Words & Numbers

Antony Davies and James R. Harrigan co-host Words & Numbers, where they take a non-partisan look at current events through the eyes of an economist and a political scientist. The show is aimed at interested non-experts. Regular episodes come out each Wednesday.

Episode 406: Words & Numbers Live: After the Election 11/20/2024

Episode 406: Words & Numbers Live: After the Election Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Clark Neily Phil Magness Mikhail Rasner Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/33963267

Episode 405: $22,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 11/13/2024

Episode 405: $22,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/33905412

Episode 404: Dangers of Democracy 11/05/2024

Episode 404: Dangers of Democracy Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/33766817

Episode 403: Crime Data: Revising History? 10/30/2024

Episode 403: Crime Data: Revising History? This week, we address listener comments that the FBI crime data we reported in an earlier episode was flawed. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/33671797

Episode 402: Project Liberal 10/23/2024

Episode 402: Project Liberal Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/33539082

Episode 401: 20-to-1, Political Indoctrination in Higher Education 10/16/2024

Episode 401: 20-to-1, Political Indoctrination in Higher Education Economist and author Bryan Caplan joins us to discuss how higher education has become a bastion of extreme leftist thought - so much so that professors that self-identify as Democrat outnumber professors that self-identify as Republican by 20-to-1. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/33475277

Episode 400: Population Problems 10/09/2024

Episode 400: Population Problems It was just a couple of decades ago that experts were wringing their hands over the coming population explosion that was going to kill us all. Now they are wringing their hands over the coming population crash that is going to kill us all. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/33348657

Episode 399: Lying Politicians 10/03/2024

Episode 399: Lying Politicians Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/33313857

Episode 398: Alliteration Time: Trump, Tariffs, and Taxes 09/25/2024

Episode 398: Alliteration Time: Trump, Tariffs, and Taxes Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/33190342

Episode 397: More on the Fed 09/20/2024

Episode 397: More on the Fed This week, we address listener questions from our earlier episode on the Fed. We also make incorrect predictions about whether the September cut in interest rates. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/33145842

Episode 396: Unrealized Capital Gains 09/11/2024

Episode 396: Unrealized Capital Gains The idea of an unrealized capital gains tax gains momentum every election season of late. This week, we take a look at what it is and why even the middle class should be very afraid. Foolishness of the Week: 07:34 Main episode: 11:12 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/32964372

Episode 395: The Fed 09/04/2024

Episode 395: The Fed Episode 395: The Fed What does the Fed do and how does it do it? Foolishness of the Week: 06:38 Main episode: 08:51 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/32865237

Episode 394: Candidates’ Attitudes 08/29/2024

Episode 394: Candidates’ Attitudes Episode 394: Candidates’ Attitudes Unfortunately, when it comes to elections, often a smile is all it takes. Foolishness of the Week: 06:55 Main episode: 11:32 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/32799382

Episode 393: Why Is Economics Important? 08/21/2024

Episode 393: Why Is Economics Important? This is a conversation James and I had concerning various topics in economics and current events. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon The School of Ireland Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/32621112

Episode 392: Could Unemployment Be a Good Thing? 08/14/2024

Episode 392: Could Unemployment Be a Good Thing? Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/32528012

Episode 391: Attacked by a Gang Wearing Lab Coats 08/11/2024

Episode 391: Attacked by a Gang Wearing Lab Coats This week James shares some first-hand experience with the magic that comes out of modern health care. Foolishness of the Week: 10:22 Main episode: 12:43 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/32430902

Episode 390: Personal Finance 07/31/2024

Episode 390: Personal Finance James is recovering from surgery this week, so we offer you this special episode on personal finance so as to not to leave you sad and alone on Words & Numbers Wednesday! /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/32356737

Episode 389: Recession? 07/24/2024

Episode 389: Recession? Are we in a recession? Americans say we are. The data say we aren’t. Who’s right? Foolishness of the Week: 05:30 Main episode: 10:50 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/32252352

Episode 388: Supply Chain III 07/17/2024

Episode 388: Supply Chain III Supply chain insider Mikhail Razner joins us again for what has come to be an annual update on the state of supply chains. Want to know why your boysenberry pie is more expensive? Listen in! Foolishness of the Week: 10:24 Main episode: 13:20 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/32154162

Episode 387: The Supremes' One-Two Punch 07/10/2024

Episode 387: The Supremes' One-Two Punch Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Topic of the Week Clark Neily on Amazon Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/32068977

Episode 386: Chase Oliver 2024 07/03/2024

Episode 386: Chase Oliver 2024 Foolishness of the Week: 05:13 Main episode: 12:18 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/31953517

Episode 385: Gaming 06/26/2024

Episode 385: Gaming Many of our listeners, and at least one of our hosts, are avid gamers, so it's natural that we'd come around to this topic eventually. Gaming companies are known to employ economists (often game theorists) to help design games because economists understand how to think about how people behave when their unlimited desires collide with their limited abilities. Games are nothing more than artificial environments in which these very real behaviors play out. Foolishness of the Week: 10:06 Main episode: 17:27 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/31858707

Episode 384: A Difference in Interest Rates 06/19/2024

Episode 384: A Difference in Interest Rates Canada’s central bank cut its interest rate. The European central bank cut its interest rate. But the Fed continues to hold its interest rate high. This will create a cascade of effects - some good, some bad, depending on who you are. Foolishness of the Week: 09:43 Main episode: 13:11 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/31706072

Episode 383: The Justice and Practicality of Reparations 06/12/2024

Episode 383: The Justice and Practicality of Reparations If people who call for reparations for slavery want to be taken seriously, they must take their own arguments seriously first. And that requires bringing to bear the same scrutiny and law that we currently apply to any case in which someone is seeking to be made whole following the actions of another. Foolishness of the Week: 11:57 Main episode: 15:01 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/31670952

Episode 382: The Value of College 06/05/2024

Episode 382: The Value of College We’ve argued before that the value of a college degree was questionable. That was before covid. Since then, the value proposition has deteriorated markedly. Foolishness of the Week: 05:15 Main episode: 07:07 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/31606917

Episode 381: $1 Trillion in Interest 05/29/2024

Episode 381: $1 Trillion in Interest The annual gross interest on the debt exceeded $1 trillion for the first time in history. Years ago, we warned that the combination of on-going deficits and inevitably higher interest rates would give us exactly what we have now. Foolishness of the Week: 08:16 Main episode: 09:31 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/31499307

Episode 380: Population Shrink 05/22/2024

Episode 380: Population Shrink A generation or two ago, people wrung their hands over the population explosion. What will happen, they said, when we finally have too many people! It turns out that, not only was overpopulation not a problem, underpopulation has become one. Foolishness of the Week: 8:25 Main episode: 14:19 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/31409187

Episode 379: Of Millionaires and Homeless 05/16/2024

Episode 379: Of Millionaires and Homeless Foolishness of the Week: 11:09 Main episode: 16:35 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/31334627

Episode 378: The One Branch of Government 05/08/2024

Episode 378: The One Branch of Government Clark Neily joins us again this week. This time, we’re talking about how we have come to muddle the separation of powers among the three branches of government. As Congress has largely fallen asleep at the wheel, the executive branch has come to play the roles of all three branches, all by itself. Foolishness of the Week: 04:46 Main episode: 05:49 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Topic of the Week Clark Neily Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/31184452

Episode 377: Real Estate Insider 05/01/2024

Episode 377: Real Estate Insider The National Association of Realtors recently agreed to pay almost half a billion dollars in a class action suit involving sellers fees. This week’s guest, Judd Bristo, is unique in being a listener, an economist, and a realtor. We asked Judd to come on to talk about the settlement and the complex world of real estate commissions. Foolishness of the Week: 04:38 Main episode: 07:03 Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! See More Ant and James! Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon Quick Hits Foolishness of the Week Topic of the Week Words & Numbers Backstage More James at Smoke & Stories More Ant on YouTube Let Us Know What You Think Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational /episode/index/show/wordsandnumbers/id/31019578

Words & Numbers

TOPICS