Words & Numbers

We return after a brief hiatus to catch up on a whirlwind of recent headlines, from political drama to bizarre claims about aliens, before turning to the Supreme Court’s consideration of birthright citizenship and the broader question of executive power versus congressional authority. We examine how Congress has gradually ceded its responsibilities on issues like tariffs, war powers, and immigration, and what that means for the balance of power in government. We then head to Ireland, where one enterprising citizen used AI to track the true price of a pint of Guinness, before moving to Texas for our Foolishness of the Week, where a congressional race has taken an unusual turn as a candidate campaigns by performing at quinceañeras. Finally, we dive into financial bubbles, exploring how markets price uncertainty, why emerging technologies like AI attract massive investment despite unclear outcomes, and how bubbles function as part of the process of discovering what new innovations are actually worth. 00:00 Introduction: A Month of Chaos 02:43 Supreme Court, Birthright Citizenship, and Trump’s Presence 03:45 Executive Power vs Congressional Authority 06:16 Why Congress Keeps Ceding Its Power 09:09 Can a System This Large Even Function? 10:17 Ireland’s Guinness Price Investigation with AI 13:04 Foolishness of the Week: Texas Campaigning at Quinceañeras 16:04 Redistricting, Demographics, and Political Miscalculations 18:11 Financial Bubbles and Why Economists Ignore Them 19:17 The “Real Economy” vs Financial Markets 22:24 Pricing the Unknown: Cars, Dot-Coms, and AI 24:56 AI Investing, Speculation, and Bubble Pricing 26:53 AI as the Next Internet and Technological Integration 30:53 Amazon, Spillover Innovation, and Unexpected Winners 37:22 Consumer Power, Corporate Fear, and Market Discipline Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re not going away, but things are changing a bit. Listen to find out how. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we begin with the strange world of high-end audio, from banana wire tests to quarter-million-dollar stereo systems, and ask whether diminishing returns eventually overtake objective performance. We then react to Barack Obama’s comments about aliens before moving to our Foolishness of the Week: Australia’s $40 cigarette packs and the predictable rise of black markets and bootlegging that follows heavy taxation. From there, we turn to election law and voting rights, examining who actually has the constitutional authority to regulate elections, what the SAVE Act proposes regarding proof of citizenship, whether a president can alter voting rules by executive order, and how voter ID laws intersect with legitimacy and public trust. We also discuss gerrymandering, the structural incentives of the two-party system, and a story from a group home that raises deeper questions about civic participation and what it really means to be qualified to vote. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:30 Audiophile Cable Myths and the Banana Wire Test 03:54 Quarter-Million Dollar Stereo Systems and Diminishing Returns 06:32 Barack Obama Says Aliens Are Real 10:14 Foolishness of the Week: Australia’s $40 Cigarette Packs 12:26 Black Markets, Bootleggers, and Unintended Consequences 16:55 Who Actually Decides Who Can Vote? 18:39 The Constitutional Framework for Elections 22:31 The SAVE Act and Federal Citizenship Requirements 26:53 Voter ID, Legitimacy, and Political Signaling 31:41 The Real Electoral Problem: The Two-Party Duopoly 34:15 Gerrymandering and the Spoils of Political Victory 38:50 Can Trump Use an Executive Order on Voting? 41:30 Legitimacy, Public Trust, and Election Narratives 44:52 A Story from the Group Home: When Should People Vote? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we discuss the Netherlands’ proposed 36% tax on unrealized capital gains, unpacking what it means to tax wealth that exists only on paper and how such a policy could force asset sales, distort investment behavior, and reshape long-term incentives for savers and entrepreneurs. For our Foolishness of the Week, we turn to North Carolina, where a local official distinguished himself as perhaps the dumbest sheriff in America. We then welcome Dave Greene for an extended conversation on health insurance, exploring how risk pooling actually works, why medical pricing feels arbitrary, how regulation and the Affordable Care Act altered incentives for insurers and patients, and why price opacity and third-party payment continue to drive costs higher across the system. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:31 Words and Numbers Backstage & Listener Shoutouts 04:13 The Netherlands’ 36% Tax on Unrealized Gains 08:20 Who Can Afford Risk Under a Wealth-Style Tax? 12:24 Florida Snow & Strange Weather 13:39 Foolishness of the Week: The Mecklenburg Sheriff 18:54 Dave Greene Introduction: Health Insurance Insider Perspective 21:36 Why Health Insurance Feels So Frustrating 24:05 Is the System Designed to Make You Give Up? 27:32 Why Health Care Prices Stay Hidden 34:13 The $1,600 MRI vs. $200 MRI Problem 41:38 Negotiating Medical Bills (Yes, You Can) 43:36 The Affordable Care Act and Incentive Distortions 47:24 Health Insurance Profit Margins Explained 50:45 1950s Health Care vs. Today’s Innovation 53:48 Why Insurance Companies Get the Blame 57:26 Medicare vs. Private Insurance Subsidies 01:01:35 Guest Outro and Closing Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we discuss Ireland’s decision to make its basic income program for artists permanent and what that means for government-funded creativity, cultural value, and incentives. We examine the politics of the Super Bowl halftime show, rising ticket prices, and what cultural events reveal about tribal identity and public signaling. We then explore Texas redistricting, California’s response, and the Supreme Court’s potential role, along with broader debates over federal control of elections, absentee voting, voter ID laws, and lingering claims about the 2020 election. We also consider what legitimacy means in a constitutional republic, why “not my president” rhetoric cuts both ways, and whether secession talk solves anything. We close with a nearly catastrophic public restroom fiasco in Rome. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:42 Happy Bro Day! 01:57 Ireland’s Basic Income for Artists Becomes Permanent 03:21 Do Art Subsidies Create Culture or Dependency? 05:16 Super Bowl Halftime Politics: Bad Bunny vs. Kid Rock 09:40 Super Bowl Ticket Prices and Trump’s Absence 12:28 Texas Redistricting and the Razor-Thin House Majority 16:58 California Pushback and Supreme Court Implications 19:14 Trump Floats Federal Control of Elections 21:49 Absentee Voting and Constitutional Authority 23:44 Was the 2020 Election Stolen? Claims vs Evidence 27:24 Voter ID Laws and Election Integrity Debates 29:12 “Not My President” and Legitimacy in Democracy 30:51 Secession Talk and the Limits of Political Division 32:26 Compromise, Constitutional Norms, and Closing Reflections 33:46 Rome Public Restroom Fiasco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we discuss the United Kingdom’s move toward judge-only trials and what the erosion of jury trials means for due process and limits on state power. We examine how plea bargaining, prosecutorial incentives, and presumed guilt have reshaped the criminal justice system, along with the role of body cameras and public trust in law enforcement. We also explore federal enforcement authority, debates over the Second Amendment and constitutional carry, and why gun rights are often treated differently from other civil liberties. The conversation then turns to housing, where we break down competing estimates of the housing shortage, rising prices, zoning restrictions, rent control, and political attempts to manage prices rather than supply. We close by looking at why prices function as signals rather than levers, and how productive disagreement is essential to a healthy society. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:27 UK Moves Toward Judge-Only Trials 01:46 Jury Nullification and the Last Check on State Power 03:18 Prosecutors, Plea Deals, and Why Jury Trials Disappear 04:48 Presumed Guilt and the Psychology of Law Enforcement 05:58 Body Cameras and Changing Views of Police Conduct 08:01 ICE, Oversight, and Federal Enforcement Power 08:59 Judge Jeanine Pirro and Threats Against Lawful Gun Owners 10:45 The Second Amendment as a Pre-Existing Right 12:43 Limits, Exceptions, and Constitutional Carry 15:04 Federal Policing and the Purpose of the Second Amendment 16:07 Conflicting Estimates of the U.S. Housing Shortage 18:50 Housing Prices, Income Ratios, and Public Perception 20:43 Down Payments, Rent Pressure, and Affordability Myths 23:47 Spending Habits, Lifestyle Inflation, and Housing Choices 27:30 NIMBYism, Zoning Laws, and Why Supply Stays Constrained 30:15 Rent Control, Landlords, and Market Distortions 32:14 Trump on Housing Prices and Political Price Controls 33:53 Why Prices Are Metrics, Not Levers 36:07 Mortgages, Risk, and Government Loan Guarantees 38:02 How Productive Disagreement Actually Works 40:35 Closing Reflections and Community Engagement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we explore the strange signals people use to interpret global events, from Pentagon pizza orders and satellite data to the Big Mac Index and other unconventional measures of economic reality. We examine the decline of Google search, the rise of AI-powered alternatives, and why new tools are changing how people actually find information. For the “foolishness of the week”, we detail an unfortunate incident involving a piece of World War I artillery, before turning to a broader cultural debate about nostalgia for the 1950s. With guest Andrew Heaton, we unpack myths about work, gender roles, housing, healthcare, and prosperity, comparing mid-century life to modern standards of living. Along the way, we discuss food abundance, technological progress, wage compensation, inequality, and whether people genuinely want to return to the past or simply romanticize it from a distance. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:28 Pentagon Pizza Orders and “Pizza Intelligence” 02:51 Proxy Signals, Satellite Data, and the Waffle House Index 04:25 The Big Mac Index and Measuring Cost of Living 05:00 The Decline of Google Search and Sponsored Results 07:19 Switching Search Engines and the Myth of Google Monopoly 09:54 AI Search Tools and Why They Actually Work 11:28 Foolishness of the Week: World War I Artillery Incident 13:43 How Bad Ideas Escalate at Parties 15:51 Introducing Andrew Heaton 16:39 Was the 1950s a Time or a Place? 18:43 Economic Reality vs 1950s Nostalgia 20:58 Women’s Work, Household Labor, and Misleading Myths 23:56 Food Costs, Eating Out, and Modern Abundance 25:46 Medicine, Lifespan, and Why 50s Healthcare Was Worse 27:57 Housing Size, Zoning, and the Cost of Homes 30:01 Cars, Air Conditioning, and Quality of Life Improvements 31:17 Mortgage Rates and Why Housing Feels Unaffordable Now 34:02 Manufacturing, Exports, and the “We Don’t Make Anything” Myth 35:35 Agricultural Productivity and Modern Farming 37:19 Food Waste as a Measure of Prosperity 37:42 Great Depression Scarcity and Generational Habits 39:59 Transportation Costs and Higher Quality Modern Vehicles 42:50 Car Safety, Seatbelts, and Survival Rates 43:42 Wages, Benefits, and What “Compensation” Really Means 45:29 What the 1950s Actually Did Better 47:52 Inequality, Community, and Social Capital in the 50s 49:44 Technology, Isolation, and Choosing Modern Life 52:05 Longing for Silence from Technology 53:18 The Mythology of Happy Days Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we explore everything from missing teaspoons and land acknowledgments to capital punishment and medieval economic thinking. We examine what everyday shortages reveal about prices and incentives, debate China’s use of executions for online scams, and unpack why symbolic gestures like mandatory land acknowledgments often collapse under scrutiny. We’re also joined by Andrew Heaton, host of The Political Orphanage podcast, to discuss zero-sum thinking, inequality versus poverty, and why so many economic intuitions still haven’t escaped the Dark Ages. Along the way, we look at profit caps, price controls, and the persistent temptation to treat economics like theology rather than systems thinking. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:28 Land Acknowledgment 01:30 The Curious Case of the Disappearing Teaspoons 03:31 What Teaspoons Teach Us About Prices and Resources 06:04 China Executes Online Scammers 08:21 When Capital Punishment Expands Too Far 09:51 Foolishness of the Week: Mandatory Land Acknowledgments 13:13 Free Speech, Property Theory, and a Faculty Lawsuit 18:32 Andrew Heaton Joins the Show 21:12 Economics Thinking That Never Escaped the Dark Ages 24:42 Zero-Sum Thinking and the Origins of Envy 27:37 Why Humans Think in Proportions, Not Absolutes 29:53 Inequality vs. Poverty 34:59 Greed, Merchants, and Medieval Economics 37:20 Why Price Controls Never Work 41:08 Theology vs. Economics 42:43 Why Profit Caps Backfire 48:09 Supply and Demand Is Not Optional 51:48 Systems Thinking vs. Witch Hunts 55:01 Why Bad Incentives Create Bad Outcomes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we examine proposals that would restrict or revoke U.S. citizenship, including the constitutional limits on forced renunciation, dual citizenship, and the government’s authority to define who belongs. We discuss population policy, free movement in Europe, and Supreme Court precedents that constrain state power over individual status. We also break down a sharp drop in the dollar, revisit the failures of mercantilism, and touch on the cultural politics surrounding Bill Belichick and the Hall of Fame. We then turn to firearms, protest, and political hypocrisy, looking closely at gun violence data, international bans, and the selective application of constitutional principles. We close by exploring free speech, due process, religious freedom, and what happens when rights give way to raw power, from domestic politics to authoritarian regimes abroad. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:32 The Exclusive Citizenship Act Explained 01:16 Forced Renunciation and Dual Citizenship Risks 02:30 Could the Government Strip Citizenship? 03:47 Population Reduction and the “100 Million Americans” Idea 05:20 European Passports, Borders, and Free Movement 06:57 Supreme Court Limits on Revoking Citizenship 08:32 Compelled Speech and Constitutional Conflicts 09:46 The Dollar’s Worst Day and Weak Currency Politics 11:17 Mercantilism and Why Economists Rejected It 12:51 Bill Belichick and the Politics of the Hall of Fame 15:34 Minnesota Shooting and the Second Amendment Flip 16:46 When and Why People Carry Guns 18:32 What the Data Really Says About Gun Violence 21:01 International Gun Bans and Substitution Effects 22:11 Protests, Firearms, and Political Hypocrisy 24:12 Republicans, Democrats, and Reversed Principles 27:39 Principles vs Preferences in Constitutional Rights 30:11 Do People Actually Believe in Free Speech? 31:35 Rights as a Defense Against Totalitarianism 32:14 Religion, the First Amendment, and Equal Treatment 33:58 The Taliban, Education, and Religious Absolutism 37:09 Why the Second Amendment Became Politically Unique 39:03 Political Violence and State Power 41:16 Due Process, Federal Force, and Law Enforcement Norms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we discuss why the right to an attorney remains one of the most important protections in the American legal system, using Gideon v. Wainwright to examine how due process actually functions in practice. We explore the recent surge in gold and silver prices, weighing inflation fears against global instability and market psychology, and consider how Trump’s negotiation style plays out in diplomacy and financial markets. We also examine a new film about Melania Trump, why it misses the larger political moment, and how culture increasingly drifts away from economic reality. We then turn to the so-called Great Wealth Transfer, where we explore how inheritances shape labor markets, housing prices, charitable giving, and long-term economic behavior, along with the unintended consequences that massive shifts in wealth can create for policy, taxation, and inequality. 00:00 Introduction and Overview 00:29 The Story Behind the Right to an Attorney (Gideon v. Wainwright) 03:44 Why Gideon’s Case Still Matters Today 04:43 Precious Metals Surge: Gold and Silver Prices Explained 06:40 Inflation vs. Global Risk as Drivers of Gold Prices 08:04 Trump’s Negotiation Style and Market Turbulence 09:53 Why Business Tactics Fail in Diplomacy 11:06 Foolishness of the Week: The Melania Trump Movie 13:22 Why the Movie Misses the Real Political Story 15:15 James Bores Ant with Sports Discussion 16:01 The Great Wealth Transfer 17:52 Why Inheritances Don’t Behave Like Savings 19:22 Inheritances as Economic Stimulus 22:10 Early Retirement and Labor Market Effects 23:14 Will Wealth Skip a Generation? 24:18 How Big the Wealth Transfer Really Is 25:58 Why the Economy Keeps Avoiding Recession 26:43 Racial Wealth Gaps and Political Fallout 30:49 Why Redistribution Could Backfire 32:04 Estate Taxes, Trusts, and Avoiding the IRS 36:36 Which States Will Gain the Most from Inheritance 38:25 Interest Rates, Inflation, and ESG Investing 40:29 Housing Prices vs. Rental Markets 42:26 Unintended Consequences of Massive Wealth Shifts 43:29 Charitable Giving and Inheritance Choices 44:37 Final Thoughts on Markets, Wealth, and the Future Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices