In this episode of Words & Numbers, James and Ant announce their new partnership with CiVL and reflect on the state of modern life. Using Jurassic World and a Nobel Prize winner’s comments as a springboard, they unpack the economics of innovation, incentives, and monopolies. They take on popular claims that life has gotten worse—breaking down the real costs of housing, cars, and higher education over time—and challenge the doom-and-gloom narrative with hard data and perspective.

The debut of the new “So What?” segment offers concrete takeaways: count your blessings, question the media’s distortions, and don’t believe everything “everybody knows.”

Words and Numbers is a CiVL Original Podcast.

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Quick Hits

https://www.jurassicworld.com

https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2025-07-04/charles-rice-nobel-prize-winner-in-medicine-its-a-crime-that-a-drug-exists-that-could-cure-everyone-yet-not-everybody-has-access-to-it.html

https://www.thetimes.com/world/latin-america/article/gringo-go-home-why-mexico-is-turning-against-us-immigrants-cmq2qsv2j

Foolishness of the Week

https://www.yahoo.com/news/fema-removed-dozens-camp-mystic-111716138.html

Words & Numbers Backstage

https://youtu.be/i73H047bID8?si=zUTcXrBYDolwTVgl

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881500Q

https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/average-home-size/#space

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUUR0000SETA01

More James at Smoke & Stories

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig

More Ant on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/antonydavies

Let Us Know What You Think

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James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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