
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

Feb 28, 2024 • 33min
Episode 368: Hampden-Sydney College Q&A
Last week, we recorded live from Hampden-Sydney College. This week’s episode is the Q&A from that recording. Foolishness of the Week: 09:21 Main episode: 10:05 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://studyfinds.org/is-everyone-angry-toxic-outrage-culture-consuming-society-like-never-before/ Foolishness of the Week https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13119241/Trump-threatens-biggest-stock-market-crash-HISTORY-loses-Biden-claims-five-things-DOJ-investigate-Haley-wild-speech-MAGA-fans-South-Carolina-primary.html Topic of the Week https://www.hsc.edu Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 21, 2024 • 34min
Episode 367: Live from Hampden-Sydney College
Last week, we talked about the incongruity of not only having a majority of voters not like either major party candidate, but to have those two candidates appear twice in back-to-back elections. This week, we explore what happens when a President is incapable of fulfilling the duties of the office. Foolishness of the Week: 11:01 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-trump-raise-the-settlement Foolishness of the Week https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/15/barbara-lee-minimum-wage/72611446007/ Topic of the Week https://www.hsc.edu Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 14, 2024 • 30min
Episode 366: What’s Up With the President?
Last week, we talked about the incongruity of not only having a majority of voters not like either major party candidate, but to have those two candidates appear twice in back-to-back elections. This week, we explore what happens when a President is incapable of fulfilling the duties of the office. Foolishness of the Week: 09:59 Main episode: 12:50 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2024/02/blazing-saddles-five-funny-facts-at-50/ Foolishness of the Week https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/taylor-swift-biden-psyop-conspiracy-b2489364.html Topic of the Week https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-25/ Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feb 7, 2024 • 35min
Episode 365: Democracy Might Not Be a Good Thing
The Trump vs Biden election of 2020 was noteworthy because, for so many voters, it wasn’t a matter of selecting the person they thought was best suited for the job so much as a matter of selecting the person they thought was least ill-suited. As if it isn’t weird enough that, out of 200 million or so adults, the best we could do was to bring Trump and Biden to the fore, here we are in 2024 apparently set to do the same thing all over again. Foolishness of the Week: 09:10 Main episode: 13:33 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/06/trump-election-case-appeals-court-denies-ex-president-immunity.html Foolishness of the Week https://studyfinds.org/mixed-reality-headsets/ Topic of the Week https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/biden-trump-campaign-longest-ever-age-7e849b34 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1102189/voter-turnout-us-presidential-primaries-state/ Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 31, 2024 • 30min
Episode 364: $34 Trillion
People used to scared about the federal debt. But it's been so huge for so long that people have lost interest. Yet, despite people's lack of attention - or perhaps, in part, because of it - the debt has continued to grow. For the past 50 years or so, it has been doubling every 8 to 9 years. Foolishness of the Week: 09:10 Main episode: 13:36 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/12/06/new-fafsa-may-launch-with-old-inflation-data-resulting-in-less-college-aid.html?fbclid=IwAR1Z0ny8wwaMEEA0nyaJGxEGF3Hvbeq9XtAJpVmQLYtfyMdKNmDS-loexes https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/27/is-the-journalism-death-spasm-finally-here-00138187 Foolishness of the Week https://nypost.com/2024/01/26/news/un-fires-staffers-who-allegedly-took-part-in-october-7-hamas-terrorist-attacks-on-israel/ Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 24, 2024 • 42min
Episode 363: Labor and Marx
Many people share an intuition that “excess” profits are a sign of something having been stolen from labor. Karl Marx shared this intuition and formalized it in his writings on the surplus value of labor. Foolishness of the Week: 05:48 Main episode: 11:55 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPkJH6BT7dM https://studyfinds.org/childless-millennials-parents/ Foolishness of the Week https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/19/us-inflation-caused-by-corporate-profits Topic of the Week https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEBTN Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 17, 2024 • 33min
Episode 362: Shareholders and Stakeholders
For whom does the corporation exist: investors, workers, customers, the community? Economists tend to answer, "investors." That's not to say that workers, customers, and the community aren't important, but rather that the corporation exists to further the interests of the investors. Where the interests of the workers, customers, and community coincide with those of investors, the corporation also cares about those groups. But where their interests conflict with those of investors, the interests of investors take precedence. That's the principle of "shareholder value." The principle of "stakeholder value" holds that the corporation should consider the interests of workers, consumers, and the community even when they conflict with the interests of the investors. Foolishness of the Week: 08:15 Main episode: 12:29 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://newschannel9.com/news/nation-world/scientists-discover-novel-way-to-destroy-cancer-cells Foolishness of the Week https://www.axios.com/2024/01/11/florida-book-ban-schools-lawsuit Topic of the Week https://youtu.be/O8RpyqauWOQ?si=bFkwzQNP_PTNbtFQ&t=5109 Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 10, 2024 • 30min
Episode 361: Degrowth
Economic "degrowth" seems to be the new socialism. Like the old, it promises all manner of wonderful things, from equality to a cleaner environment. And like the old, it will deliver nothing but misery. Foolishness of the Week: 10:24 Main episode: 13:35 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.ambito.com/politica/ley-omnibus-el-gobierno-busca-que-ya-no-se-use-la-palabra-gratis-prestacion-estatales-n5908723 https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S6-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013300/ Foolishness of the Week https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/06/politics/lloyd-austin-hospitalization-officials/index.html/ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/secretary-defense-lloyd-austin-hospitalized-middle-east-missions-rcna132612/ Topic of the Week https://theconversation.com/degrowth-slowing-down-rich-economies-to-deal-with-climate-change-is-a-flawed-idea-209434 https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/12/17/degrowth-economics-europe-climate-policy/ Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 3, 2024 • 37min
Episode 360: Time is Money
Intuitively, people understand the value of time. We consider it every time we decide to put off something we want now for something better later. Psychologists call it, “delayed gratification.” But when we think about things like banks and landlords and Wall Street, we fail to see the time value of money driving people’s behaviors. Foolishness of the Week: 14:15 Main episode: 18:13 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits http://nutritionpair.com/ www.wfla.com/news/dave-chappelle-ends-show-early-walks-off-stage-at-hard-rock-live/ Foolishness of the Week www.wsj.com/articles/yellen-biden-economy-inflation-prices-dc9902f2 Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 27, 2023 • 30min
Episode 359: A Conflict of Moral Principles
Colleges and universities, for years now self-proclaimed bastions of “safe spaces,” are allowing some students to express anti Semitism and call for genocide. Should colleges allow this in the name of free speech, or should it disallow it in the name of protecting students? Congressional hearings into prominent universities appear to reveal administrators picking a third and worse option: selectively allowing or disallowing free speech depending on at whom the speech is directed. Foolishness of the Week: 08:15 Main episode: 11:36 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/12/23/biden-pardon-state-level-marijuana/72015078007/ Foolishness of the Week https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/sorry-but-potatoes-may-soon-no-longer-be-considered-a-vegetable/ar-AA1lRk50 Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices