Podcast Episodes

Episode 29: Do Americans Still Have Freedom of Speech

Season 1 Episode 29

These days, everybody is nervous about what you can say in public without getting slammed by retribution. But is that a free-speech problem, or does it only become one when the police start showing u…

Published on 8 years, 3 months ago

Episode 28: Child Labor Was Wiped Out By Markets, Not Government

Season 1 Episode 28

In 1938 the US government passed the Fair Labor Standards Act mandating a forty hour work week, establishing a minimum wage, and prohibiting child labor. Because of legislation like this, government …

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

Episode 27: The Illusion of School Choice

Season 1 Episode 27

In private schools, as in private enterprise in general, poor performance drives funding away by driving paying customers away. Yet in public schools, poor performance is used as an excuse for increa…

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

Episode 26: Has Tipping Gone Out of Control

Season 1 Episode 26

In 1922, famed etiquette writer Emily Post advised her readers that 10% is the standard for tipping your waiter. Since then, “gratuity creep” has been so steady that tip jars are now ubiquitous and 2…

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

Episode 25: Is UBI Better Than Welfare

Season 1 Episode 25

A viewer recently asked us what Words & Numbers thought of Universal Basic Income. Antony Davies likes the idea of it, provided it’s done well, but doesn’t think it could ever possibly be done well.…

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

Episode 24: Is Income Inequality Real?

Season 1 Episode 24

Income inequality has been in the news more and more, and it doesn’t look good. It’s aggravating to see people making more money than you, and we’re told all the time that income inequality is on the…

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

Episode 23: The Illinois Budget is a Mess

Season 1 Episode 23

This week on Words & Numbers, Antony Davies​ and James R. Harrigan​ tackle the disaster that is the Illinois state budget crisis.  Pro-tip: Don't let it happen to your state.

Learn more about your a…

Published on 8 years, 5 months ago

Episode 22: Do Airlines Charge Too Much?

Season 1 Episode 22

This week on Words & Numbers, James R. Harrigan and Antony Davies tackle the issue of airline pricing. Why do they charge what they do? What do those prices mean? Is it too much and are passengers be…

Published on 8 years, 5 months ago

Episode 21: Let Amazon Play Monopoly

Season 1 Episode 21

Amazon’s offer to buy Whole Foods for $13.7 billion sounds pretty great to both parties, but it seems that isn’t good enough. The proposal has a lot of people worried about Amazon becoming an indestr…

Published on 8 years, 5 months ago

Episode 20: Just Say No to the War on Drugs

Season 1 Episode 20

Ted Cruz recently asserted that the United States military needs to be sent to Mexico to attack the drug cartels head-on. This is a bad idea. But so is the drug war itself, both constitutionally and…

Published on 8 years, 5 months ago