Cato on Campus - Multimedia: Podcasts

Poverty and Economy in Mugabe's Zimbabwe

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:35:00 EDT

A new, deeper poverty has gripped Zimbabwe and the formal economy has utterly been destroyed under the rein of Robert Mugabe. Rejoice Ngwenya, head of the Zimbabwean Coalition for Market and Liberal Solutions, discusses the realities of life in Mugabe�s Zimbabwe.

Bryan Caplan on Voter Irrationality

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Bryan explains the Miracle of Aggregation, shows that its key assumption doesn't hold up empirically, then focuses on systematically biased beliefs about economics.

Munger on the Political Economy of Public Transportation

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:39:00 EDT

"Mike Munger and Russ Roberts deliver one of the best podcasts ever. Munger describes the way in which moving from a private bus system to a public system in Santiago Chile made essentially everyone in the city worse off. The puzzle that Roberts keeps pushing Munger to resolve is why the political incentives do not work to abolish the public system and revert to a private system." - Bryan Caplan

American Idol and Poverty

Tue, 06 May 2008 18:10:00 EDT

Ed Crane, President of the Cato Institute, suggests that celebrities take a good look at how to help the poor of the world create their own wealth.

Bernstein on the History of Trade

Thu, 01 May 2008 09:18:00 EDT

"William Bernstein talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the history of trade. Drawing on the insights from his recent book, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, Bernstein talks about the magic of spices, how trade in sugar explain why Jews ended up in Manhattan, the real political economy of the Boston Tea Party and the demise of the Corn Laws in England."

Bail Bondsmen, Bounty Hunters and Private Prisons

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:21:00 EDT

"America�s free enterprise system is at work in many aspects of the criminal justice system. Profit-making bail bondsmen who help defendants post the money needed for their freedom pending trial are common in the U.S. but virtually unheard of across the rest of the world. Bounty hunters lured by big payouts find criminals who have previously eluded the police. And private companies are building and operating prisons and detention facilities."

Roberts on the Least Pleasant Jobs

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:33:00 EDT

"EconTalk host Russ Roberts talks about the claim that for capitalism to succeed there have to be people at the bottom to do the unpleasant tasks and that the rich thrive because of the suffering of those at the bottom. He critiques the idea that capitalism is a zero sum game where to get ahead, someone has to fall back. He also looks at the evolution of the least pleasant jobs over time and how technology interacts with rising productivity to make the least pleasant jobs more pleasant."

Coyne on Exporting Democracy after War

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:40:00 EDT

"Christopher Coyne of West Virginia University and George Mason University's Mercatus Center talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his book, After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy. They talk about the successes and failures of America's attempts to export democracy after a war."

Is Health Care a Right?

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:49:00 EDT

In this podcast economics Professor Russell Roberts of George Mason University debates a physician who thinks health care is a right and the government should provide it.

The Economics of Tolerance

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 08:18:00 EST

With Will Wilkinson: "When the economy's good, Americans tend to act better toward their fellow citizens. But commentator Will Wilkinson says in a sliding economy, we tend to slam the gates of opportunity."

Is Feminism on the Wane?

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:01:00 EST

Feminism has come to mean many things to many people. Carrie Lukas, Vice President of the Independent Women's Forum, argues that feminism was once a movement of equality under the law and equality of opportunity. She says it now often represents expansion of government to achieve dubious ends.

Supremes to Hear Second Amendment Case

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:15:00 EST

With Robert A. Levy: "For the first time in nearly 70 years, the Supreme Court has agreed to examine the meaning of the Second Amendment. That's good news for all Americans who would like to be able to defend themselves where they live and sleep. And it's especially good news for residents of Washington, D.C., which has been the murder capital of the nation despite an outright ban on all functional firearms since 1976."

Fat on the Farm Bill

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:23:00 EST

By Dr. Sallie James: The Farm Bill is the ultimate example of concentrated benefits and diffused costs. Farm subsidies are hard to justify on their merits, and even harder to justify when they go to massive corporate farms.

Free Kareem!

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:19:00 EST

Dr. Tom G. Palmer, Cato's Vice President for International Programs, speaks out against the imprisonment of a young Egyptian blogger. November 9th marks the one year anniversary of Kareem's incarceration. For more information about the global effort to free Kareem, and about rallies in your area, visit www.freekareem.org .

Understanding Insurgency

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:48:00 EST

Malou Innocent, a Foreign Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute, describes the problematic nature of insurgency and argues that fighting them is tricky, and should only be undertaken when vital national interests are at stake. The insurgency in Iraq, she argues, does not qualify.

McCraw on Schumpeter, Innovation, and Creative Destruction

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:45:00 EDT

"Thomas McCraw of Harvard University talks about the ideas of Joseph Schumpeter from his book, Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction. McCraw and EconTalk host Russ Roberts discuss innovation, business strategy, the role of mathematics in economics, and Schumpeter's vision of competition embodied in his most important idea--creative destruction."

Robert Frank on Economics Education and the Economic Naturalist

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:35:00 EDT

"Frank argues that the traditional way of teaching economics via graphs and equations often fails to make any impression on students. In this conversation with host Russ Roberts, Frank outlines an alternative approach from his new book, where students find interesting questions and enigmas from everyday life. They then try to explain them using the economic way of thinking."

Reviewing the Republican Debate

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:03:00 EDT

With David Boaz

The Constitution of No Authority

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:48:00 EDT

The abolitionist hero Lysander Spooner presents a radical, even mind-bending, legal analysis, arguing that the Constitution of the United States of America has no authority over those who did not explicitly sign it. Randy Barnett, a law professor at Georgetown University, responds to Spooner's charge in his book, Restoring the Lost Constitution.

Honoring Milton Friedman

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:49:00 EDT

Featuring Edward Crane