The Cato Weekly Podcast

Why is American health care so expensive and complicated? Michael F. Cannon argues that its roots can be traced back to a often forgotten feature of the federal tax code: a supposed tax break that actually mandates expensive, low-quality health insurance.

Rikki Schlott sits down with Cannon to unpack how the tax code reshaped our health care system, distorted labor and health care markets, and left workers with less control over how their own compensation is spent.

Read Michael's article "The Original Sin of US Health Policy": https://www.cato.org/study/original-sin-us-health-policy

Producer: Barbara Galletti
Editor: Darren Walker
Post Production: Sedona LaMarre
Director of Photography: Jonathan Fields
Audio Engineer: Cecil Sherman
Assistant Editor: Lester Romero
Assistant Producer: Elcid Demonteverde
Motion Graphics: Jonathan Fields
Original Music: Cecil Sherman
Executive Producer: Kristina Kendall
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Housing, healthcare, groceries, and the cost of living give us plenty to worry about. But how bad was life before modern conveniences transformed human life?

Paul Meany sits down with Chelsea Follett, author of The Grim Old Days: An Introduction to the Preindustrial Past, to explore what everyday life was really like before antibiotics, refrigeration, indoor plumbing, and modern sanitation. From romanticized visions of the past to the extraordinary improvements we often take for granted, they examine why understanding that history matters for how we see the world today.

Buy Chelsea's new book here: https://www.cato.org/books/grim-old-days

Producer: Barbara Galletti
Post Production: Sedona LaMarre
Audio Engineer: Cecil Sherman
Original Music: Cecil Sherman
Director of Photography: Darren Walker
Assistant Editors: Lester Romero and Shaneen Gevorgiz
Assistant Producer: Elcid Demonteverde
Motion Graphics: Jonathan Fields
Executive Producer: Kristina Kendall
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everything about the Trump administration’s oil deal with Venezuela is troubling: It was negotiated in secret, raises questions about its legality and transparency, and was made with Venezuela’s unelected interim government.

Ian Vasquez joins Laura Bondank-Harmon to explain why the agreement could undermine Venezuela’s democratic transition.

Read more of Ian's work here: https://www.cato.org/blog/everything-about-us-venezuela-oil-deal-troublesome

Producer: Barbara Galletti
Post Production: Sedona LaMarre
Audio Engineer: Cecil Sherman
Original Music: Cecil Sherman
Director of Photography: Darren Walker
Assistant Editor: Lester Romero
Motion Graphics: Jonathan Fields
Executive Producer: Kristina Kendall
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Young Americans are leaving home, finding jobs, buying homes, starting families, and saving for retirement later than previous generations. But is this a problem with young people, or are bad policies getting in their way?

Rikki Schlott sits down with Cato’s Ryan Bourne to explore how regulations, inflation, and government intervention can make these steps into adulthood harder and more expensive.

Read Cato's "Handbook on Affordability" here:
https://www.cato.org/handbook-affordability

Read Rikki's article "The Peter Pan State: How Bad Policy Delays Adulthood" here:
https://www.cato.org/free-society/spring/summer-2026/peter-pan-state-how-bad-policy-delays-adulthood

Producer & Video Editor: Barbara Galletti
Post Production: Sedona LaMarre
Audio Engineer: Cecil Sherman
Original Music: Cecil Sherman
Director of Photography: Jonathan Fields
Assistant Producer: Elcid Demonteverde
Assistant Editor: Lester Romero
Motion Graphics: Jonathan Fields
Executive Producer: Kristina Kendall
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Socialism is making a comeback in American politics, but do people actually know what "socialism" means?

In this episode of the Cato Weekly Podcast, Paul Meany sits down with Marian Tupy to unpack the rise of “democratic socialism,” the growth of the welfare state, and the crucial difference between government assistance and government control.

Read Marian's article here:
https://www.cato.org/commentary/bill-mahers-category-error-socialism
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.