Words & Numbers

From time to time, listeners write to tell us what we’ve gotten wrong. This week, we go back through predictions and analyses we’ve made that have turned out to be wrong. Main episode: 12:09 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 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

Attorney Vince White joins us this week. Vince’s law firm does more workplace harassment and sexual discrimination cases than any other US law firm. His firm also handled some of the Harvey Weinstein cases. Interestingly, Vince is James’ former student. Foolishness of the week: 05:30 Main episode: 08:39 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.goodnewsnetwork.org/for-first-time-water-produced-by-sunlight-to-be-even-cheaper-than-tap-water/ https://www.axios.com/2023/10/01/student-loan-payments-october-2023 Foolishness of the Week https://nbcmontana.com/news/connect-to-congress/meghan-markle-considering-run-for-sen-dianne-feinsteins-senate-seat-sources-say-duke-and-duchess-of-sussex-house-of-windsor-royal-family-prince-harry-gavin-newsom-california-los-angeles-family-leave-gun-safety-politics Topic of the Week https://www.nycjobattorney.com https://www.youtube.com/@JobAttorney 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

Robert Reich (not an economist) recorded a video recently in which he claims that the rich are not paying their fair share of Social Security. But the calculations he uses to prove his point are fundamentally flawed. Foolishness of the week: 09:54 Main episode: 12:57 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.goodnewsnetwork.org/nasa-solid-state-battery-development-research-breakthrough/ https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/25/us/powerball-lottery-jackpot-millions-monday/index.html Foolishness of the Week https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/22/politics/fact-check-biden-every-mass-shooting/index.html https://abcnews.go.com/US/mass-shootings-days-2023-database-shows/story?id=96609874 Topic of the Week https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfZuB7XSFys 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

Economist Bryan McCannon gives us two things to think about this week: his research into whether covid mask mandates saved lives, and that journal editors were afraid to publish his results. Foolishness of the week: 08:04 Main episode: 11:49 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://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/california-fast-food-workers-20-minimum-wage-new-103099258 https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/cost-of-living-index-by-state https://apnews.com/article/climate-oil-gas-california-lawsuit-newsom-212d6d9873352f28094173a1974e3d90 Foolishness of the Week https://www.wbez.org/stories/how-a-city-run-grocery-store-in-chicago-could-work/91365f98-25de-4cd5-80e9-eae3fa627610 Topic of the Week Mask mandates https://sites.google.com/site/bryancmccannon 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

Burning Man, a modern day Woodstock, occurs each year in the desert. This year brought 87,000 people together to live, if only for a few days, in a cooperative nirvana. We take some time to look at the Burning Man principles for living and ask whether they make any sense. Foolishness of the week: 05:21 Main episode: 11:44 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.iflscience.com/linguists-speak-of-a-new-language-dialect-evolving-in-the-us-70586 Foolishness of the Week https://sourcenm.com/briefs/n-m-governor-declares-state-of-emergency-over-gun-violence/ https://ibis.doh.nm.gov/indicator/view/DthRateLdgCause.Year.Cause.html https://everystat.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Gun-Violence-in-New-Mexico-2.9.2021.pdf Topic of the Week https://survival.burningman.org/culture/the-10-principles/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/08/the-wonderful-weird-economics-of-burning-man/376108/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/09/06/burning-man-2023-photos-nevada-desert/70774615007/ https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/05/business/burning-man-billionaires/index.html 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

Union membership in the private sector has been declining for decades, while union membership in the public sector has been increasing. This is consistent with workers voluntarily choosing not to unionize to the point that unions must turn to government jobs where it is easier to force workers to unionize. Foolishness of the week: 04:20 Main episode: 10:03 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.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/climate-change-activists-blockaded-burning-man-accuse-police-excessive-rcna102370 Foolishness of the Week https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/pope-francis-conservatives-united-states-rcna102452 Topic of the Week Declining union membership https://www.statista.com/statistics/195339/number-of-union-members-in-the-us-since-2000/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/195349/union-membership-rate-of-employees-in-the-us-since-2000/ Union workers earn around 20% more than non-union workers https://www.statista.com/statistics/1374865/earnings-union-membership-race-us/ 33% of public sector jobs are unionized vs 6% of private sector jobs https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf 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

The Republicans held their first primary debate. What they said wasn’t interesting. What they didn’t say was. Foolishness of the week: 07:00 Main episode: 09:10 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://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4171633-ceiling-fan-efficiency-rule-draws-ire-of-house-republicans/ https://finance.yahoo.com/news/urban-doom-loop-could-pose-105045782.html Foolishness of the Week https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-advisers-bristle-newsoms-plan-debate-desantis-rcna101799 Topic of the Week GOP Primary Debate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccPDCzJuLgI 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

Economist Art Carden discusses his popular book, Strangers With Candy. They explore Chinese student migration, China's economy, reducing interest rates to 3%, blaming banks, engaging with the public, and waging wars on abstract nouns.

Michael Semanchik, Director of the Innocence Center, discusses freeing wrongfully imprisoned and reforming the criminal justice system to reduce wrongful convictions. Topics include challenges faced by exonerated individuals, impact of wrongful convictions, and potential solutions to prevent miscarriages of justice.

The podcast explores the importance of agreeing on definitions before debating topics. They discuss the potential consequences of a downgrade in federal debt and the impact of increasing interest rates. They delve into the definition of 'trafficking' and its implications. A discussion on child kidnappings in the US and the lack of clear definitions for 'assault weapon' is also highlighted.