What Actually Drives Crime Rates?

Why does one country have sixty times more homicides than another? This episode digs into the comparative criminology data to separate gut feelings from evidence. We cover the strongest demographic predictor of violent crime (the youth bulge), the independent effect of alcohol consumption, and the controversial lead-crime hypothesis that may explain the 1990s crime decline. We also tackle the modest effects of policing and incarceration, the nonlinear role of inequality versus poverty, and the robust finding that immigrants commit crime at lower rates than native-born populations. If you've ever wondered whether the usual policy instincts match the data, this episode is for you. Episode #277737 — open it directly at myweirdprompts.com/277737