Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior. To get every show in our network without ads and a monthly bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio, sign up for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts at http://app ...
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From the podcast that explores the hidden side of everything, hear authors like you’ve never heard them before. Stephen Dubner and a stable of Freakonomics friends talk with the writers of mind-bending books, and we hear the best excerpts as well. You’ll learn about skill versus chance, the American discomfort with death, the secret life of dogs, and much more. To get every show in our network without ads and a monthly bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio, sign up for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Ap ...
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In a wide-ranging conversation with Ezekiel Emanuel, the policymaking physician and medical gadfly, we discuss the massive effects of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. We also talk about the state of cancer care, mysteries in the gut microbiome, flaws in the U.S. healthcare system — and what a second Trump term means for healthcare po…
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John J. Sullivan, a former State Department official and U.S. ambassador, says yes: “Our politicians aren’t leading — Republicans or Democrats.” He gives a firsthand account of a fateful Biden-Putin encounter, talks about his new book Midnight in Moscow, and predicts what a second Trump term means for Russia, Ukraine, China — and the U.S. SOURCES: …
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Last week, we heard a former U.S. ambassador describe Russia’s escalating conflict with the U.S. Today, we revisit a 2019 episode about an overlooked front in the Cold War — a “farms race” that, decades later, still influences what Americans eat. SOURCES: Anne Effland, former Senior Economist for the Office of Chief Economist in the U.S.D.A. Shane …
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John J. Sullivan, a former State Department official and U.S. ambassador, says yes: “Our politicians aren’t leading — Republicans or Democrats.” He gives a firsthand account of a fateful Biden-Putin encounter, talks about his new book Midnight in Moscow, and predicts what a second Trump term means for Russia, Ukraine, China — and the U.S. SOURCES: …
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613. Dying Is Easy. Retail Is Hard.
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Macy’s wants to recapture its glorious past. The author of the Wimpy Kid books wants to rebuild his dilapidated hometown. We just want to listen in. (Part two of a two-part series.) SOURCES: Mark Cohen, former professor and director of retail studies at Columbia Business School. Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios. Je…
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The 166-year-old chain, which is fighting extinction, calls the parade its “gift to the nation.” With 30 million TV viewers, it’s also a big moneymaker. At least we think it is — Macy’s is famously tight-lipped about parade economics. We try to loosen them up. (Part one of a two-part series.) Please take our audience survey at freakonomics.com/surv…
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It’s true that robots (and other smart technologies) will kill many jobs. It may also be true that newer collaborative robots (“cobots”) will totally reinvigorate how work gets done. That, at least, is what the economists are telling us. Should we believe them? SOURCES: David Autor, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technolog…
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After a dramatic election, Donald Trump has returned from exile. We hear what to expect at home and abroad — and what to do if you didn’t vote for Trump. SOURCE: Fareed Zakaria, journalist and author. RESOURCES: "The Most Dangerous Moment Since the Cold War," by Fareed Zakaria (The Washington Post, 2024). "America’s Failed Approach to Iran Can’t Re…
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Some people want the new cannabis economy to look like the craft-beer movement. Others are hoping to build the Amazon of pot. And one expert would prefer a government-run monopoly. We listen in as they fight it out. (Part four of a four-part series.) SOURCES: Jon Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon Univer…
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Chris Weld worked for years in emergency rooms, then ditched that career and bought an old farm in Massachusetts. He set up a distillery and started making prize-winning spirits. When cannabis was legalized, he jumped into that too — and the first few years were lucrative. But now? It turns out that growing, processing, and selling weed is more com…
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With abortion on the Nov. 5 ballot, we look back at Steve Levitt’s controversial research about an unintended consequence of Roe v. Wade. SOURCES: John Donohue, professor of law at Stanford Law School. Steve Levitt, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago and host of People I (Mostly) Admire. Jessica Wolpaw Reyes, professor of …
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There are a lot of reasons, including heavy regulations, high taxes, and competition from illegal weed shops. Most operators are losing money and waiting for Washington to get out of the way. In the meantime, it’s not that easy being green. (Part two of a four-part series.) SOURCES: Jon Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy a…
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We have always been a nation of drinkers — but now there are more daily users of cannabis than alcohol. Considering alcohol’s harms, maybe that’s a good thing. But some people worry that the legalization of cannabis has outpaced the research. (Part one of a four-part series.) SOURCES: Jon Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy…
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Are betting markets more accurate than polls? What kind of chaos would a second Trump term bring? And is U.S. democracy really in danger, or just “sputtering on”? (Part two of a two-part series.) SOURCES: Eric Posner, professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School. Koleman Strumpf, professor of economics at Wake Forest University. RESOURC…
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Sure, we all pay lip service to the Madisonian system of checks and balances. But presidents have been steadily expanding the reach of the job. With an election around the corner, we updated our 2016 conversation with the legal scholar Eric Posner — who has some good news and some not-so-good news about the power of the presidency. (Part one of a t…
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605. What Do People Do All Day?
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Sixty percent of the jobs that Americans do today didn’t exist in 1940. What happens as our labor becomes more technical and less physical? And what kinds of jobs will exist in the future? SOURCES: David Autor, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Paula Barmaimon, manager of coverage and audience analytics at The New…
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EXTRA: Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America (Update)
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His research on police brutality and school incentives won him acclaim, but also enemies. He was suspended for two years by Harvard, during which time he took a hard look at corporate diversity programs. As a follow-up to our recent series on the Rooney Rule, we revisit our 2022 conversation with the controversial economist. SOURCE: Roland Fryer, p…
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What happened when the Rooney Rule made its way from pro football to corporate America? Some progress, some backsliding, and a lot of controversy. (Second in a two-part series.) SOURCES: Tynesia Boyea-Robinson, president and C.E.O. of CapEQ. N. Jeremi Duru, professor of law at American University. Herm Edwards, former N.F.L. player and head coach. …
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The biggest sports league in history had a problem: While most of its players were Black, almost none of its head coaches were. So the N.F.L. launched a hiring policy called the Rooney Rule. In the first episode of a two-part series, we look at how the rule succeeded — until it failed. SOURCES: N. Jeremi Duru, professor of law at American Universit…
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We revisit an episode from 2016 that asks: Has our culture’s obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact that things also need to be taken care of? SOURCES: Martin Casado, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Ruth Schwartz Cowan, professor emerita of history and sociology of science at University of Pennsylvania. Edward Glaeser, profess…
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Young people have been reporting a sharp rise in anxiety and depression. This maps neatly onto the global rise of the smartphone. Some researchers are convinced that one is causing the other. But how strong is the evidence? SOURCES: David Blanchflower, professor of economics at Dartmouth College. Lauren Oyler, novelist and cultural critic. Andrew P…
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Only a tiny number of “supertaskers” are capable of doing two things at once. The rest of us are just making ourselves miserable, and less productive. How can we put the — hang on a second, I've just got to get this. Come see Stephen Dubner live! “A Questionable Evening: A strategic interrogation from two people who ask questions for a living,” fea…
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Educators and economists tell us all the reasons college enrollment has been dropping, especially for men, and how to stop the bleeding. (Part 3 of our series from 2022, “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”) SOURCES: Zachary Bleemer, assistant professor of economics at Princeton University and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of …
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Stephen Dubner appears as a guest on Fail Better, a new podcast hosted by David Duchovny. The two of them trade stories about failure, and ponder the lessons that success could never teach. SOURCES: David Duchovny, actor, director, writer, and musician. RESOURCES: "Martin Seligman and the Rise of Positive Psychology," by Peter Gibbon (Humanities, 2…
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The University of Impossible-to-Get-Into (Update)
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America’s top colleges are facing record demand. So why don’t they increase supply? (Part 2 of our series from 2022, “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”) SOURCES: Peter Blair, professor of education at Harvard University and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Zachary Bleemer, assistant professor of economics …
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We think of them as intellectual enclaves and the surest route to a better life. But U.S. colleges also operate like firms, trying to differentiate their products to win market share and prestige points. In the first episode of a special series originally published in 2022, we ask what our chaotic system gets right — and wrong. (Part 1 of “Freakono…
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