bad actors, is the core driver of fraud in welfare, housing, and health programs.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Free Markets for Electricity Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

As data centers begin demanding power at the scale of entire cities, the electricity system is running headlong into regulatory barriers built for a different era. The Cato Institute's Travis Fisher sits down with Glen Lyons, the founder of Advocates for Consumer Regulated Electricity, to explore proposals for off-grid utilities, Senator Tom Cotton’s new legislation, and how market-based approaches could accelerate supply while protecting consumers from rising costs and reliability risks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Presidents Decide to Go to War Alone: Venezuela Edition Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

The arrest of Nicolás Maduro raises hard questions about presidential power, congressional authority, and the legal boundaries of military force. Cato's Brandan P. Buck and Clark Neily analyze the operation’s status under U.S. and international law, its implications for future conflicts, and why ambiguity has become the executive branch’s most dangerous tool.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Debanked for Dissent: How Putin’s Reach Extends Abroad Jan 06, 2026

Show notes

A Russian dissident living in exile finds her US bank accounts closed after being labeled an extremist by the Kremlin. Nicholas Anthony interviews Anna Chekhovich of the Anti-Corruption Foundation about her experience being debanked. Together, they unpack how sanctions, anti-money laundering rules, and financial surveillance systems enable authoritarian governments to silence critics beyond their borders.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Banking on Moral Hazard: The Push for $10 Million Deposit Insurance Jan 01, 2026

Show notes

A plan to massively expand FDIC insurance is gaining traction in Washington, despite little evidence that customers or community banks are asking for it. Cato's Nicholas Anthony, Norbert Michel, and Jill Castilla, CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond, show how the proposal would subsidize wealthy depositors, weaken market discipline, and entrench bailout expectations across the banking system.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australia’s Social Media Ban and the Illusion of Online Safety Dec 30, 2025

Show notes

From Australia’s social media ban to U.S. and UK age-verification laws, governments are increasingly treating online access as something to be licensed. Cato's Jennifer Huddleston and David Inserra explore how these policies collide with free expression, parental autonomy, and privacy, and why empowering families works better than sweeping government bans.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Fuel Economy Rules Made Cars Bigger, Pricier, and Less Safe Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

Intended to save fuel and protect consumers, CAFE standards have instead penalized efficient small cars, subsidized trucks and SUVs, and created a de facto electric-vehicle mandate. Cato's Chad Davis, Brent Skorup, and Peter Van Doren trace how decades of regulatory layering have increased vehicle manufacturing costs, reduced affordability for consumers, and locked automakers into an endless cycle of policy reversals.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Social Security’s Popularity Problem Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

A new Cato survey reveals that Americans overwhelmingly support Social Security while fundamentally misunderstanding its structure, finances, and long-term viability. Romina Boccia and Emily Ekins explore how myths about personal accounts, proportional benefits, and trust-fund solvency shape public opinion — and why ignorance makes meaningful reform politically elusive.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Global Freedom Slump Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

Cato's Ian Vásquez and the Fraser Institute's Matt Mitchell walk through the 2025 edition of the Human Freedom Index, documenting a worldwide decline in economic, civil, and personal freedoms that began before the pandemic and sharply accelerated after it. They explain how populism, authoritarian emergency powers, trade restrictions, and speech controls have left nine in ten people living in less free societies, and why the recovery remains uneven and fragile.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Better Care for Billions Less: Fixing Medicaid’s Long-Term Care Incentives Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Cato's Michael Cannon and the Center for Long-Term Care Reform's Stephen Moses examine how Medicaid’s long-term-care eligibility rules let middle- and upper-middle-class households shelter assets and shift costs onto taxpayers, driving up spending and lowering quality for the poor. Drawing on Moses’s new Cato paper Better Long-Term Care for Billions Less, they explain how perverse incentives, generous exemptions, and weak estate recovery undermine private planning and inflate a program already consuming one-third of Medicaid’s budget.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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