Words & Numbers
Words & Numbers
Free the People
Episode 497: Electoral Nonsense
38 minutes Posted Feb 12, 2026 at 12:00 pm.
Introduction and Overview
Happy Bro Day!
Ireland’s Basic Income for Artists Becomes Permanent
Do Art Subsidies Create Culture or Dependency?
Super Bowl Halftime Politics: Bad Bunny vs. Kid Rock
Super Bowl Ticket Prices and Trump’s Absence
Texas Redistricting and the Razor-Thin House Majority
California Pushback and Supreme Court Implications
Trump Floats Federal Control of Elections
Absentee Voting and Constitutional Authority
Was the 2020 Election Stolen? Claims vs Evidence
Voter ID Laws and Election Integrity Debates
“Not My President” and Legitimacy in Democracy
Secession Talk and the Limits of Political Division
Compromise, Constitutional Norms, and Closing Reflections
Rome Public Restroom Fiasco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Show notes
In this episode, we discuss Ireland’s decision to make its basic income program for artists permanent and what that means for government-funded creativity, cultural value, and incentives. We examine the politics of the Super Bowl halftime show, rising ticket prices, and what cultural events reveal about tribal identity and public signaling. We then explore Texas redistricting, California’s response, and the Supreme Court’s potential role, along with broader debates over federal control of elections, absentee voting, voter ID laws, and lingering claims about the 2020 election. We also consider what legitimacy means in a constitutional republic, why “not my president” rhetoric cuts both ways, and whether secession talk solves anything. We close with a nearly catastrophic public restroom fiasco in Rome.
33:46 Rome Public Restroom Fiasco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices