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 ...
…
continue reading
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 ...
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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 …
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
1
605. What Do People Do All Day?
1:00:48
1:00:48
Відтворити пізніше
Відтворити пізніше
Списки
Подобається
Подобається
1:00:48
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…
…
continue reading
1
EXTRA: Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America (Update)
1:00:29
1:00:29
Відтворити пізніше
Відтворити пізніше
Списки
Подобається
Подобається
1:00:29
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…
…
continue reading
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. …
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
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 …
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
1
The University of Impossible-to-Get-Into (Update)
1:11:10
1:11:10
Відтворити пізніше
Відтворити пізніше
Списки
Подобається
Подобається
1:11:10
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 …
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
1
EXTRA: Here’s Why You’re Not an Elite Athlete (Update)
1:05:34
1:05:34
Відтворити пізніше
Відтворити пізніше
Списки
Подобається
Подобається
1:05:34
There are a lot of factors that go into greatness, many of which are not obvious. As the Olympics come to a close, we revisit a 2018 episode in which top athletes from a variety of sports tell us how they made it, and what they sacrificed. SOURCES: Lance Armstrong, former professional cyclist. David Canton, director of African American studies and …
…
continue reading
Tania Tetlow, a former federal prosecutor and now the president of Fordham University, thinks the modern campus could use a dose of old-fashioned values. SOURCE: Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham University. RESOURCES: "Not a Priest, Not a Man, but Ready to Run Fordham," by David Waldstein (The New York Times, 2024). "Tech Glitch Upends Financial …
…
continue reading
It’s not oil or water or plutonium — it’s human hours. We've got an idea for putting them to use, and for building a more human-centered economy. But we need your help. SOURCES: Nathan Dietz, research director at the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland. Al Roth, professor of economics at Stanford University. Krista Wyatt, C.E.O. of Time…
…
continue reading
A new proposal from the Biden administration calls for a nationwide cap on rent increases. Economists think that’s a terrible idea. We revisit a 2019 episode to hear why. SOURCES: Tommy Andersson, professor of economics at Lund University. Vicki Been, professor of law at New York University and former deputy mayor for housing and economic developme…
…
continue reading