I’ve been listening to the podcasts from the Cato institute recently, and I’ve been very impressed. Cato is a libertarian think tank, and I was a little apprehensive of what their editorial tone would be. So many libertarian outlets are, shall we say, a little strident. And that’s coming from someone with many of those sorts of leanings… Well, I’ve really enjoyed the podcasts I’ve listened to so far, they have been very balanced, and all of them are obviously done with people that have done a lot of research into what they are talking about. I’m willing to bet that most of the readers of this blog would enjoy them as they rarely stray into economic issues, but have instead focussed on foreign policy, politics, and the general ineptitude of the current administration. They have been emphasizing the less controversial aspects of libertarianism like civil liberties, and avoiding massive, world wide conflicts. To be sure, there are the occasional topics that will ruffle some feathers like public school reform and social security reform, but most of it is, dare I say it, mainstream… In particular I have enjoyed their discussion of the Iran situation, how Dems are actually more “libertarian” than the republicans (in some ways of course), dissecting various subsidy programs (corporate welfare anyone?), and just general level headed assessments of the political scene in general. The speakers have also shown the freedom to speak in ways that are, if not actually against the Cato party line, at least not in agreement with it. I encourage anyone that is interested in foreign affairs and politics in general to check them out. You can find them at cato’s website, or my preferred method, in the iTunes store…
Isaac