
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.
Latest episodes

Apr 6, 2022 • 37min
Episode 269: A Conversation with Award Winning Students, Pt. 2
This week, we talk with the economics students of Mount Hebron High School who have won the state economics championship 16 times, the national championship six times, and recently won the international championship for the first time. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.wsj.com/articles/oberlin-college-loses-appeal-ohio-gibsons-bakery-v-woke-pc-cancel-culture-crt-critical-race-theory-libel-emotional-distress-racial-profiling-higher-education-11648829090?mod=hp_opin_pos_1 Foolishness of the Week https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-historic-all-black-town-wants-reparations-to-rebuild-as-a-e2-80-98safe-haven-e2-80-99/ar-AAVKiWv Topic of the Week https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F79X_-PwKhg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke38g7fFvtk Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

4 snips
Mar 30, 2022 • 41min
Episode 268: A Conversation with Award Winning Students, Pt. 1
This week, we talk with the economics students of Mount Hebron High School who have won the state economics championship 16 times, the national championship six times, and recently won the international championship for the first time. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.thedrive.com/news/44445/canada-has-a-railroad-for-fish-thats-only-200-feet-long-heres-why https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bayside+Canadian+Railway/@45.1588746,-67.1399627,156m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x4ca6016202a5eb6f:0xdd7c0d6ee9b1c34a!8m2!3d45.1586153!4d-67.1396707 https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/599768-biden-is-planning-a-new-digital-currency-heres-why-you-should-be-very-worried Foolishness of the Week https://thehill.com/regulation/599821-thomas-scrutiny-intensifies-after-latest-revelations Topic of the Week https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F79X_-PwKhg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke38g7fFvtk Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

12 snips
Mar 23, 2022 • 34min
Episode 267: Ten Years of ObamaCare
Now that a decade has passed since the Affordable Care Act reached full implementation, it’s a good time to look back at what we were promised, what we got, and what we didn’t get.. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://advisor.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-biggest-u-s-tax-expenditures/ https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-approves-bill-that-would-make-daylight-savings-time-permanent-2023-2022-03-15/ Foolishness of the Week https://reason.com/2022/03/04/d-c-managed-to-lose-4-million-on-its-own-sports-betting-app/ Topic of the Week https://www.thebalance.com/causes-of-rising-healthcare-costs-4064878 Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 16, 2022 • 41min
Episode 266: Subsidiarity, Solidarity, and the Common Good
The Catholic Church likes subsidiarity. Politicians like federalism. Economists like free markets. It turns out that, if you can adequately define “the common good,” the three - subsidiarity, federalism, and free markets - pretty much boil down to the same thing. This week is the first half of a four-way discussion with two Catholic theologians, a political scientist, and an economist on subsidiarity and the common good. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://nypost.com/2022/03/04/hundreds-of-people-are-booking-airbnb-rentals-in-ukraine-heres-why/ https://scoop.upworthy.com/polish-moms-leave-baby-strollers-at-train-station-for-ukrainians-moms-who-need-them https://www.cato.org/commentary/pick-time-stick-it Foolishness of the Week https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/california-lawmaker-proposes-25-tax-on-real-estate-investors-to-level-playing-field/2834287/ Topic of the Week https://stvincent.academia.edu/JasonKing/CurriculumVitae https://stvincent.academia.edu/ChristopherMcMahon/CurriculumVitae Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 9, 2022 • 34min
Episode 265: Higher Education Fraud?
Is there a massive class action suit awaiting colleges and universities that promise certain educational outcomes and don’t deliver? Colleges and universities are admitting students they know won’t succeed and happily cashing their tuition checks. There are scary parallels here to bankers who gave mortgages to borrowers the banks knew couldn’t afford to repay those mortgages. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/INDPRO https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MANEMP https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USMINE https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES1021100001 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/IPUCN2211W200000000 https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/04/politics/biden-buy-american-domestic-manufacturing/index.htmhttps://www.wsj.com/articles/andrew-cuomo-chris-cnn-cancel-culture-pc-political-correct-sexual-harrassment-accusation-new-york-governor-church-speech-11646599202l Foolishness of the Week https://www.fox5ny.com/news/sony-unveils-new-gold-plated-walkman Topic of the Week https://www.npr.org/2022/02/16/1081107925/education-department-devry-university-borrower-defense-student-loan-relief https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=73 Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 2, 2022 • 34min
Episode 264: Should Cities Invest in Sports Stadiums?
Politicians often argue the benefits of raising taxes to pay for sports stadiums, citing all the economic benefits that accrue from attracting major sports teams. But if there were significant economic benefits, wouldn’t private investors have an incentive to pay for the stadiums on their own? Why do we need tax revenues to fund them? This week, economist Lauren Heller joins us to talk about the economics of sport stadiums. Get a 20% discount on the mask not named in the episode by clicking below and using the coupon code wordsandnumbers. https://www.getunmask.com/?ref=8Dgb483n98NjG Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://russiandefpolicy.com/2021/12/27/russian-military-pay-still-lags/ https://www.cnas.org/publications/commentary/when-do-economic-sanctions-work-best https://www.wsj.com/articles/self-driving-trucks-start-to-propel-land-rush-near-major-cities-11646053200 Foolishness of the Week https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2022/02/25/mask-mandate-travel-cdc-guidelines/6938530001/ Topic of the Week https://www.berry.edu/academics/fs/lheller Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 23, 2022 • 34min
Episode 263: The Fall of Amazon
The life cycle of birth, maturation, death, and new life plays out in markets in the same way and for the same reasons. Entrepreneurs come up with new ideas. If customers like those ideas better than they like dollars in their pockets, they pay the entrepreneurs and the new ideas mature. But with maturation comes some ossification as once nimble companies get bogged down by their own bureaucracies. This creates opportunities for new entrepreneurs to come along and replace the old. Amazon, once the nimble upstart that gave customers what they wanted at prices they were willing to pay, may be showing signs of its oncoming and inevitable decline. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.facebook.com/HistoricPhotographs/posts/2026578217515918 Foolishness of the Week https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2022/02/21/report-apple-store-employees-want-to-unionize-use-android-phones-to-avoid-tim-cooks-snooping/ Topic of the Week https://www.salesforce.com/blog/jeff-bezos-lessons-blog/ Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 16, 2022 • 36min
Episode 262: David Friedman on the Gold Standard
David Friedman joins us to talk about the gold standard: why one existed at all, why we went off it, and what would happen if we reinstituted it. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/02/03/betty-whiteout-ctrl-salt-delete-top-winners-in-mndot-nameasnowplow-contest https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/northwest-territories-looking-for-new-name-bob-need-not-apply-1.319749 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/world/europe/boaty-mcboatface-what-you-get-when-you-let-the-internet-decide.html https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/taxes/irs-backlog-hits-nearly-24-million-returns-further-imperiling-the-2022-tax-filing-season/ar-AATKL3A Foolishness of the Week https://reason.com/2022/02/10/ohio-mayor-warns-that-ice-fishing-will-lead-to-prostitution/ Topic of the Week http://www.daviddfriedman.com Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 9, 2022 • 29min
Episode 261: $30 trillion
The federal debt recently crossed the $30 trillion mark, making the debt 50% larger than the entire US economy. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.wsj.com/articles/belarusian-officials-charged-with-aircraft-piracy-for-diversion-of-ryanair-flight-11642723692 https://www.itv.com/news/2022-02-07/scientists-create-spinal-cord-implants-that-could-allow-paralysed-people-to-walk Foolishness of the Week https://www.claimscon.org/study/ Topic of the Week https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_capita_income Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 2, 2022 • 34min
Episode 260: Shortages at Home, Starvation Elsewhere
Americans are so used to having goods available to them at low prices, in expansive variety, and in apparently limitless quantities that sporadic shortages are shaking up our lives. Yet, what we experience as an inconvenience, others in the world experience as starvation. Humans’ default condition is not one of plenty, but one of poverty. What stands athwart any society and poverty is good governance and a free economy. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.artforum.com/news/ireland-to-launch-universal-basic-income-program-for-artists-87612 https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/31/europe/ireland-fishermen-russia-navy-intl/index.html Foolishness of the Week https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/he-e2-80-99s-declining-a-coronavirus-vaccine-at-the-expense-of-a-lifesaving-transplant-e2-80-98i-was-born-free-i-e2-80-99ll-die-free-e2-80-99/ar-AATkeOa Topic of the Week https://www.unitlife.org/impact-of-covid-19-on-malnutrition https://www.statista.com/statistics/269924/countries-most-affected-by-hunger-in-the-world-according-to-world-hunger-index/ https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices