Words & Numbers
Words & Numbers
Free the People
Episode 477: Your Future Self Hates You
59 minutes Posted Dec 2, 2025 at 12:00 pm.
Introduction and Overview
America’s Real Causes of Death vs. Media Coverage
Heart Disease, Suicide, Homicide: Comparing Risk to Headlines
Terrorism Coverage and the Outlier Problem
Why Our Brains Misread Danger
New Ohio Bill on Paternity Testing
The Ethics of Mandatory vs. Optional Paternity Tests
PolyMarket Odds for 2028 GOP Presidential Candidates
What Yoga Can Teach Economists About Property Rights
Self-Ownership, Labor, and the Logic of Markets
Voting, Consent, and Withdrawing From the Regime
Environmental Ethics and “Not Stealing From the Earth”
Can You “Steal” From Your Future Self?
Identity Over Time: Are You the Same Person Decades Later?
Do Children Have Full Rights? And When Should They?
Drug Laws, Nanny States, and Personal Autonomy
Age Restrictions and the Problem of Arbitrary Lines
Should Your Future Self Be Considered a Separate Entity?
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Show notes
In this episode, we open with a look at how news coverage distorts public perception of danger, from shark attacks to terrorism, and why our instincts so often fail to match the data. We analyze the betting markets in regards to potential 2028 GOP presidential candidates. We discuss Ohio’s new proposal to offer paternity testing at birth, raising deeper questions about truth, family, and whether the state should standardize knowledge people may prefer not to have. We explore what consent really means in modern politics, how taxation relates to self-ownership, and whether withdrawing consent is even possible inside a democratic system. We dig into the philosophy of “future selves,” weighing whether personal choices today can violate the rights of the person we eventually become, and how this idea might reshape debates about children, drug laws, responsibility, and property rights. We wrap with the growing implications of deepfake technology, including one startling clip that hits very close to home.
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