Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters

When Syracuse University forced its social work faculty to partner with a for-profit corporation that takes two-thirds of online tuition revenue, professor Kenneth Corvo began investigating where student money actually goes in higher education. His findings reveal a systemic problem across American universities: more administrators than faculty at the college level, expanding bureaucracies focused on "student experience" and compliance, and minimal transparency about how tuition dollars are spent. The discussion with Cato's Walter Olson traces how federal funding, regulatory requirements, and the erosion of scientific rigor have combined to create institutions that increasingly fail their core educational mission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Congress returns to looming shutdowns and a “pocket-rescission” power grab. Abroad, President Trump pushes “America First” by rebranding the Pentagon as the Department of War—and launching an airstrike on a Venezuelan cartel boat. Our panel asks what all this says about America’s fiscal sanity and its foreign-policy compass.Featuring Ryan Bourne, Gene Healy, Adam Michel, & Brandan BuckAdam N. Michel and Dominik Lett, “Reconciliation 2.0: Fix or Fiasco?,” Cato at Liberty (September 3, 2025)Romina Boccia and [co-author unspecified], “Coming Budget Debates and How Congress Should Navigate Them,” Cato at Liberty (September 2025)Brandan P. Buck, “The Lost Liberalism of America First,” Free Society (June 30, 2025)Brandan P. Buck, “The Cognitive Shift: How the Terrorist Label May Lead to Another Forever War,” Cato at Liberty (March 19, 2025) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Norbert Michel and Dominic Lett square off over whether fiscal or monetary policy is the bigger mess. Lett highlights how entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are driving unsustainable debt levels, while Michel explains how post-2008 Federal Reserve changes have created risks of “fiscal dominance,” where monetary policy is increasingly shaped by government borrowing needs. Both stress that without structural reforms and political restraint, the U.S. faces uncertain and potentially catastrophic economic consequences.Show Notes:https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/comprehensive-evaluation-policy-rate-feedback-rules#https://www.cato.org/books/crushing-capitalismhttps://www.cato.org/blog/medicaid-driving-deficits-republicans-are-scarcely-tapping-brakeshttps://www.cato.org/news-releases/senate-bill-could-increase-debt-6-trillion-cato-analysis# Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What should “public health in a free society” look like, and what limits should courts impose on executive trade powers? This week’s panel covers the shakeup at the CDC, asks whether America really needs a Surgeon General, and unpacks a blockbuster ruling from the Federal Circuit declaring most of President Trump’s global tariffs illegal.Featuring Ryan Bourne, Gene Healy, Jeffrey A. Singer, & Scott LincicomeAdam Thierer, “Breaking the Government’s Grip on the Medical Debate,” Cato at Liberty (August 28, 2025) J.A. Singer, “Unnecessary Relics,” Policy Analysis (July 2025)Thomas A. Berry, Brent Skorup, and Charles Brandt, “V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump,” Legal Briefs (July 8, 2025)Brent Skorup, Ilya Somin, and Walter Olson, “Tariffs, Emergencies, and Presidential Power: A Conversation with Ilya Somin and Walter Olson,” Multimedia Event (May 27, 2025) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Cato's Alex Nowrasteh and Travis Fisher as they unpack a pivotal moment in climate policy reform. The duo explores Fisher's tenure at the Department of Energy and the groundbreaking report that could reshape the discourse on greenhouse gases.Travis Fisher, “Why I Helped Organize the Department of Energy’s Climate Report,” Cato at Liberty (August 6, 2025)Travis Fisher and Joshua Loucks, “The Budgetary Cost of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Energy Subsidies,” Policy Analysis (March 11, 2025)Patrick J. Michaels, “Cato Releases Report on EPA Endangerment Finding,” News Releases (October 31, 2012) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Golden shares” at home, grand bargains abroad. In this episode, Cato scholars weigh Trump’s push for equity stakes in U.S. firms under the CHIPS Act and his effort to strike a quick deal with Putin on Ukraine. What does state capitalism at home mean for American liberty—and can deal-making diplomacy abroad actually end the U.S. entanglement in Ukraine?Featuring Ryan Bourne, Gene Healy, Norbert Michel, and Justin LoganScott Lincicome, “The government’s Intel stake is antithetical to American greatness”https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/08/24/trump-intel-government-marketplace/Justin (and Dan Caldwell) on security guarantees: https://thefederalist.com/2025/08/26/if-ukraine-wants-security-guarantees-it-should-get-them-from-europe/Ryan Bourne, “Trump’s cronyism is quietly unravelling American capitalism,”https://www.thetimes.com/us/business/article/trumps-cronyism-is-quietly-unravelling-american-capitalism-jxlwwf7dwRyan Bourne, Industrial Policy was the Gateway Drug to Cronyism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cato’s Jennifer Huddleston and Tommy Berry examine the 2024 TikTok divest-or-ban law and what it means for Americans. They explain how the law could reshape the app market, restrict free speech, and expand government power far beyond TikTok itself.Jennifer Huddleston, “Could the Latest TikTok ‘Ban’ Pass Constitutional Muster?,” Cato at Liberty (blog) (March 12, 2024)Jennifer Huddleston, “Competition and Content Moderation: How Section 230 Enables Increased Tech Marketplace Entry,” Policy Analysis no. 922 (January 31, 2022)Jennifer Huddleston and Tommy Berry, “TikTok Users Await Looming US Ban; SCOTUS May Intervene,” Cato Daily Podcast (January 16, 2025) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As President Trump’s “crime emergency” puts troops on D.C.’s streets, socialist Zohran Mamdani surges ahead in the New York mayoral race. On the panel, Cato scholars debate whether America’s capitals of politics and finance are becoming laboratories for failed ideas.Featuring Ryan Bourne, Gene Healy, Clark Neily, and Marian TupyRyan Bourne, “Zohran Mamdani’s ‘War on Prices’,” Commentary (June 13, 2025) cato.orgScott Lincicome, “State-Run Supermarkets: A (Bad) Statist Solution in Search of a Problem,” Commentary (July 10, 2025) cato.orgMarian L. Tupy, “Marian L. Tupy Discusses His Experiences Living Under Communism on Prager U’s Stories of Us Podcast,” Media Highlights TV (November 14, 2023) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Justin Logan and Clark Packard break down the twists and turns of the U.S.-China relationship—from trade liberalization and consumer benefits to lost manufacturing and rising geopolitical tensions. They unpack how economic integration shaped today’s challenges and what it means for America’s future.Justin Logan, “Liberty at Home, Restraint Abroad: A Realist Approach to Foreign Policy,” Free Society (June 20, 2024) Justin Logan, “Uncle Sucker: Why U.S. Efforts at Defense Burdensharing Fail,” Policy Analysis no. 940 (March 7, 2023) Clark Packard, Course Correction, Policy Analysis no. 897 (July 21, 2020)Clark Packard and Scott Lincicome, “Presidential Tariff Powers and the Need for Reform,” Briefing Paper no. 179 (October 9, 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As President Trump pushes to unwind one proxy war—with Russia in Ukraine—he’s ramping up another in this hemisphere: ordering the Pentagon to ready battle plans against Latin American drug cartels. On our panel, Cato scholars weigh the odds of a Putin deal and the risk of replaying past drug war disasters.Featuring Ryan Bourne, Ian Vásquez, Gene Healy, and Justin LoganJustin Logan, “Trump Shouldn’t Settle for European Spending Pledges,” Foreign Policy, July 25, 2025Brandan P. Buck, “Invading Mexico Will Not Solve the Cartel Problem,” The American Conservative, December 17, 2024Ian Vasquez, “Deregulation in Argentina: Milei Takes “Deep Chainsaw” to Bureaucracy and Red Tape,” Free Society (Spring 2025) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.