Words & Numbers

Episode 484: Geezer Presidents


Listen Later

In this episode, we examine what actually counts as a victimless crime and why the term is so often misused, using examples ranging from seatbelt and helmet laws to drugs, prostitution, and software piracy. We discuss how insurance markets price risk more effectively than regulation, and why many so-called crimes are really paperwork violations with no direct victims. We also look at the limits of automation through recent failures in self-driving technology, and highlight the Foolishness of the Week involving ideological monocultures in academia and the incentives that sustain them. The conversation then turns to the main topic of whether there should be an age limit for the presidency, weighing cognitive decline, longevity, institutional incentives, and why existing safeguards like the 25th Amendment rarely function as intended.


00:00 Introduction and Overview

00:29 What Counts as a Victimless Crime?

01:38 Insurance, Risk, and Who Really Pays

04:36 Drugs, Prostitution, and True Victimless Crimes

06:26 Regulatory Crimes vs Real Human Harm

07:53 Software Piracy and Intellectual Property

12:38 Waymo, Power Outages, and Self-Driving Failures

14:49 Foolishness of the Week: Academic Monocultures in Academia

17:10 Personal Stories of Academic Censorship

20:39 Main Topic: Should Presidents Have an Age Limit?

21:41 Biden, Trump, and Cognitive Decline

24:39 Living Longer, Dementia, and Modern Leadership Risks

29:34 Age Limits in Other Professions

33:00 The Age of Past Presidents When Initially Elected

37:35 Which Presidents Would Have Survived a Term Age Limit?

39:33 The 25th Amendment and Why It Rarely Works

40:57 Incentives, Power, and Presidential Succession

43:53 Closing 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

357 ratings


More shows like Words & Numbers

View all
Cato Podcast by Cato Institute

Cato Podcast

975 Listeners

Congressional Dish by Jennifer Briney

Congressional Dish

1,121 Listeners

The Tom Woods Show by Tom Woods

The Tom Woods Show

3,364 Listeners

The Reason Roundtable by The Reason Roundtable

The Reason Roundtable

1,516 Listeners

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

The Fifth Column

2,874 Listeners

City Journal Audio by Manhattan Institute

City Journal Audio

634 Listeners

The Libertarian by The Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin

The Libertarian

984 Listeners

Uncommon Knowledge by Hoover Institution

Uncommon Knowledge

2,011 Listeners

The Political Orphanage by Andrew Heaton

The Political Orphanage

976 Listeners

Bob Murphy Show by Robert Murphy

Bob Murphy Show

482 Listeners

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

The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

734 Listeners

We're Not Wrong by Andrew Heaton, Jen Briney, Justin Robert Young

We're Not Wrong

151 Listeners

Conversations with Peter Boghossian by Peter Boghossian

Conversations with Peter Boghossian

241 Listeners

Just Asking Questions by Reason

Just Asking Questions

115 Listeners

The Winston Marshall Show by Winston Marshall

The Winston Marshall Show

441 Listeners