Words & Numbers

Episode 482: The Evolution of Crime


Listen Later

In this episode, we revisit the debate over restricting social media access for children, responding to listener feedback and examining why parental responsibility alone can’t address the scale of the problem. We discuss proposals for age verification, the risks of digital ID systems, and how privacy and surveillance concerns are often dismissed with the claim that people have “nothing to hide.” We then turn to California’s energy situation, looking at refinery closures, the Jones Act, and why state climate policies have little impact on global emissions while driving higher fuel costs. We examine a lawsuit involving Donald Trump and the BBC, followed by the week’s “foolishness” surrounding the Oscars’ move to YouTube. Our main discussion explores the concept of victimless crime, how outdated laws persist long after society moves on, what entrepreneurship signals about obsolete regulations, and why enforcement-heavy approaches to poverty, drugs, and everyday behavior continue to fail.


00:00 Introduction and Overview

01:02 Listener Feedback on Social Media Bans for Kids

02:06 Why Parenting Alone Cannot Solve the Social Media Problem

03:16 Age Verification and the Push Toward Digital ID

04:43 Privacy, Surveillance, and Why “Nothing to Hide” Fails

06:45 How Governments Can Abuse Data in the Future

07:20 California Refinery Closures and Energy Reality

08:13 The Jones Act and Why California Imports Fuel from Abroad

11:02 Why California’s Climate Policies Barely Affect Global CO2

13:00 Trump’s Lawsuit Against the BBC

14:27 Why Trump Would Have to Testify Under Oath

15:34 Foolishness of the Week: The Oscars Move to YouTube

17:42 Main Topic Setup: Victimless Crime and Enforcement

18:36 Entrepreneurship as a Signal That Laws Are Obsolete

20:47 Blue Laws, Alcohol, and How Societies Outgrow Bad Rules

24:27 Are There Any Victimless Crimes Left?

28:42 Speed Limits and Everyday Criminality

31:28 Is Government the Evolution of Crime?

34:31 The Cash Benchmark Test Explained

36:20 Why the War on Poverty Failed

40:16 The True Cost of the War on Drugs

43:55 Why Freedom No Longer Drives Policy

45:31 Closing Reflections and Final Thoughts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Words & NumbersBy CiVL

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

361 ratings


More shows like Words & Numbers

View all
The Glenn Show by Glenn Loury

The Glenn Show

2,269 Listeners

The Tom Woods Show by Tom Woods

The Tom Woods Show

3,366 Listeners

The Reason Roundtable by The Reason Roundtable

The Reason Roundtable

1,512 Listeners

The Fifth Column by Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch

The Fifth Column

2,903 Listeners

The Editors by National Review

The Editors

4,908 Listeners

Uncommon Knowledge by Hoover Institution

Uncommon Knowledge

2,033 Listeners

The Political Orphanage by Andrew Heaton

The Political Orphanage

981 Listeners

DarkHorse Podcast by Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying

DarkHorse Podcast

5,374 Listeners

The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie by The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

736 Listeners

Conversations with Coleman by The Free Press

Conversations with Coleman

614 Listeners

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

10,260 Listeners

The Saad Truth with Dr. Saad by thesaadtruthwithdrsaad

The Saad Truth with Dr. Saad

1,179 Listeners

Honestly with Bari Weiss by The Free Press

Honestly with Bari Weiss

8,449 Listeners

Breaking History by The Free Press

Breaking History

1,114 Listeners

Provoked with Darryl Cooper and Scott Horton by Darryl Cooper and Scott Horton

Provoked with Darryl Cooper and Scott Horton

543 Listeners