Antony Davies and James R. HarriganNews, Education
Antony Davies and James R. HarriganNews, Education
Antony Davies and James R. HarriganNews, Education
Antony Davies and James R. HarriganNews, Education

About

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.

  • Episode 372: Where’s the Middle Class?
    Each election cycle, we’re treated to politicians and their supporters crying about the disappearing middle class. So many people repeat the mantra that most of us just accept it as fact. It turns out that those people are right - the middle class...
  • Episode 371: An Interview with Spike Cohen, pt. 2
    Spike Cohen, 2020 Libertarian Party Vice-Presidential nominee, joins us this week for a two part series in which we discuss the upcoming election, the Libertarian Party, the future of politics in America, and his work in single-issue activism - You...
  • Episode 370: An Interview with Spike Cohen, pt. 1
    Spike Cohen, 2020 Libertarian Party Vice-Presidential nominee, joins us this week for a two part series in which we discuss the upcoming election, the Libertarian Party, the future of politics in America, and his work in single-issue activism - You...
  • Episode 369: A One-Party System?
    The United States has been a two party system almost since its inception. In modern times, this has led to the Democrats and Republicans having a virtual monopoly on the political landscape. Despite the fact that a plurality of Americans don’t...
  • 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! See More Ant and James! Show Your...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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....
  • 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,...
  • 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 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...
  • 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:...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • Episode 358: The Cost of the Good Life
    We respond to an article that claims that “the good life” has become so expensive as to be beyond the reach of most Americans. We conclude that what is beyond the reach of at least some Americans is the ability to perform simple math. Foolishness...
  • Episode 357: Biden’s Wealth Tax
    More frequently, politicians are talking about a wealth tax. As with the income tax back in the early 1900s, politicians promise that the tax will only be one or two percent and will only apply to the rich. But, as with the income tax, if politicians...
  • Episode 356: Social Distancing and Masks: Again?
    A new outbreak of a communicable disease in China has officials there calling for masks and social distancing. This week, we talk about what lessons we learned from the last go around and how people might respond in this country to a reprise of social...
  • Episode 355: It's Time for Libertarians to Grow Up
    We recently moderated the South Carolina Libertarian Party’s Presidential debate. We had a great time and the candidates were serious people. But the contrast between our excellent experience in South Carolina and Libertarian party hijinx we’ve...
  • Episode 354: Academic Fraud
    Three former professors discuss the fraud that universities are perpetrating on students and taxpayers.. Foolishness of the Week: 11:59 Main episode: 15:20 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for...
  • Episode 353: What’s a Few Trillion Among Friends?
    Over ten years ago, we predicted that, as the Federal government approached insolvency, the Federal Reserve would start printing money to monetize the government spending, and that that would give us sustained inflation in the 5% plus range. We saw...