Episode summary: Send us a text How should we decide which political-economic systems are best for organizing society? Let’s peer through the lens of the “Pretty Pig Problem,” which highlights the flaws in comparing the actual implementation of systems we dislike with idealized versions of systems w...
Episode summary: YouTube’s most unique gaming commentator can teach us a lot about the beauty of everyday infrastructure
Episode summary: The number of satellites orbiting our planet has been rapidly increasing in recent years. But what are the risks when they start falling back down to earth?The European Space agency estimate that by 2030 there will be 100,000 satellites in orbit. We look at whether that estimate is...
Episode summary: In 1710, the British Parliament passed a piece of legislation entitled An Act for the Encouragement of Learning. It became known as the Statute of Anne, and it was the world’s first copyright law. Copyright protects and regulates a piece of work - whether that’s a book, a painting,...
Episode summary: Send us a text Transaction costs are the friction in the gears of society, but the worst transaction costs are the ones that reflect government failure. You can see it in ever cliche about government, from the dreaded DMV lines to the passport control bottleneck. Drawing on Milton F...
Episode summary: Announcing The 99% Invisible Breakdown: The Constitution and the return of What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law.
Episode summary: Campaigners are calling for the ingredients of sourdough to be laid out in law. So are there too many loaves on sale that are more sourfaux than sourdough? Leyla Kazim investigates.This programme features a visit to the Batch event at the Long Table in Stroud to meet baker and autho...
Episode summary: Why natural gas markets were easier to master than human nature
Episode summary: In “Oh, Snapper! Mislabeled Mississippi Seafood,” Gravy producer Boyce Upholt takes listeners to Biloxi, Mississippi—a town that has long called itself the Seafood Capital of the World. But in May 2024, shocking news hit the community: Mary Mahoney’s Old French House, an iconic rest...