Monday, March 4, 2013

Think Tank Fact of the Day: Cato Comedians

Comedians Penn & Teller are fellows at the libertarian Cato Institute.  No joke.  They are both self-proclaimed libertarians.

Penn Jillette and Teller (born Raymond Joseph Teller), are both H.L. Mencken Research Fellows.

The duo are magicians, illusionists, comedians, and writers.

The Cato Institute is featured prominently in the Penn & Teller Showtime TV series Bullshit! that aired from 2003 to 2010.

Here is a 1996 commentary by Teller on the V-chip, technology used in TVs which allows the blocking of programs based on their ratings category.

Here is a 2011 Cato podcast featuring Penn.  Here is a Cato video of Penn talking about capitalism, magic, and morality.

Interestingly, economist and philosopher F.A. Hayek (1899-1992) is also listed as a fellow at the Cato Institute.  His biography on Cato's site notes that he was a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the think tank.  Cato's auditorium is named after him.