Words & Numbers

The US health care system is rife with many variables affecting the prices of and access to medical care. iHealth is a health care provider that does not take health insurance and is transparent about its prices. Is there a regulatory framework that allows for such a business to be successful? Would this model work for the rest of the country? What barriers are in place that prevent other physicia...

Using a historical definition of the term, socialism designated a political system where the government owns the means of production. However, for many people, the word has evolved into something different. Do today’s young people believe in government ownership of property or redistribution of positive results? What has changed the traditional sense of socialism? Has the Supreme Court weighed in...

Many attention-grabbing headlines talk about laws restricting speech. It seems some legislators don’t know the constitutionality of these proposed laws. What are the ramifications of passing laws such as these? Are these laws justified under some legal doctrines? What’s the rationale behind these propositions? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they dig into these proposed laws and more on t...

  It’s debate season, and speculation about who will be the next president has already begun. Looming over the current president are constant calls for impeachment and reports on alleged wrongdoings which may diminish his chances for reelection. So, who are the best candidates and their running mates? Is impeachment a criminal or a political procedure? What kind of candidate are many Americans loo...

Sean Malone, the creator of the Out of Frame video series and Director of Media at FEE, gives us his unique perspective on the film Joker . Do art and cinema have the power to hold a mirror up to society? Is that what makes people uncomfortable about Joker and movies like it? How do other cultures respond to graphic novels and films about superheroes? Join James Harrigan, Antony Davies, and specia...

This year, October 3, 2019, is Deficit Day, the day the federal government’s income runs out. For a long time, the government has been spending more money than it collects in taxes. What effect will this have on the average American citizen? How much does the government pay in loan interest alone? Hasn’t the federal government had surpluses? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they crunch the...

As the saying goes, nothing can be certain except death and taxes. Thousands of people die every year from a remarkably wide variety of causes. What are the top five causes of death in the US? Are you more likely to be killed by a knife than a gun? What do diet and exercise have to do with death? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they cover death by rare diseases, vaping, firearms and more...

In this episode, James and Ant interview Robert Anthony Peters, producer and director of Tank Man, the story of the everyday person who stood down the Chinese army during the Tiananmen Massacre. In 1989, the Chinese people staged a series of protests in Tiananmen Square calling for democratic reforms. When the authorities had had enough, they sent in troops and tanks to break up the protests, kill...

Tuition increases seem to indicate that colleges might have an incentive to admit students who may not succeed. Meanwhile, many professors are being required to add clear student outcomes to their syllabi. However, this still leaves many students hanging. Loans are difficult to pay back, and many other problems crop up in schools. How can we adjust incentives to help public universities perform be...

Immigration policy in the United States is fraught with obstacles. Visas, green cards, and work permits all have complicated stipulations that must be followed. What does the process of legal immigration entail? What are the costs, monetary or otherwise? Is there an incentive to immigrate illegally? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they discuss the astonishing personal experiences of two s...

Many proposed solutions to society’s problems produce unintended consequences. Some laws passed in good faith, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, have adverse effects on the very people they intend to help. How many laws like this are there? What do people do about them? How do businesses deal with such laws? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they dive into the unforeseeable resul...

If you haven’t seen either of the previous Democratic primary debates, here’s a summary: Twenty candidates debate free health care and slavery reparations, among other things. Instead of talking about eliminating the federal debt, the candidates talk about adding to it. Additionally, the top candidates don’t get to debate the issues fully. All this raises a few questions: Who’s in charge of choosi...

Which historical figures do you respect? Which economic concepts should be taught to children? How do you trust statistics? James Harrigan and Antony Davies take questions from the crowd on topics ranging from incentives to trade-offs to research data to US treasury bills and more in this week’s episode of Words & Numbers. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreo...

When it comes to wildlife conservation and other environmental concerns, the ideas of free markets and private property are frequently laughed off as silly by the planet’s most strident defenders. However, the incentives—the motivations to behave in a certain way—that come along with private property are strong. After all, we never worry about cows going extinct. But can these insights on property...

For many children, compulsory education and authority figures tend to inadvertently turn off their sense of curiosity and wonder about the world. Additionally, assigned districts can limit school choice for many parents and mandatory curricula can put unnecessary stress on educators. Are there solutions to these problems within the current framework? Is there any evidence to support changing the w...

As we reach pivotal milestones, such as the legal driving age, we’re met with serious questions: Who decided I’m not old enough to vote? Why can I drive but not enter a bar? When do I have to buy health insurance? Am I ready for all this? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they weigh the pros and cons of transitioning from a minor to an adult live from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texa...

Citizens United, a conservative non-profit corporation, was once caught in the crosshairs of campaign finance law. The company violated the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act by broadcasting a political film within 30 days of a primary election. The Supreme Court split 5-4 on the issue. Did the court side with the free speech of a corporation? What happens when there are two different visions of the F...

As people like, share, and upload on social media platforms, data is generated by users and gathered by tech companies. It’s a bit unclear, however, how companies handle user data. Is selling or storing user data a problem? Does the Fourth Amendment protect internet privacy? Should the government get involved? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies—live from the University of Arizona!—as they discu...

When it comes to the final frontier, we must inevitably outline the government’s role in interplanetary colonization. Perhaps during the next century, there will be deliberation between cosmic pioneers, space entrepreneurs, and elected officials. Who owns the resources on asteroids and other celestial bodies? What might a galactic congress look like? And what’s maritime law got to do with it? Join...

This week’s guest, Robert McDonald, author of Confounding Father talks about the quintessential American philosopher: Thomas Jefferson. During the birth of America, innumerable obstacles stood in its way. What followed was the triumph of the first Americans, from a revolutionary war to purchasing Louisiana and everything in between. Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan for a cheerful, optimistic...

There appears to be a large problem in America with outcome-based thinking, particularly with regards to hot-button political issues. We skip straight to the ending we want and argue for it until we’re blue in the face, and everyone who doesn’t want the same must be evil, stupid, or both. But what if we started the conversation in a different place? What if we started it at the principles that lea...

The word “equality” is a tricky one. It means different things to different people in different contexts. Do we mean “income equality”? “Wealth equality”? “Equality before the law”? And how does that sync up with “fairness”? Why are so many fine with professional athletes and movie stars making hundreds of millions of dollars but not CEOs? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they delve into t...

As the saying goes, if you want less of something, tax it. Recently, a House bill was proposed that would raise the taxable income cap for Social Security to about $400,000. Although there seem to be many reasons to cheer, would this create unintended consequences? What could be done instead? Is privatization the way to go? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies this week as they suggest an elegant...

If life is an inalienable right, does that take the death penalty off the table? Is there really a need for social safety nets? Taxation, the Articles of Confederation, the Postal Service, and more come together this week as James Harrigan and Antony Davies explore their ambivalence (it doesn’t mean what you might think it does) on many controversial topics on this week’s episode of Words & Nu...

Only twice has the U.S. House of Representatives impeached a president, and never has the Senate voted to remove an impeached president from office. People tend to think of impeachment as a judicial tool that should be used rarely and only when a president has broken the law in some egregious way. But impeachment was designed as part of the checks-and-balances. It is a political tool. On this week...