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Words & Numbers — Education
Words & Numbers

Words & Numbers is one of the highest-rated economics podcasts in the world. Each episode, Antony Davies and James R. Harrigan dig into economics, political science, and current events to explain what’s actually happening and why it matters.

Copyright: © Creative Commons

Latest Episodes:

Episode 162: The Law of Demanding More Supplies Mar 18, 2020

Show notes

The laws of economics aren’t social conventions that we can choose to follow or ignore as it suits us. When demand for a product outstrips supply, the price of the product rises. Calling it, “price gouging,” and outlawing doesn’t make the price increase go away. It simply hides it in other forms. When it comes to price gouging laws, we only think we are choosing between a high price and a low price. We are actually choosing between a high price and a shortage.

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https://isi.org/cooperation-and-coercion-preorder/

Quick Hits

Dayton University Pepper Sprays Its Students https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200311/police-fire-pepper-balls-at-disorderly-crowd-near-university-of-dayton-after-coronavirus-dorm-closing-announcement

People Calling 911 for Toilet Paper

https://www.fox5ny.com/news/do-not-call-911-just-because-you-ran-out-of-toilet-paper-oregon-police-say

Foolishness of the Week

Student Suspended for Selling Hand Sanitizer

https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/uk-teen-suspended-from-school-for-charging-students-for-hand-sanitizer/

Topic of the Week

Craigslist Gas Black-Market

https://money.cnn.com/2012/11/05/news/economy/craigslist-gas-sandy/index.html

Fire Man Arrested for Selling Gas Post Hurricane Sandy

https://www.nj.com/essex/2014/12/jury_selection_to_begin_for_east_orange_firefighter_accused_of_selling_gas_after_hurricane_sandy_fue.html

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 161: Why Is It So Hard to Sue the Police? Mar 11, 2020

Show notes

When a person harms another, the harmed party can go to the courts to seek redress. But the Supreme Court sets police and prosecutors above the law. If someone who works in these professions harms you, you will likely be prohibited from suing the person. This week on Words & Numbers, Clark Neily joins us to discuss the ramifications of immunity protections.

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Get your copy of Cooperation and Coercion now!

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Quick Hits

Price Gouging

https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/tech-news-briefing/amazon-works-to-remove-price-gouging/C761B7C8-0535-40E7-B039-3203306C789B

Racism and Sexism

https://reason.com/2020/03/06/sexism-didnt-kill-the-warren-campaign-the-warren-campaign-killed-the-warren-campaign/

Foolishness of the Week

Lenin Statue

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/06/first-lenin-statue-western-germany-erected-gelsenkirchen

Topic of the Week

Terms of Engagement

https://www.amazon.com/Terms-Engagement-Enforce-Constitutions-Government/dp/1594036969

Clark Neily on Twitter

https://twitter.com/ConLawWarrior

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Antony Davies on Twitter

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https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 160: Crude Reactions Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

Ten years ago, an explosion on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon killed almost a dozen people and resulted in the worst oil spill in US history. This week, economist and environmental and regulatory expert Peter Van Doren joins us to discuss the incentives in play that contributed to the tragedy.

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Quick Hits

California’s Universal Basic Income

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB2712

Wal-Mart as a Health Care Provider

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-25/walmart-takes-on-cvs-amazon-with-low-price-health-care-clinics

Foolishness of the Week

Gender Neutral Stores

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article240601601.html

Topic of the Week

Deepwater Horizon

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/us/26spill.html

Peter Van Doren

https://www.cato.org/people/peter-vandoren

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 159: Missing the Marx Feb 26, 2020

Show notes

Karl Marx’s thoughts on socialism are popular among politicians and humanities professors, but not so much among business people and economics professors. In this episode, Phil Magness, economic historian and author of The Best of Karl Marx, joins Words & Numbers to talk about how Marx’s teachings were on the way out but got resurrected by political leaders and academics.

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Quick hits

Jeff Bezos Giving $10 Billion

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/jeff-bezos-giving-away-10-billion-in-grants-for-fighting-climate-change/

Coronavirus Threatens Chinese Economy

https://www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/millions-of-chinese-firms-face-collapse-if-banks-don-t-act-fast

Foolishness of the week

Flat Earth Experiment

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/02/23/mad-mike-hughes-killed-homemade-rocket-crash-california/4849772002/

Topic of the week

The Best of Karl Marx

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZY9TGTX?ref=dbs_p2d_P_R_popup_yes_pony_T1

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 158: Incivility Feb 19, 2020

Show notes

We’ve all experienced incivility on the Internet. But today’s incivility is more than people being rude to each other online. Political leaders have become less civil toward each other, and political parties have become more extremist. Middle America, meanwhile, is becoming less represented as people on the two political extremes listen less to and scream more at each other.

Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

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Quick hits

Dinosaur statue

https://www.the-sun.com/news/375426/dad-accidentally-orders-19ft-carnotaur-statue-for-his-dinosaur-mad-son-that-was-dropped-into-garden-by-crane/

Car dealers encourage loan defaults

https://www.wsj.com/articles/dealerships-give-car-buyers-some-advice-just-stop-paying-your-loan-11581762601

Foolishness of the week

Florida man refuses dialysis

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/15/trump-cardboard-cutout-dialysis-treatment/

Topic of the week

The hounding of Jordan Peterson

https://spectator.us/jordan-peterson-addiction-death-online-hate/

U.S. media polarization

https://www.journalism.org/2020/01/24/u-s-media-polarization-and-the-2020-election-a-nation-divided/

Democrats have become more liberal

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/01/17/liberals-make-up-largest-share-of-democratic-voters/

Why has America become so divided

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psych-unseen/201809/why-has-america-become-so-divided

What are the solutions to political polarization

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_are_the_solutions_to_political_polarization

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 157: Black Markets Feb 12, 2020

Show notes

Many people imagine that, when the government bans something, the banned thing goes away. In fact, what banning does is to remove government protections against violence, theft, and fraud. Justification for banning things that harm no one other than, perhaps, the person who wants those things hinges on inequality - that some of us should have the right to tell others of us how those others should live their own lives.

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Quick hits

Technological cure for macular degeneration https://scienceblog.com/513957/first-in-the-u-s-wireless-retinal-device-for-advanced-age-related-macular-degeneration/

Americans go to libraries more than to movies

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americans-went-library-more-often-movies-2019-180974091/

Foolishness of the week

Trump and Pelosi’s Incivility

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/05/pelosis-page-ripping-was-fitting-end-impeachment/

Topic of the week

United Nations World Drug Report

https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2019/en/index.html

Marijuana doomsday didn’t come

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/articles/2017-12-19/marijuana-legalization-doomsday-didnt-come-to-colorado

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 156: The Government’s Rosy Outlook Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

The Congressional Budget Office is tasked with forecasting the federal budget. Over the past twenty years, the CBO has tended to over-estimate future tax revenues and under-estimate future government spending. The result is that CBO paints an unrealistically rosy picture of the government’s financial future. If we take CBO’s forecasts and compensate for their historically rosy biases, we find that, where the CBO predicts trillion-dollar deficits forever, the likely reality is actually worse.

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Quick hits

Europe votes for standardized phone chargers

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xgqwbd/europe-just-voted-in-favor-of-making-iphone-and-android-use-the-same-charger

Pledge

https://www.wgal.com/article/student-sues-lebanon-school-district-over-alleged-punishment-for-refusing-to-stand-for-pledge-of-allegiance/30732086

WV Board of Education v. Barnette

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Board_of_Education_v._Barnette

Foolishness of the week

Punxsutawney Phil and PETA

https://www.fox5ny.com/news/peta-calls-for-punxsutawney-phil-to-retire-be-replaced-with-ai-robot-for-groundhog-day

Topic of the week

Latest CBO report

https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2019-08/55551-CBO-outlook-update_0.pdf https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/budget-deficit-hit-1-trillion-year-cbo-200128193731479.html

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 155: David Schmidtz on Equality and Justice Jan 29, 2020

Show notes

When most people say, “equality,” they mean income equality. Economists draw a finer distinction between income equality and wealth equality. Political scientists draw an even finer distinction between economic equality and equality under the law. Philosophers distinguish even more finely, looking at equality of opportunity and equality of outcome, and examining how equality itself is one of several elements that comprise justice.

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Quick hits

Half of the world is now middle class https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2018/09/27/a-global-tipping-point-half-the-world-is-now-middle-class-or-wealthier/ 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/auschwitz-holocaust-muslim-jewish-pray-a9299941.html

Foolishness of the week

A “just” Connecticut

http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/looney-news/3045-looney-200122#sthash.xHba9oNB.n5oMRw3V.dpbs

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/24/conn-democrats-propose-new-state-police-department/

Topic of the week

David Schmidtz

https://freedomcenter.arizona.edu/david-schmidtz

Freedom Center podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/vc/podcast/freedom-center-today/id1452115977 New Yorker: The Equality Conundrum

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/01/13/the-equality-conundrum

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Episode 154: Cracks in the Ivory Tower Jan 22, 2020

Show notes

The rising cost of tuition is merely a symptom of a disease. The disease, which is much more complex, involves misplaced incentives from administrators to faculty to students to parents. Phil Magnus joins Words & Numbers this week to talk about his recent book, Cracks in the Ivory Tower.

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Quick hits

Trial by combat

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2020/01/13/iowa-courts-david-ostrom-requests-trial-combat-swords-settle-dispute/4456079002/

The FBI wants access to your phone

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/two-iphones-or-privacy-billions-why-apple-vs-fbi-matters-n1118001

Foolishness of the week

You may have to answer to police in Kentucky

https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article239389143.html

Topic of the week

Cracks in the Ivory Tower

https://www.amazon.com/Cracks-Ivory-Tower-Higher-Education/dp/0190846283

Review of Cracks in the Ivory Tower

https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/cracks-ivory-tower

Phil Magness

https://twitter.com/PhilWMagness

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Antony Davies on Twitter

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James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2020/01/13/iowa-courts-david-ostrom-requests-trial-combat-swords-settle-dispute/4456079002/

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/08/new-york-lawyer-demands-trial-by-combat-because-game-of-thrones-is-real

https://abovethelaw.com/2016/03/judge-admits-trial-by-combat-is-available-in-new-york-then-declines-to-order-it/

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/09/17/trial-by-combat/

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Episode 153: Prohibition and Constitutional Constraints Jan 15, 2020

Show notes

The 18th Amendment was ratified a century ago, beginning the United States’ fourteen-year experiment with prohibition. An Amendment was needed because the Constitution did not give the federal government the power to ban alcohol. Yet, today, the federal government bans recreational drugs and puts medicinal drugs under the control of the FDA. But, the Constitution also doesn’t give the government the power to regulate drugs. Either the 18th Amendment wasn’t necessary a century ago, or federal drug controls are unconstitutional today.

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Quick hits

The optimal GPA

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/study-says-there-is-optimal-failure-for-learning-more-efficiently/

Too many 4.0s

https://www.wsj.com/articles/you-graduated-cum-laude-so-did-everyone-else-1530523801

Weed in Atlanta

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/apd-disbands-drug-unit-fight-real-crime/

Foolishness of the week

Bernie Sanders worked for his money

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/aaronfreedman/bernie-sanders-is-rich-but-hes-a-worker

Topic of the week

Legal status of marijuana by state

https://disa.com/map-of-marijuana-legality-by-state

Bootleggers and Baptists

https://www.amazon.com/Bootleggers-Baptists-Economic-Persuasion-Regulatory/dp/1939709369

18th Amendment

https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xviii

21st Amendment

https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xxi

Wickard v. Filburn

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn

You used to be able to buy heroin at Sears

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/sears-roebuck-bayer-heroin/580441/

What can Colorado teach us about legalizing weed?

https://fee.org/articles/four-years-on-what-can-colorado-teach-us-about-legalizing-weed/

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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