Predominantly Muslim societies suffer from low levels of political, economic, and civil liberties. Authoritarian political regimes, rigid social structures, and radical religious movements that suppress human liberty in the name of God loom large in the Muslim world. Is this liberty deficit due to a “dark age” of Islam, which can be overcome with reform and a different religious interpretation? Can Islam make its peace with liberal democracy, as Christianity and other religions did after their o...
Feb 15, 2017•1 hr 22 min
If you own a cell phone, you’re carrying a miniature tracking device in your pocket — a fact law enforcement agencies are increasingly taking advantage of to investigate crimes and monitor suspected criminals. “Cell-site simulators” or “Stingrays” — first designed for military use, but increasingly in the hands of local police forces — are the technology that makes it possible. Yet those agencies have fought fiercely against efforts to inform the public about how they are used, and a recent bipa...
Feb 15, 2017•1 hr 23 min
If you own a cell phone, you’re carrying a miniature tracking device in your pocket — a fact law enforcement agencies are increasingly taking advantage of to investigate crimes and monitor suspected criminals. “Cell-site simulators” or “Stingrays” — first designed for military use, but increasingly in the hands of local police forces — are the technology that makes it possible. Yet those agencies have fought fiercely against efforts to inform the public about how they are used, and a recent bipa...
Feb 15, 2017•42 min
During the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump promised to “open up” libel laws to make it easier to sue news organizations. He also criticized political donors for fostering corruption and misrule. Later, as president-elect, Trump criticized First Amendment protections accorded to flag burning. His critics say these statements indicate President Trump may seriously undermine free speech. His defenders doubt that, and note that Trump has actually fought censorship by confronting political c...
Feb 03, 2017•1 hr 23 min
House Republicans have proposed to replace the corporate income tax with a destination-based cash flow tax. Proponents say this new tax is desirable because it is “border adjustable,” which means that exports would be exempt from tax and all imports would be subject to tax. Critics, by contrast, say such a tax violates the rules of the World Trade Organization and worry that an adverse WTO decision could set the stage for a value-added tax. Moreover, there are concerns that destination-based tax...
Feb 02, 2017•32 min
The 2016 election saw new arguments over the old ideas of populism and nationalism. Both had seemed doomed in this new era of technocracy and globalization. New research from Democracy Fund Voice examines how populism, nationalism, and immigration affected the 2016 election. Many voters who strongly favored Donald Trump feel alienated from government, community, and a changed and changing America. What are the implications of these frustrations and fears for the Trump administration and its crit...
Jan 26, 2017•1 hr 29 min
With the potential repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act comes an opportunity for Congress to replace it with reforms that could dramatically improve health care by expanding choice, lowering costs, and improving quality. The discipline of economics can be of tremendous help in defining the contours of a plan that would accomplish those goals. It can also help predict whether any ideas from the vast array of proposed reforms can plausibly achieve these outcomes. Of the leading...
Jan 26, 2017•37 min
Is the modern welfare state still viable? Can it be reformed? Or do we need a new model that relies less on government redistribution and regulation and more on free markets and competition? In his latest book James Bartholomew examines welfare systems around the world and documents the strength and weaknesses of their approaches to poverty, education, health care, retirement, and other issues. Bartholomew offers a new framework for expanding liberty, while battling Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...
Jan 26, 2017•1 hr 13 min
Donald Trump's inconsistency on foreign policy as a candidate has left experts confounded about what to expect over the next four years. Nevertheless, as he takes office, Trump will inherit a number of serious foreign policy challenges from his predecessor. How the Trump administration handles five key decisions, in particular, will shape the course of foreign policy over the next four years. Will President Trump decide to intervene more aggressively in Syria? choose confrontation or cooperation...
Jan 17, 2017•1 hr 33 min
Ten years after controlling the executive branch and both chambers of Congress, the Republican Party has once again been entrusted to take the reins of power under a nominally unified brand.Yet, the widely covered initiatives of the incoming GOP president have been roundly praised and condemned with equal fervor. Likewise, for advocates of limited government, free markets and a peaceful view towards international relations, the pitch has been mixed. On one hand, there is a cautious optimism for ...
Jan 12, 2017•51 min
More men in their prime are out of work than ever before. In his new book Men without Work , noted political economist Nicholas Eberstadt describes a new population of men—beyond the “employed” and “unemployed”—who are “unemployed but not looking for work.” Eberstadt concludes that researchers have been too quick to blame joblessness on general economic conditions rather than the personal behaviors and motivations of those men who have given up on work. David Bier, immigration policy analyst at ...
Jan 10, 2017•1 hr 6 min
The United States’ historical advantages cause its people to misperceive international affairs, according to Why America Misunderstands the World: National Experience and Roots of Misperception . The author, Paul Pillar, who spent most of his career interpreting foreign actions at the CIA, argues that intelligence analysis has limited impact on how U.S. policy-makers look at the world. American culture, which comes from historical experience, instead plays the leading role. That experience has b...
Dec 15, 2016•1 hr 36 min
Eight years ago, Barack Obama arrived in Washington pledging to reverse the dramatic expansion of state surveillance his predecessor had presided over in the name of fighting terrorism. Instead, the Obama administration saw the Bush era's "collect it all" approach to surveillance become still more firmly entrenched. Meanwhile, the advanced spying technologies once limited to intelligence agencies have been gradually trickling down to local police departments. From the high-profile tussle between...
Dec 14, 2016•1 hr 24 min
Eight years ago, Barack Obama arrived in Washington pledging to reverse the dramatic expansion of state surveillance his predecessor had presided over in the name of fighting terrorism. Instead, the Obama administration saw the Bush era's "collect it all" approach to surveillance become still more firmly entrenched. Meanwhile, the advanced spying technologies once limited to intelligence agencies have been gradually trickling down to local police departments. From the high-profile tussle between...
Dec 14, 2016•27 min
Eight years ago, Barack Obama arrived in Washington pledging to reverse the dramatic expansion of state surveillance his predecessor had presided over in the name of fighting terrorism. Instead, the Obama administration saw the Bush era's "collect it all" approach to surveillance become still more firmly entrenched. Meanwhile, the advanced spying technologies once limited to intelligence agencies have been gradually trickling down to local police departments. From the high-profile tussle between...
Dec 14, 2016•27 min
Eight years ago, Barack Obama arrived in Washington pledging to reverse the dramatic expansion of state surveillance his predecessor had presided over in the name of fighting terrorism. Instead, the Obama administration saw the Bush era's "collect it all" approach to surveillance become still more firmly entrenched. Meanwhile, the advanced spying technologies once limited to intelligence agencies have been gradually trickling down to local police departments. From the high-profile tussle between...
Dec 14, 2016•1 hr 15 min
Eight years ago, Barack Obama arrived in Washington pledging to reverse the dramatic expansion of state surveillance his predecessor had presided over in the name of fighting terrorism. Instead, the Obama administration saw the Bush era's "collect it all" approach to surveillance become still more firmly entrenched. Meanwhile, the advanced spying technologies once limited to intelligence agencies have been gradually trickling down to local police departments. From the high-profile tussle between...
Dec 14, 2016•24 min
Eight years ago, Barack Obama arrived in Washington pledging to reverse the dramatic expansion of state surveillance his predecessor had presided over in the name of fighting terrorism. Instead, the Obama administration saw the Bush era's "collect it all" approach to surveillance become still more firmly entrenched. Meanwhile, the advanced spying technologies once limited to intelligence agencies have been gradually trickling down to local police departments. From the high-profile tussle between...
Dec 14, 2016•30 min
Eight years ago, Barack Obama arrived in Washington pledging to reverse the dramatic expansion of state surveillance his predecessor had presided over in the name of fighting terrorism. Instead, the Obama administration saw the Bush era's "collect it all" approach to surveillance become still more firmly entrenched. Meanwhile, the advanced spying technologies once limited to intelligence agencies have been gradually trickling down to local police departments. From the high-profile tussle between...
Dec 14, 2016•1 hr 14 min
Eight years ago, Barack Obama arrived in Washington pledging to reverse the dramatic expansion of state surveillance his predecessor had presided over in the name of fighting terrorism. Instead, the Obama administration saw the Bush era's "collect it all" approach to surveillance become still more firmly entrenched. Meanwhile, the advanced spying technologies once limited to intelligence agencies have been gradually trickling down to local police departments. From the high-profile tussle between...
Dec 14, 2016•1 hr 20 min
December 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the emergence of 15 independent post-Soviet states, including Russia. The political elite of the new Russia was to play a key role in a peaceful end of the communist empire that threatened nuclear Armageddon for almost half of a century. The world greeted the entry of an independent democratic Russia onto the international stage with genuine enthusiasm and great hope. Some even believed that the world was enterin...
Dec 13, 2016•1 hr 30 min
North Korea’s nuclear ambitions have persisted through the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations. Indeed, the North is expected to possess as many as 100 nuclear warheads by 2020. Pyongyang is also developing the missile capability to strike U.S. bases in the Pacific and someday even the American homeland. Virtually no one believes that the Kim regime will voluntarily relinquish its growing arsenal. Many American policymakers see China as the best means to pressure North Korea to change cours...
Dec 13, 2016•1 hr 24 min
In the years since the financial crisis, lawmakers and regulators have turned their attention to the financial sector, passing new laws and imposing new restrictions throughout the sector. Many of these provisions are now being challenged in the courts. In MetLife v. FSOC , for example, the insurance giant has taken on the government’s controversial Systemically Important Financial Institution (SIFI) designation process, winning in the lower court and now pursuing an appeal. And in Timbervest v....
Dec 09, 2016•40 min
The freedom of speech and the freedom of the press are at the core of a free society, yet we’re increasingly discovering that, while in theory, almost everyone believes in freedom of speech, in practice, few are committed to the policies that truly safeguard it. On the campaign trail, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump called for “closing down” parts of the Internet as an anti-ISIS measure. Trump further claimed that freedom of the press was detrimental to the fight against terrorism, and dem...
Dec 08, 2016•1 hr 26 min
After another year of protests and unrest across the country, criminal justice reform remains a contentious issue. Some cities have experienced an increase in homicide rates, police departments are under intense scrutiny for their handling of police shootings, and prisoners are protesting living conditions. Meanwhile, policymakers are making scant progress to roll back mass incarceration. Given the decentralized nature of the American criminal justice system, with some 18,000 law enforcement age...
Dec 07, 2016•1 hr 4 min
After another year of protests and unrest across the country, criminal justice reform remains a contentious issue. Some cities have experienced an increase in homicide rates, police departments are under intense scrutiny for their handling of police shootings, and prisoners are protesting living conditions. Meanwhile, policymakers are making scant progress to roll back mass incarceration. Given the decentralized nature of the American criminal justice system, with some 18,000 law enforcement age...
Dec 07, 2016•28 min
After another year of protests and unrest across the country, criminal justice reform remains a contentious issue. Some cities have experienced an increase in homicide rates, police departments are under intense scrutiny for their handling of police shootings, and prisoners are protesting living conditions. Meanwhile, policymakers are making scant progress to roll back mass incarceration. Given the decentralized nature of the American criminal justice system, with some 18,000 law enforcement age...
Dec 07, 2016•1 hr 29 min
After another year of protests and unrest across the country, criminal justice reform remains a contentious issue. Some cities have experienced an increase in homicide rates, police departments are under intense scrutiny for their handling of police shootings, and prisoners are protesting living conditions. Meanwhile, policymakers are making scant progress to roll back mass incarceration. Given the decentralized nature of the American criminal justice system, with some 18,000 law enforcement age...
Dec 07, 2016•1 hr
After another year of protests and unrest across the country, criminal justice reform remains a contentious issue. Some cities have experienced an increase in homicide rates, police departments are under intense scrutiny for their handling of police shootings, and prisoners are protesting living conditions. Meanwhile, policymakers are making scant progress to roll back mass incarceration. Given the decentralized nature of the American criminal justice system, with some 18,000 law enforcement age...
Dec 07, 2016•1 hr 12 min
Each year unelected federal administrators write thousands of regulations possessing the force of law. What do these civil servants know about the American people whom they ostensibly serve? Not much, according to this enlightening and disturbing study. The authors surveyed federal agency officials, congressional and White House staffers, and employees of various policy-making organizations about their attitudes toward and knowledge of the public. They found a great difference between what offic...
Dec 01, 2016•1 hr 25 min
