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Episode 89: A Raging Dumpster Fire of Injustice
Season 1 Episode 89
Canada recently legalized the possession and use of marijuana and proposed legislation to pardon those previously convicted of such “crimes.” So, it’s as good a time as any to take a look at how such…
Published on 7 years, 2 months ago
Episode 88: When Is This Year’s “Deficit Day”?
Season 1 Episode 88
Imagine, if you will, that the United States federal government somehow received all of the money it normally would for the entire year on January 1st. The day it would have spent it all and started …
Published on 7 years, 2 months ago
Episode 87: Why Do We Even Have Trade Agreements, Anyway?
Season 1 Episode 87
When it comes to free trade agreements, ideally they should be very short. Four words would suffice: “Trade will be free.” But politicians being what they are, what we (that is to say, Mexico, Canada…
Published on 7 years, 2 months ago
Episode 86: Words and Numbers Listener Special #2
Season 1 Episode 86
In this episode, we’re answering listener questions. What’s going on with this scary, dystopian Chinese social credit system? What government agency would you get rid of? What happens when religious …
Published on 7 years, 2 months ago
Episode 85: Are We Living Madison’s Nightmare?
Season 1 Episode 85
Worries about mob rule have been around longer than our Constitution. Indeed, James Madison wrote about the problems of “factions” in what we’ve come to call the Federalist Papers. We like to think t…
Published on 7 years, 2 months ago
Episode 84: Price-Gouging Bans Don’t Make Things Cheaper, They Make Them More Scarce
Season 1 Episode 84
Imposing “price gouging” bans after a natural disaster doesn’t actually help anybody. On paper, it looks ideal. Shoppers who don’t have funds and didn’t prepare for the storm can still afford to buy …
Published on 7 years, 3 months ago
Episode 83: How the Meanings of "Liberal" and "Conservative" Have Changed
Season 1 Episode 83
Conservative and liberal: probably the two most commonly used words to describe a person’s political affiliations. And, of course, we all know that Republicans are all conservatives and Democrats are…
Published on 7 years, 3 months ago
Episode 82: Capitalism Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means
Season 1 Episode 82
The word “capitalism” has become incredibly loaded over the years. And since the term was actually popularized by Karl Marx to be the foil for his own ideology, that’s fairly understandable. It bring…
Published on 7 years, 3 months ago
Episode 81: Despite Its Rebranding, Socialism Is Still Horrific
Season 1 Episode 81
We’re experiencing the rise of a new kind of socialist. The original definition of socialism—state ownership of the means of production—is beginning to fall by the wayside. What self-proclaimed socia…
Published on 7 years, 3 months ago
Episode 80: You Can’t Make College Free
Season 1 Episode 80
Everybody vaguely familiar with basic economic concepts knows that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. It’s a great phrase and speaks to the principles of both opportunity cost and scarcity. That …
Published on 7 years, 4 months ago