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Full event here: http://www.cato.org/events/our-republican-constitution-securing-liberty-sovereignty-we-people The Constitution begins with the words “We the People.” But from our earliest days there have been two competing notions of “the People,” leading to two very different constitutional visions. Those who view “We the People” collectively think popular sovereignty resides in the people as a group, which leads them to favor a democratic constitution that allows the will of the people to be expressed by majority rule. In contrast, those who think popular sovereignty resides in the people as individuals contend that a republican constitution is needed to secure the preexisting inalienable rights of “We the People,” each and every one, against abuses by the majority. In his latest book, with a foreword by George Will, Randy Barnett explains why “We the People” would greatly benefit from the renewal of our republican Constitution, and how this can be accomplished in the courts and the political arena.

We are witnessing the dawn of a robotics revolution. In the future, robots will undergo exponential growth in terms of their ability and application. What does that mean for human employment and productivity growth? What about incomes, leisure time, and the overall standard of living? Randy Bateman believes that, as was the case in the Industrial Revolution, robots will initially assist rather than displace human workers. A

Ilya Somin's Democracy and Political Ignorance has profoundly influenced libertarian thinking about voters and elections. More generally, the 2016 primary season has satisfied few and left the electorate choosing between two highly disliked presidential candidates. The appearance of the second edition of Democracy and Political Ignorance offers a chance to bring its author back to Cato for a broad discussion of his premises and conclusions in light of the 2016 voting. Does the election so far confirm the ideas in Democracy and Political Ignorance? What does the election so far tell us about the possibilities of limited government? Is populism a natural outgrowth, or a denial, of voter ignorance?

View full event here: http://www.cato.org/events/americas-invisible-wars-0 The public often seems blissfully unaware of America's wars, reflecting a blurring of the line between war and peace. The ubiquity of the "Global War on Terror," the emergence of non-state actors, and technological advances have contributed to a situation in which the United States is involved in a range of conflicts around the world, most of which are invisible to the people who pay for them.

View the Full event here: http://www.cato.org/events/do-landowners-have-right-challenge-federal-regulation-their-property-preview-army-corps Four years ago, in Sackett v. EPA (2012), the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the EPA's effort to deny judicial review of its determination that a rural lot where an Idaho couple was building their home was a federal wetland. The Army Corps of Engineers makes tens of thousands of similar wetlands determinations each year under the Clean Water Act (CWA), but it claims that Sackett doesn't apply because these determinations are legally different from the EPA's orders. On March 30, the Supreme Court will hear argument in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co. to decide whether landowners have access to court to challenge agency rulings that their property contains wetlands that are subject to federal regulation.

Penn Jillette spoke at this year's Benefactor Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada. Penn Jillette is the H.L. Mencken research fellow, is the louder, bigger half of the magic/comedy team Penn & Teller. He and Teller co-host a new series on Showtime that looks to debunk junk science, scares and scams with reason and logic. Jillette writes the "Final Word" column for Regulation magazine. Produced by Evan Banks, Mark McDaniel and Tess Terrible.

Penn Jillette spoke at this year's Benefactor Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada. Penn Jillette is the H.L. Mencken research fellow, is the louder, bigger half of the magic/comedy team Penn & Teller. He and Teller co-host a new series on Showtime that looks to debunk junk science, scares and scams with reason and logic. Jillette writes the “Final Word” column for Regulation magazine. Produced by Evan Banks, Mark McDaniel and Tess Terrible.

View full event here: http://www.cato.org/events/promise-pitfalls-economic-sanctions Economic sanctions have become a key component of the U.S. response to any crisis. Indeed, the Obama administration has imposed sanctions on countries as diverse as Russia, Iran, and Egypt, drawing on the strength and global reach of the U.S. financial system to coerce these states. There is no denying that sanctions can be powerful tools of statecraft. Yet the evidence also suggests a more complicated picture. Not only are sanctions often ineffective, they can also carry significant costs for U.S. businesses. In the most recent case—those levied against Russia for its aggression in Ukraine—it is unclear whether sanctions have produced any political change. At the same time, other nations are learning from the American example, experimenting with their own sanctions.

"What the President Should Do" is a new series by the Cato Institute discussing what President Obama can do using executive authority his final year in office to make the U.S. a freer and happier place. More from Patrick Eddington on the topic of Government Surveillance: Produced by Caleb O. Brown, Cory Cooper, and Tess Terrible.

Reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III substance or lower would have a significant benefits to the budding marijuana industry and individual users. Marijuana deregulation sits squarely within the control of the executive. The president should use his executive powers to allow for intelligent enforcement for drug policy without eroding the rule of law. "What the President Should Do" is a new series by the Cato Institute discussing what President Obama can do using executive authority his final year in office to make the U.S. a freer and happier place. More from Ilya Shapiro on the topic of declassifying Marijuana: http://www.cato.org/multimedia/daily-podcast/presidential-power-reschedule-marijuana http://www.cato.org/research/drug-war http://www.cato.org/people/ilya-shapiro Produced by Caleb O. Brown, Cory Cooper, and Tess Terrible.

Liberal democracy improves foreign policy. That, at least, is the view of most political scientists and the idea behind the U.S. Constitution's assignment of war powers to both executive and legislative branches. The need for public consent, the theory goes, prevents leaders from launching reckless wars. Divided power and a free press generate debate that exposes bad ideas. U.S. politics inhibits foolish wars. In a new book, Deceit on the Road to War: Presidents, Politics, and American Democracy, John Schuessler darkens that story. The need for broad support in democracies, he argues, also encourages leaders to deceive the public. Examining the U.S. debate about entry into World War II, the Vietnam War, and the recent Iraq War, Schuessler finds that presidents used information advantages over the public to manipulate it into war. The result was good in World War II, but this history suggests that democracies, at least this one, might not be so wise about starting wars. View the full event here: http://www.cato.org/events/deceit-road-war-presidents-politics-american-democracy.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations were launched to great fanfare in mid-2013 with the pronouncement that a comprehensive deal would be reached by the end of 2014 on a "single tank of gas." But after more than two years and 10 rounds of negotiations, an agreement is nowhere in sight and substantive differences remain between the parties. Despite a retreat from the original level of ambition, skepticism is mounting on both sides of the Atlantic that a deal will be reached anytime soon. What are the prospects for fulfilling the promise of a comprehensive trade and investment deal between the United States and the European Union? View the full event here: http://www.cato.org/events/will-transatlantic-trade-investment-partnership-live-its-promise

After 6 years of negotiations, a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement among 12 countries on 4 continents was struck in Atlanta this month. The deal, should it be ratified and implemented, would constitute the world's largest trade agreement since the Uruguay Round produced the World Trade Organization in 1995. But ratification is not assured. Objections to the TPP's terms from Congressional Democrats and Republicans alike ensure that 2016, in the midst of the political debates, elections, and conventions, will provide the backdrop for a national referendum on the TPP and on trade and globalization more broadly. View the full event here: http://www.cato.org/events/trans-pacific-partnership-uncertain-path-agreement-ratification-implementation

In late November world leaders will gather in Paris at the United Nations Climate Change Conference for what is viewed as the last great chance for a sweeping international agreement to limit carbon dioxide emissions. The consequences of this gathering may be enormous. View the full event here: http://www.cato.org/events/preparing-paris-what-expect-uns-2015-climate-change-conference

It has been a dizzying year in the world of surveillance: In June, nearly two years after Edward Snowden shocked the world with unprecedented leaks revealing the scope of National Security Agency spying, Congress moved to limit the bulk collection of domestic communications data via the USA FREEDOM Act — first introduced at a Cato conference in 2013 — but how much privacy protection will the law's reforms truly provide? The Cato Institute's Second Annual Surveillance Conference explores this question and more with the top scholars, litigators, intelligence officials, activists, and technologists working at the intersection of privacy, technology, and national security. View the full event here: http://www.cato.org/events/second-annual-cato-surveillance-conference