Words & Numbers

FOLLOW US:

SUBSCRIBE ON ITUNES
SUBSCRIBE ON GOOGLE PLAY
SUBSCRIBE ON SPOTIFY

About this podcast

Insightful weekly commentary on news & current events from economist Antony Davies and political scientist James R. Harrigan.

Join the conversation

Episode Thumbnail

Patently Absurd

December 4, 2019

One of the few enumerated powers that the Founders granted to the federal government was the power to issue patents.

Patents are a compromise between two conflicting goals. On the one hand, we want to avoid the creation of government-protected monopolies because monopolies stifle innovation. On the other, we want entrepreneurs to have an incentive to innovate. And one way to incentivize entrepreneurs is to grant monopoly protection for their inventions.

Patent law is an attempt to balance these two conflicting goals, but the balance presents trade offs. Weaker patent laws mean cheaper goods today but a lesser variety of goods tomorrow; stronger patent laws mean more expensive goods today but a greater variety of goods tomorrow.

Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers

Quick hits

Why did the South Bronx burn?
A history of NYC rent control.
Paying property taxes with nickels.
What happens if merchants refuse to take dollars?
Businesses taking Benjamins.

Foolishness of the Week

Michael Bloomberg and “those people”

Topic of the Week

The Constitution and Patents

Join the Conversation

Words & Numbers Backstage 
Send us an email!
Antony Davies on Twitter
James R. Harrigan on Twitter

 

All Episodes

All Shows

Out of Frame

Video essays that explore the intersection of art, culture, and big ideas written & produced by FEE's Director of Media, Sean W. Malone.

Common Sense Soapbox

Short videos with a punchy, comedic tone and entertaining Socratic characters taking on trending issues and important concepts from a classical liberal perspective, written & animated by Seamus Coughlin.

Revolution of One

Discover how the entrepreneurial mindset can help you build a successful career and find meaning in your life.

How We Thrive

“How We Thrive” is a docuseries profiling inspiring stories female entrepreneurs and the impact their businesses have made on the world. From one of the world’s more prolific acoustic instrument companies, to a Senegalese entrepreneur trying to combat the poverty image, to a pioneer in the health care industry who built a half a billion dollar company as a female CEO in Texas in the 1970s, to a pair of women cutting their way through miles of conflicting rules in the legal marijuana industry in Colorado - each episode follows the creation and growth of a specific company, the trials and tribulations experienced, and the knowledge gained - with the hopes of inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs.

We chose women who not only do business well, despite all of the roadblocks: funding, regulation, competitive markets, but women who are passionate about what they do - women who are striving to make a difference.

Mind Your Business

An entertaining and informative series of short documentaries that feature innovative entrepreneurs and the challenges they face, hosted by Andrew Heaton.

The Stories of Liberty

A series of powerful and emotionally moving narrative short films featuring the timeless heroes of liberty.

Invisible Hands

Popular YouTube host Kevin Lieber (VSauce2) hosts this informative and entertaining video series designed to introduce key concepts of economics to younger audiences through credible arguments, comedy... And puppets!

The "Lazy" Millennial

Former FEE writer Eileen Wittig reprises her popular column using dry wit and some good ideas to solve tricky everyday problems for young people.

Experience FEEcon

Check out all of our incredible Keynote talks from FEE's powerful 3-day, must-attend summer event: FEEcon.

FEEcast

Economics is everywhere...if only you choose to see it. Join the FEEcast team every Friday for a lively recap of the week's important stories to give you the meaning behind the headlines.

Featuring Richard Lorenc, Brittany Hunter, Dan Sanchez and Marianne March

Produced by Sean W. Malone, Pavel Rusakov, and Jaye Davidson

FEE News Briefs

Topical news and commentary from the Foundation for Economic Education.

Connect with FEE