Words & Numbers

Ant and James dissect the constant involvement of government in "emergencies," which seem to happen once a decade. For some reason.

0:00 Introduction and Episode Preview
0:50 The Ig Nobel Prize: Are Rich People More Selfish?
5:13 Rising Oil Prices and the Real Cost of Policy Decisions
7:20 Trump’s $5,000 Checks and the Inflation Problem
10:22 The Lindsay Clancy Trial and a Bizarre Jury Split
12:22 Foolishness of the Week: A Five-Year-Old, a Pond, and CPS
15:32 Foolishness of the Week: Punished for Stopping a Mass Shooter
18:17 The Affordability Crisis and Government Intervention
19:58 The Ratchet Effect: Why Government Power Never Shrinks
21:15 From the Great Depression to COVID: A Century of Expanding Government
24:14 The 2030s: Social Security and the Coming Wealth Tax
25:50 The 2040s: The Debt Crisis and a Digital Dollar
32:27 The 2050s: Population Decline and Universal Basic Income
34:11 How Temporary Government Powers Become Permanent
35:27 Socialism, the Berlin Wall, and North vs. South Korea
40:11 Social Security Insolvency and America’s Growing Debt
42:11 Property Taxes, Ownership, and the Erosion of Economic Freedom
47:01 How Young People Can Prepare for Social Security’s Future
50:21 Retirement Savings and the Coming AI Bubble
54:32 AI Regulation, Government Protection, and the Ratchet Effect

Ant and James reflect on 9/11, both the day and its legacy.

0:00 Introduction and Episode Preview
0:24 Citizens United, Super PACs, and Money in Politics
6:48 Corporate Donations, Trump, and Political Influence
10:50 AI Is Putting an Entire Industry Out of Business
13:56 AI, College Cheating, and the Future of Education
17:28 Foolishness of the Week: Trump Threatens to Halt Trade
20:48 Why Trade Deficits Aren’t What Politicians Think
22:24 25 Years Later: Remembering 9/11
25:25 Where We Were When the Attacks Happened
29:03 How 9/11 Changed America Overnight
31:39 Fear, Terrorism, and the Wars That Followed 9/11
34:22 How 9/11 Changed the Nature of War
35:17 The War on Terror and America’s “Wars on Nouns”
42:28 TSA, Security Theater, and the Post-9/11 Surveillance State
44:30 The Militarization of American Law Enforcement
46:06 Did Americans Trade Freedom for Security?
48:31 Fear, Crime, and the Lasting Legacy of 9/11
50:32 Closing Thoughts: Have Some Charity in Your Heart

What's the deal with bonds and interest rates? Find out on Words & Numbers, where we will use both words and numbers to get to the bottom of things.

0:00 Introduction and Episode Preview
0:42 Free Speech and the First Amendment
7:45 Rutgers Dean Caught Recording Students
09:55 Renaming the Great Lakes “Lake America”
11:41 Foolishness of the Week: George Santos Gets Banned From Kalshi
14:27 Is the Government Running Out of Places to Borrow?
20:24 Why Treasury Investors Are Demanding Higher Returns
22:10 The Federal Debt and the Interest Rate Spiral
24:06 Can the Government Tax Its Way Out of the Deficit?
26:24 Will the Government Eventually Monetize the Debt?
27:43 The Federal Reserve vs. the Treasury
33:05 Scott Bessent’s Plan to Push Interest Rates Down
36:42 Is the Treasury Gambling on Short-Term Debt?
41:37 Is the Treasury Trying to Conduct Monetary Policy?
44:38 Are We Seeing the Beginning of a U.S. Debt Crisis?
49:03 Can Social Security Force Congress to Confront the Debt?
51:35 Closing Thoughts: Find an Excuse to Be Nice

A priest shows up. Antony doesn’t confess, James doesn’t convert, but they all talk about human dignity.

Checkout Fr. James Martin, SJ 's book, 'Work in Progress.'
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062694480

0:00 Introduction and Overview
0:29 The Ultimate Quiet Quitting Story
4:32 Scott Bessent’s $950 Billion Bond Buyback Plan
8:05 Is the Treasury Conducting Its Own Monetary Policy?
12:14 Foolishness of the Week: American Airlines Does It Again
16:57 Father James Martin on Pope Leo, AI, and Human Dignity
20:50 What Happens When AI Meets Humanlike Robots?
22:48 AI, Loneliness, and Replacing Human Relationships
24:57 Can Free Markets Serve the Common Good?
29:22 Property Rights, Poverty, and the Role of the Church
34:53 Who Gets to Define the “Common Good”?
36:17 Subsidiarity, Data Centers, and Local Decision-Making
41:18 Human Rights vs. Human Flourishing
43:38 Wealth, Profit, and the Morality of Capitalism
48:00 What Did Jesus Mean by “The Poor Will Always Be With You”?
51:22 Individual Charity vs. Community Responsibility
55:15 Social Media, Human Dignity, and the Loss of Community
1:00:09 Father James Martin’s Work in Progress

When government statistics are under question, it gets pretty hard to know what the hell is actually going on.

00:00 Introduction and Episode Preview
00:32 Civil Disobedience, Crime, and Flock Cameras
06:17 License Plate Tracking and the Surveillance State
10:52 Rising Treasury Yields and Federal Borrowing
12:20 Surge Pricing, Markets, and Government Intervention
15:48 Monopolies, Standard Oil, and De Beers
20:01 Foolishness of the Week: Trump Tariffs on Brass Instruments
24:02 The Death of Reliable Government Data
27:00 Why Politicizing Economic Data Matters
30:21 Immigration Data, Jobs, and the Economy
33:01 Immigration and Social Security
36:39 Migrant Workers, Business Planning, and Regulation
41:39 Why Reliable Data Keeps Prices Lower
44:06 Final Thoughts on Kindness and Grace