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Cato Institute

Podcast of policy and book forums, Capitol Hill briefings and other events from the Cato Institute
 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cato Event Podcast

The Qur’an famously declares, “There is no compulsion in religion.” Yet, various forms of religious compulsion persist today in parts of the Muslim world, including death penalties for apostates and blasphemers, legal inequalities that disadvantage women and non-Muslims, and “morality police” who enforce strict norms on society.

In this new book from the Cato Institute, Mustafa Akyol has assembled a team of Islamic scholars and intellectuals to articulate arguments against oppressive interpretations of Islam. Drawing on scriptural insights and contemporary realities, they contend that the Qur’anic principle of “no compulsion in religion” should be embraced fully, without exceptions.

At this forum, Akyol will summarize key arguments from the book. Mirwais Balkhi will offer his commentary on the book’s significance for Afghanistan and the broader Muslim world.

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No Compulsion in Religion—No Exceptions: Islamic Arguments for Religious Freedom

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we recall the key principles that form America’s foundation. Of these, the “certain unalienable rights” the Founders declared are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Yet, the Founders saw “liberty” not as the freedom to do whatever one wants—but rather the freedom to act and live in ways that promote virtue. 

How does this understanding of liberty apply to our classrooms? How does civil discourse and viewpoint diversity create space for students to be free to act in ways that promote virtue? 

In this webinar, we’ll explore how the Founding concept of liberty, combined with principles of civil discourse, can guide discussions of challenging topics. Topics that will be covered include the problem of self‐​censorship and the challenges of teaching content that some might find controversial, such as Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We’ll examine ways that educators can create spaces for students to courageously discuss the challenging ideas they encounter in a variety of texts (both historical and literary) while embodying the true spirit of liberty that the Founders envisioned. 

This webinar will consist of three parts. The first part will be a 30‐​minute discussion between Kobi Nelson and three exemplary Sphere alumni: Nancy Wickham, Shannon Edwards, and Megan Thompson. The second part will include a Q&A with participants, and the third part will dive into resources that teachers can use to facilitate healthy conversation habits that honor the principles of liberty, civil discourse, and viewpoint diversity. All who attend will leave with practical, tangible tools that can be applied in classrooms, and educators will be empowered to create democratic spaces that honor free speech in their classrooms and schools.

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Liberty, Literature, and Civil Discourse in the Classroom

For centuries, the greatest protection against unjust convictions and punishments was the institution of jury independence, including so-called “jury nullification.” The prosecutions of John Moore and Tanner Mansell illustrate a scenario in which jurors—apprised of their historic injustice-preventing powers—would have rendered a not guilty verdict. But because John and Tanner’s jurors, who appeared desperate for a way to acquit, weren’t informed of their historic prerogative to acquit against the evidence to prevent injustice, they had no option but to convict.

When the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice learned of John’s and Tanner’s plights, we took their case to the highest levels of government—ultimately resulting in presidential pardons for each of them. Please join us as we hear first-hand accounts, discuss what went wrong, explore how Cato got involved, and consider solutions to the pathology of unjust prosecutions and convictions.

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Combatting Overcriminalization: From the Shark House to the White House

Winner of the Grand Prize for Documentary at the 2025 South by Southwest Film Festival, Shuffle is filmmaker Benjamin Flaherty’s powerful exposé of unintended consequences in American health policy. Through intimate portraits of people seeking recovery from opioid addiction, Flaherty reveals how federal mandates—particularly within the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid—have unintentionally enabled predatory rehab operators to turn human suffering into revenue streams. The federal mandates are likely even increasing and subsidizing suffering, rather than reducing it.

Join us for a screening of Shuffle in the Cato Institute’s F. A. Hayek Auditorium, followed by a discussion of what the film uncovers about the incentives that are shaping America’s addiction-treatment system and how policymakers, clinicians, and advocates can work toward more effective solutions.

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SHUFFLE Directed by Benjamin Flaherty

In the name of material progress, the West has sought to develop and frequently exploit the less-developed “rest.” William Easterly will draw from 400 years of history—ranging from the conquest of the Americas and the Atlantic slave trade to colonization in Asia and Africa and the invention of the Third World—to show how the West has justified different forms of intervention in the societies it has purportedly intended to improve. Easterly will explain why development based on consent, choice, and human agency is superior to an approach that neglects dignity, focuses narrowly on material improvements, and too often justifies various degrees of coercion. Deirdre McCloskey will comment on the fundamental role of freedom in development.
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Violent Saviors: The West’s Conquest of the Rest

As America’s debt climbs and the danger of a fiscal crisis grows, is it time to add a constitutional guardrail? In Fiscal Democracy in America, Kurt Couchman proposes a principles-based balanced budget amendment (BBA) to address the persistent deficits in Washington in a flexible and politically feasible manner. Marc Goldwein draws on his experience in fiscal commissions and provides a challenge to the BBA as a silver-bullet solution to America’s fiscal crisis.

How could a principles-based BBA work, and how would it handle entitlement programs, recessions, and crises? Why did previous attempts at a BBA fail, and what makes a principles-based BBA different? Is a BBA just a distraction from adopting specific policy reforms? And if an amendment were adopted, do other reforms need to occur to complement its implementation? Join us for a discussion with Kurt Couchman and Marc Goldwein, moderated by Romina Boccia.

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Fiscal Democracy in America: How a Balanced Budget Amendment Can Restore Sound Governance

The school choice movement is often seen as a modern, partisan undermining of a cherished institution: public education. Fighting for the Freedom to Learn shows that the struggle for educational freedom is not new but an enduring part of US history. It is rooted in traditions of parents and communities shaping how children learn and perpetual struggles for people without political power to get the education they believe they need.

Join us to discuss this important new book!

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Fighting for the Freedom to Learn: Examining America’s Centuries-Old School Choice Movement

Since the 1930s, the federal government has used the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) deposit insurance to justify its increased involvement in banking. Now, in the name of supporting community banks, some policymakers have proposed raising the FDIC insurance cap from $250,000 to $10 million. They claim that in the wake of the bank failures of 2023, depositors fled from small banks and moved their money to “too big to fail” institutions that enjoy implicit government backing. Increasing the FDIC insurance cap, these policymakers argue, will encourage depositors to stay with community banks.

Yet for nearly a century, Congress and the FDIC have continued to expand and increase federal involvement in banking, creating a complex web of regulation, increasing costs for consumers, and burdening American taxpayers. Despite these changes being implemented in the name of safety, a select few institutions still clamor for special protection.

The proposed expansion will magnify all these problems, making the system more fragile and less resilient, and forcing millions of Americans to bear its cost. Sadly, this latest expansion would come at a time when an incredibly small share of depositors even need additional coverage.

Join leading policy experts for a discussion on why expanding FDIC insurance is not only unnecessary but could also ultimately harm both the economy and the community banks it was designed to protect.

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The Risks of Expanding FDIC Deposit Insurance

How does China’s economy affect US policy? US policymakers have responded to perceived dangers from China by using industrial policy, export controls, and attempting to reduce supply chain vulnerabilities. Some analysts have concluded that China is developing a sizable technological capacity that poses a challenge to the US economy, and potentially constrains US foreign policy. How much leverage has the Chinese economy purchased for policymakers in Beijing? What does the ceasefire in the US-China trade war tell us about the future of US-China competition? Finally, what do these questions about China’s economy tell us about the security threat China potentially poses?

Getting the answers to these questions right is essential for crafting an effective US grand strategy. This policy forum brings together two leading experts on Chinese political economy to discuss what China’s economy really looks like and what the implications are for US grand strategy.

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China’s Economy and How It Matters for US Policy

George White, CEO of The C.M. Paula Company—an Ohio-based holding company with businesses across several industries—recently joined Scott Lincicome to discuss the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs on several of C.M. Paula’s affiliated companies. White discussed the intricacies of managing firms with a global network of suppliers, the costs the tariffs have imposed on the companies’ operations, and the adjustments that he and his teams have made to operate amid an uncertain business environment.
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A Conversation with George White

In November 2012 voters in Colorado and Washington passed landmark measures to legalize the production and sale of cannabis for social use—a first not only in the United States but also the world. Medical cannabis is now legal in 21 states and Washington, D.C., and more than one million Americans have turned to it in place of conventional pharmaceuticals. Public opinion continues to shift toward policies that favor increased personal liberty on the issue of cannabis.

In A New Leaf: The End of Cannabis Prohibition, investigative journalists Alyson Martin and Nushin Rashidian present an expert analysis of how recent milestones toward legalization will affect the war on drugs both domestically and internationally. Reporting from nearly every state with a medical cannabis law, the book features in-depth interviews with patients, growers, doctors, entrepreneurs, politicians, activists, and regulators. The result is a unique account of how legalization is manifesting itself in the lives of millions.

Please join us for a discussion of this book and the changing tide of public opinion on prohibition.

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A New Leaf: The End of Cannabis Prohibition

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