Sphere Podcast: Recent Episodes
Cato Institute
Sphere, a collaboration between the Cato Institute and the Brookings Institution, is an online debate series designed to create the gold standard for civil discussions of policy issues and political philosophy based on common values and shared objectives.
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When it comes to the government’s budget, it seems clear that our approval and appropriation processes don’t work. As of May 2024, the U.S. Treasury reported that the current national debt is $34.58 trillion—and this staggering sum keeps growing. Is all this debt driving us toward a crisis or not? And what, if anything, should be done about it? In this episode, Romina Boccia, Director of Budget and Entitlement Policy at the Cato Institute, Molly Reynolds, Senior Fellow in Governance Policy at the Brookings Institution, and Veronique de Rugy, George Gibbs Chair in Political Economy and Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center discuss government debt and spending.
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The war on drugs is America’s longest war, and it continues to this day. Most agree the War on Drugs has been a failure and public sentiment is shifting. Today, state legislatures in the U.S. are passing laws legalizing and decriminalizing drugs. Regarding harm reduction, what public policy on drugs will help people the most? In this episode, John Hudak, senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution; Jeffrey Miron, vice president for research at the Cato Institute; and Sally Satel, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute discuss: which public policy on drugs most effectively prevents harm: prohibition or legalization?
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Immigration policy has become something of a political football. Some are proposing more open pathways to citizenship. While others have been more concerned about protecting people, who are already in the United States. In this episode, Dany Bahar, Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, at the Brookings Institution; Alex Nowrasteh, Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute; and Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies discuss: what should the United States’ immigration policy be?
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What has the election revealed about the country? And what does this say about who Americans really are, what they want and where we are headed? In this episode, Elaine Kamarck, Founding Director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution; P. J. O’Rourke, bestselling author and H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute; and Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor for National Review and visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute discuss: what has 2020 taught us about democracy?
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Police are supposed to preserve and protect, but problems in policing have begun to dominate the national debate. And what will the resulting policy changes look like? And will these reforms address what is going on? In this episode, Clark Neily, vice president for criminal justice at the Cato Institute; Arthur Rizer, director of criminal justice and civil liberties at R Street; and Rashawn Ray, David M. Rubenstein Fellow – Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution discuss: what would meaningful police reform look like?
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Some say in this election the very soul of the country is at stake. Others want to make law and order the primary issue. But what about debt, spending and war? Henry Olsen, Washington Post columnist and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center; Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; and Emily Ekins, research fellow and director of polling at the Cato Institute will discuss: are Americans talking about the most important issues this election cycle?* Watch the Episode * Project Sphere
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How concerned should we be with wealth or income inequality in the United States? Are there other concerns (like burdensome regulations) that ought to take precedence? And how much of the economic inequality we see in the United States is driven by differences in opportunities? And, in all of these cases, what’s the proper response in the form of public policy? Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute and Jonathan Rauch of the Brookings Institution tackle these questions.
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The federal government already provides a great number of programs to help people attend college. Are the rising costs of higher education due, in part, to the federal government’s credit availability to students? Is affordability the leading barrier to college, or is it actually college completion? In this podcast, Neal McCluskey, the Director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute and Michael Hansen, the Herman and George R. Brown Chair and Director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution will discuss whether there is a proper role for government in higher education.
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As families try to balance work and childcare, a popular answer is to have government mandate paid family leave. Will mandating paid leave help families or could a law hurt the very workers it is meant to help? Veronique de Rugy, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center and adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute; Rachel Greszler, research fellow at the Heritage Foundation; and Camille Busette, director and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution will discuss in this episode: should the United States mandate paid family leave?
Learn More:
- "COVID-19 Is Not a Good Reason to Enact a Permanent Federal Paid-Leave Entitlement," By Veronique de Rugy and Donald J. Boudreaux
- "How to Claim a Paid-Leave Victory That Isn’t," By Veronique de Rugy
- "Parental Leave: Is There a Case for Government Action?" By Vanessa Brown Calder
- "Poll: 74% of Americans Support Federal Paid Leave Program When Costs Not Mentioned — 60% Oppose if They Got Smaller Pay Raises in the Future," By Emily Ekins
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War has long been the subject of vigorous debate. The United States Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war and appoints the president as commander-in-chief of the military. When it comes to war, who holds the power to ultimately decide the actions of the United States? Gene Healy, vice president at the Cato Institute; David B. Rivkin Jr., partner at BakerHostetler; and Margaret L. Taylor, governance studies fellow at the Brookings Institution will discuss in this episode: does the president have the power to start a war?
Learn More:
- "The Long Road Ahead for the Congressional Resolutions on Iran," By Scott R. Anderson, Margaret Taylor
- "On "Imminence": Absence of Evidence is Evidence of Absence," By Gene Healy
- "Repeal Old AUMFs and Salt the Earth," By Gene Healy
- "Congress Declares War, but Only the President Can Make It," By David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey
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America’s drug war has been a part of our lives for more than 100 years. With legalization and decriminalization of marijuana in an increasing number of states, conflicts have emerged on drug policy and power. To what extent can and should the states act independently of the federal government on an issue with national ramifications? Cato’s Trevor Burrus, Heritage’s Paul Larkin, and Brookings’s Jonathan Rauch will discuss in this episode: should drug prohibition be ended nationwide?
Learn More:
- "How Drug Prohibition Created the Fentanyl Crisis," by Trevor Burrus
- "Washington Versus Washington (and Colorado): Why the States Should Lead on Marijuana Policy," by Jonathan Rauch
- "The Medical Marijuana Delusion," by Paul J. Larkin Jr.
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In general, are most laws and regulations constitutional? Should the courts do more to enforce constitutional limits, or should they defer to the political branches unless there are blatant violations? Cato's Ilya Shapiro and the Constitutional Accountability Center’s Elizabeth Wydra are joined by participating moderator Jonathan Rauch of the Brookings Institution to explore the role of the Supreme Court when laws conflict with the U.S. Constitution.
Learn More:
- "Crisis at the Supreme Court," by Ilya Shapiro
- "How the Supreme Court Undermines Its Own Legitimacy," by Ilya Shapiro
- "The Supreme Court: Too Important," by Ilya Shapiro
- "Against Judicial Restraint," by Ilya Shapiro
- "Chief Justice John Roberts Is under Tremendous Pressure," by Elizabeth Wydra
- "Will Trump Ever Face Consequences?," by Elizabeth Wydra
- "The First Magistrate in Foreign Pay," by Brianne Gorod and Elizabeth Wydra
- "Those Who Deny Birthright Citizenship Get the Constitution Wrong," by Elizabeth Wydra
- "No, Justice Stevens, We Don’t Need to Repeal the Second Amendment," by Elizabeth Wydra
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What principles should guide the decisions to intervene militarily? What factors should weigh most heavily? Cato's Emma Ashford, CSIS’s Melanie Marlowe, and Brookings's Tamara Wittes discuss whether the U.S. is too quick to use force in other countries.
Learn More:
- "New Voices in Grand Strategy: Power and Pragmatism: Reforming American Foreign Policy for the 21st Century," by Emma Ashford
- "Unbalanced: Rethinking America's Commitment to the Middle East," by Emma Ashford
- "Trump’s Wisdom on Syria and Afghanistan vs. His Rashness on Venezuela," by Emma Ashford
- "Iran’s Revolution and the Problem of Autocratic Allies," by Tamara Cofman Wittes
- "Getting America out of Middle East Purgatory," by Mara Karlin and Tamara Cofman Wittes
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