x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Words & Numbers

Words & Numbers touches on issues of Economics, Political Science, Current Events and Policy. Each Wednesday we"ll be sharing a new Words & Numbers podcast featuring Antony Davies Ph.D and James Harrigan Ph.D talking about the economics and political science of current events. Words and Numbers is a CiVL Original Podcasts, learn more at civl.com

education news commentary

All Episodes

22:24

Episode 35: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Words & Numbers ·

2017/10/11

State representatives who support anti-gun legislation arrested for running guns. Pro-life representatives encouraging their mistresses to get abortions. Anti-gay senators outed for propositioning other men. The list of people in power getting caught up in their own hypocrisy is long, but they’re not the only ones. We the people are guilty of it as well. The evidence is overwhelming. The bad behavior we were so vocal about before suddenly becomes okay as soon as our preferred party is in power. Why

en-us

21:53

Episode 34: Inequality Is Rising, but Poverty Is Falling

Words & Numbers ·

2017/10/04

Recently released data from the Federal Reserve indicate an increase in income inequality and wealth inequality in the country. People often assume this means that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. In the US, it generally means that both the rich and poor are getting richer, but the rich are getting richer faster. Moreover, “the rich” is not a static group of people. People climb into and fall out of that category all the time. Indeed, as Machiavelli pointed out long ago,

en-us

24:53

Episode 33: Does Amazon Really Need Corporate Welfare?

Words & Numbers ·

2017/09/27

Amazon made online comparison shopping easy for all. Now it’s Amazon’s turn to comparison shop: for a city to host its new corporate headquarters. It’s looking for which major metropolis will offer the sweetest deal. Unfortunately, the welcome package will most likely be paid for by the city’s taxpayers. Amazon claims it’s worth it in the long run, given how much tax revenue the corporate titan would bring to town. But economists James Harrigan and Antony Davies give this argument a one-star

en-us

21:50

Episode 32: Venezuela: Let Them Eat… Rabbits?

Words & Numbers ·

2017/09/20

Once upon a time, an out-of-touch queen heard of her subjects’ lack of bread and supposedly responded, “Let them eat cake.” Hunger has become so bad in Venezuela that its own out-of-touch ruler has proclaimed, in essence, “let them eat rabbits.” This is how far Venezuela has fallen. And yet, only a few years ago, many (including the American left) were heralding the rise of “Bolivarian socialism” as the wave of the future and the hope for the people. How can a nation plummet so deeply into squalor

en-us

21:49

Episode 31: Does the Debt Ceiling Mean Anything?

Words & Numbers ·

2017/09/13

Does the debt ceiling even mean anything? It’s like a credit limit on your credit card, but one which the borrower (the US government) gets to set for itself. Moreover, it’s most likely that the government has been borrowing way above the ceiling but simply doesn’t make it official until after the debt ceiling is raised: as it always is. Economists Antony Davies and James Harrigan discuss what this means for the taxpayer and for the economy.

en-us

21:19

Episode 30: Must the Police Be Above the Law to...

Words & Numbers ·

2017/09/06

Nurse Alex Wubbels refused to let police draw blood from an unconscious crash victim and ended up arrested. The ensuing national controversy has brought police conduct back into the spotlight, raising several questions. Is it necessary to be above the law to enforce it? Does the policy of granting “qualified immunity” to officers incentivize irresponsibility? Would police ranks have far fewer “bad apples” if officers were required to carry malpractice insurance? Antony and James address all this and

en-us

15:29

Episode 29: Do Americans Still Have Freedom of Speech

Words & Numbers ·

2017/08/30

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 up? Do we live in a truly tolerant society if voicing an opinion, even if it doesn’t land you in jail, ends up ending your career? Antony and James explore these intricate issues on this weeks episode.

en-us

12:14

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

Words & Numbers ·

2017/08/23

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 is often credited for making the American work environment safer and more fair. Yet, as Antony Davies and James Harrigan demonstrate with historical data, market forces were already making things easier on the American worker long before the FLSA. Learn More:

en-us

14:53

Episode 27: The Illusion of School Choice

Words & Numbers ·

2017/08/16

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 increased funding. With incentives like these, is it any wonder that public schools are failing our children so badly? Isn’t it time to inject some competition into the system? Education for all is a worthy wish. So is food for all. But we don’t force poor people to eat state-produced food. Even food stamp

en-us

13:45

Episode 26: Has Tipping Gone Out of Control

Words & Numbers ·

2017/08/09

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 25-30% is considered the rule in New York City. Uber once resisted this trend, but recently added a tipping feature to its app. What is the economic rationale behind tipping? Does the usefulness of tipping diminish the more that a certain rate becomes an expectation? At a certain point, would it be

en-us

15:53

Episode 25: Is UBI Better Than Welfare

Words & Numbers ·

2017/08/02

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. But what about a theoretical UBI? If we could actually figure out how to implement that well, would that work? And why wouldn’t that work in the real world? This week on Words and Numbers, Antony and James R. Harrigan tackle the issue that’s getting a lot of attention in Silicon Valley.

en-us

16:07

Episode 24: Is Income Inequality Real?

Words & Numbers ·

2017/07/26

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 rise. But is it? And even if it is, is it actually a bad thing? This week on Words and Numbers, Antony Davies and James R. Harrigantalk about how income inequality plays out in the real world. Learn More: https://fee.org/articles/is-income-inequality-real/

en-us

13:55

Episode 23: The Illinois Budget is a Mess

Words & Numbers ·

2017/07/19

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.

en-us

14:16

Episode 22: Do Airlines Charge Too Much?

Words & Numbers ·

2017/07/12

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 being ripped off?

en-us

15:09

Episode 21: Let Amazon Play Monopoly

Words & Numbers ·

2017/07/05

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 indestructible monopoly, and the government is all too happy to step in and settle the issue. But this concern ignores consumers’ own preferences as well as business and entrepreneurial history. This week in Words and Numbers, Antony Davies and James R. Harrigan discuss the probable future of the Amazon-Whole

en-us

14:11

Episode 20: Just Say No to the War on Drugs

Words & Numbers ·

2017/06/28

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 logically. Forty-six years and one trillion dollars after its start, President Richard Nixon's War on Drugs is still going, with 300,000 people currently in jail on drug charges. Meanwhile, 26 times as many people suffer from alcoholism as do heroin abuse, and eight times as many die from alcohol abuse

en-us

13:46

Episode 19: The Population Boom Could Save the World

Words & Numbers ·

2017/06/21

In 1798, 95 percent of the world lived in poverty. Today, less than 10 percent do, in spite of the world’s population growing by 700 percent in that same time. The common thought among young people is that this 700 percent population growth is going to overpopulate the earth. But given the number of people in poverty, it looks like population growth is actually good for poverty – more people means more brains, which means more ideas, inventions, and innovations. This week on Words and Numbers,

en-us

14:18

Episode 18: What You Should Know About Poverty in...

Words & Numbers ·

2017/06/14

Poverty is a big deal – it affects about 41 million people in the United States every year – yet the federal government spends a huge amount of money to end poverty. So much of the government’s welfare spending gets eaten up by bureaucracy, conflicting programs, and politicians presuming they know how people should spend their own money. Obviously, this isn’t working. This week on Words and Numbers, Antony Davies and James R. Harrigan delve into how people can really become less poor and what that

en-us

13:19

Episode 17: Earning Profits is Your Social...

Words & Numbers ·

2017/06/07

We tend to demonize people who make money – how dare they have more than us? But that negative reaction forgets the voluntary role we play in profit-making every day. This week in Words and Numbers, Antony Davies and James R. Harrigan discuss just how good it is to earn a profit, and the vital difference between that and forcing money from people.

en-us

13:48

Episode 16: Is Your College Degree Worthless?

Words & Numbers ·

2017/05/31

A lot of people assume that any degree increases your income over the course of your life, but it actually seriously depends on what major you choose and what career you go into. This week on Words & Numbers, Antony Davies and James R. Harrigan breakdown the numbers on what your college degree is actually worth.

en-us

495 results

Similar Podcasts

Science Talk

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

五分钟心理学

柠檬心理

Daily Facts

Amalia Dupray and Montgomery Jones.

Les dents et dodo

BFMTV

Veterinary Clinical Podcasts

The Royal Veterinary College