Episode 127: We live in a country of laws, but it seems there are certain laws that aren’t enforced in consistent and substantial ways.

Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss three areas — chronic school absenteeism, traffic safety and shoplifting — where it seems that there isn't as much enforcement as there used to be.

Links to stories discussed during the podcast:

Skipping school: America’s hidden education crisis, by Alec MacGillis, ProPublica

America's roads are more dangerous, as police pull over fewer drivers, Martin Kaste, National Public Radio

Why are so many American pedestrians dying at night?, by By Emily Badger, Ben Blatt and Josh Katz, The New York Times Magazine

Is shoplifting really surging?, by German Lopez, The New York Times

The Slate Political Gabfest

About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.