Words & Numbers

Americans are pretty concerned about violent crime—particularly crimes committed with guns, “assault weapons” most specifically. This concern, statistically speaking, is fairly irrational. You are far more likely to be killed by being beaten or stabbed than you are to be killed by any kind of rifle, “assault” or otherwise.  So why are so many people so tied up in knots about it? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they discuss this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Quick hits Corona brewing replaces plastic six-pack rings Illegal immigrants and Social Security numbers The economic case for immigration W&N episode #51: America relies on immigrants Foolishness of the week Being morally right vs being factually correct Criticism vs harassment Topic of the week: Reality and Perception of Crime Pew report on violent crime data FBI crime data Bureau of Justice Statistics crime data Gallup polls on perception of crime trends Defensive uses of guns Firearm homicide and suicide rat