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.
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In the U.S., there will soon be more people over 65 than there are under 18 — and it’s not just lifespan that’s improving, it’s “healthspan” too. Unfortunately, the American approach to aging is stuck in the 20th century. In less than an hour, we try to unstick it. (Part three of a three-part series, “ Cradle to Grave .”) SOURCES: James Chappel , professor of history at Duke University. Katy Fike , co-founder of Aging 2.0 and managing partner of Generator Ventures. Kristen Fortney , co-founder a...
This episode explores the concept of spite, examining whether it's a rational economic behavior. It delves into historical examples like medieval nuns, modern behavioral economics experiments on human nastiness, and the famous case of Bo Jackson rejecting a multi-million dollar NFL contract. The discussion questions if true spite exists or if seemingly self-destructive actions always contain an element of self-interest or emotional reward.
The simplicity of life back then is appealing today, as long as you don’t mind Church hegemony, the occasional plague, trial by gossip — and the lack of ibuprofen. (Part two of a three-part series, “ Cradle to Grave .”) SOURCES: Jordan Cavalier , performer at the New Jersey Renaissance Faire. Matt Schwarz , harpist at the New Jersey Renaissance Faire. Phillipp Schofield , professor of history at Aberystywth University. Neslihan Şenocak , professor of history at Columbia University. RESOURCES: A ...
For decades, the great fear was overpopulation. Now it’s the opposite. How did this happen — and what’s being done about it? (Part one of a three-part series , “Cradle to Grave.”) SOURCES: Matthias Doepke , professor of economics at the London School of Economics. Amy Froide , professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Diana Laird , professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco. Catherine Pakaluk , professor of economics at The C...
A famous essay argues that “not a single person on the face of this earth” knows how to make a pencil. How true is that? In this 2016 episode, we looked at what pencil-making can teach us about global manufacturing — and the proper role of government in the economy. SOURCES: Caroline Weaver , creator of the Locavore Guide. Matt Ridley , science writer, British viscount and retired member of the House of Lords Tim Harford , economist, author and columnist for the Financial Times Jim Weissenborn ,...
Nicholas Cullinan, the new director of the British Museum, seems to think so. “I'm not afraid of the past,” he says — which means talking about looted objects, the basement storerooms, and the leaking roof. We take the guided tour. SOURCES: Nicholas Cullinan , director of the British Museum. RESOURCES: " Inside the British Museum: stolen treasures and a £1bn revamp ," by Alice Thomson (The Times, 2025). " British Museum gems for sale on eBay - how a theft was exposed ," by Katie Razzall, Larissa...
Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, is less reserved than the average banker. He explains why vibes are overrated, why the Fed’s independence is non-negotiable, and why tariffs could bring the economy back to the Covid era. SOURCES: Austan Goolsbee , president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. RESOURCES: " Internet Rising, Prices Falling: Measuring Inflation in a World of E-Commerce ," by Austan Goolsbee and Peter Klenow (American ...
Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, the authors of The World for Sale , help us shine a light on the shadowy realm of commodity traders. SOURCES: Javier Blas , opinion columnist at Bloomberg News. Jack Farchy , energy and commodities senior reporter at Bloomberg News. RESOURCES: The World For Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Eart...
Everyone makes mistakes. How do we learn from them? Lessons from the classroom, the Air Force, and the world’s deadliest infectious disease. (Part four of a four-part series .) SOURCES: Will Coleman , founder and C.E.O. of Alto. Amy Edmondson , professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School. Babak Javid , physician-scientist and associate director of the University of California, San Francisco Center for Tuberculosis. Gary Klein , cognitive psychologist and pioneer in the field of...
Giving up can be painful. That's why we need to talk about it. Today: stories about glitchy apps, leaky paint cans, broken sculptures — and a quest for the perfect bowl of ramen. (Part three of a four-part series .) SOURCES: John Boykin , website designer and failed paint can re-inventor. Angela Duckworth , host of No Stupid Questions , co-founder of Character Lab, and professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Amy Edmondson , professor of leadership management at Harvard Busines...
In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. It can also produce discoveries that save millions of lives. Tales from the front line, the lab, and the I.T. department. (Part two of a four-part series .) SOURCES: Amy Edmondson , professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School. Carole Hemmelgarn , co-founder of Patients for Patient Safety U.S. and director of the Clinical Quality, Safety & Leadership Master’s program at Georgetown University. Gary Klein , cognitive psychologist and p...
We tend to think of tragedies as a single terrible moment, rather than the result of multiple bad decisions. Can this pattern be reversed? We try — with stories about wildfires, school shootings, and love. SOURCES: Amy Edmondson , professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School. Helen Fisher , former senior research fellow at The Kinsey Institute and former chief science advisor to Match.com. Ed Galea , founding director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group at the University of Gre...
It used to be that making documentary films meant taking a vow of poverty (and obscurity). The streaming revolution changed that. Award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler talks to Stephen Dubner about capturing Billie Eilish’s musical genius and Martha Stewart’s vulnerability — and why he really, really, really needs to make a film about the New York Mets. SOURCES: R.J. Cutler , filmmaker. RESOURCES: Fight for Glory , documentary (2025). Martha , documentary (2024). " Reality Check: The Boom—or Glut—...
It’s been in development for five years and has at least a year to go. On the eve of its out-of-town debut, the actor playing Lincoln quit. And the producers still need to raise another $15 million to bring the show to New York. There really is no business like show business. (Part three of a three-part series .) SOURCES: Christopher Ashley , artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse. Debby Buchholz , managing director of La Jolla Playhouse. Carmen Cusack , actor. Quentin Earl Darrington , actor. ...
In an episode from 2012, we looked at what Sleep No More and the Stanford Prison Experiment can tell us about who we really are. SOURCES: Felix Barrett , artistic director of Punchdrunk. Steven Levitt , professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Philip Zimbardo , professor emeritus at Stanford University. RESOURCES: “ Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist behind the ‘Stanford Prison Experiment,’ dies at 91, ” by Melissa De Witte ( Stanford Report, 2024). “ Debunking the Stanford Prison Exp...
A hit like Hamilton can come from nowhere while a sure bet can lose $20 million in a flash. We speak with some of the biggest producers in the game — Sonia Friedman, Jeffrey Seller, Hal Luftig — and learn that there is only one guarantee: the theater owners always win. (Part two of a three-part series .) SOURCES: Debby Buchholz , managing director of La Jolla Playhouse. Sonia Friedman , Broadway producer. Rocco Landesman , Broadway producer, former owner of Jujamcyn Theaters, former chairman of ...
It has become fiendishly expensive to produce, and has more competition than ever. And yet the believers still believe. Why? And does the world really want a new musical about ... Abraham Lincoln?! (Part one of a three-part series .) SOURCES: Christopher Ashley , artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse. Quentin Darrington , actor. Joe DiPietro , playwright and lyricist. Crystal Monee Hall , composer, singer, actor. Rocco Landesman , Broadway producer, former owner of Jujamcyn Theaters, former ch...
Why do so many promising solutions in education, medicine, and criminal justice fail to scale up into great policy? And can a new breed of “implementation scientists” crack the code? SOURCES: Patti Chamberlain , senior research scientist at the Oregon Social Learning Center. John List , professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Lauren Supplee , former deputy chief operating officer at Child Trends. Dana L. Suskind , professor of surgery at the University of Chicago. RESOURCES: “ How C...
There is no sludgier place in America than Washington, D.C. But there are signs of a change. We’ll hear about this progress — and ask where Elon Musk and DOGE fit in. (Part two of a two-part series .) SOURCES: Benjamin Handel , professor of economics at UC Berkeley. Neale Mahoney , professor of economics at Stanford University. Jennifer Pahlka , founder of Code for America. Richard Thaler , professor of economics at The University of Chicago. RESOURCES: " How Big Is the Subscription Cancellation...
Insurance forms that make no sense. Subscriptions that can’t be cancelled. A never-ending blizzard of automated notifications. Where does all this sludge come from — and how much is it costing us? (Part one of a two-part series .) SOURCES: Benjamin Handel, professor of economics at UC Berkeley. Neale Mahoney, professor of economics at Stanford University. Richard Thaler, professor of economics at The University of Chicago. RESOURCES: " Selling Subscriptions, " by Liran Einav, Ben Klopack, and Ne...
The quirky little grocery chain with California roots and German ownership has a lot to teach all of us about choice architecture, efficiency, frugality, collaboration, and team spirit. SOURCES: Kirk DesErmia , facilities manager in Seward, Alaska. Mark Gardiner , journalist and author. Sheena Iyengar , professor of business at Columbia Business School. Michael Roberto , professor of management at Bryant University. RESOURCES: “ Trader Joe’s ,” David Ager and Michael Roberto ( Harvard Business S...
Nearly everything that politicians say about taxes is at least half a lie. They are also dishonest when it comes to the national debt. Stephen Dubner finds one of the few people in Washington who is willing to tell the truth — and it’s even worse than you think. SOURCES: Jessica Riedl, senior fellow in budget, tax, and economic policy at the Manhattan Institute. RESOURCES: " The House Wants to Pass Trump’s Agenda in One Big Bill. Here’s What’s in It. " by Margot Sanger-Katz and Alicia Parlapiano...
Lina Khan, the youngest F.T.C. chair in history, reset U.S. antitrust policy by thwarting mega-mergers and other monopolistic behavior. This earned her enemies in some places, and big fans in others — including the Trump administration. Stephen Dubner speaks with Khan about her tactics, her track record, and her future. SOURCES: Lina Khan, former commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission and professor of law at Columbia Law School. RESOURCES: " Merger Guidelines " (U.S. Department of Justice ...
It’s a powerful biological response that has preserved our species for millennia. But now it may be keeping us from pursuing strategies that would improve the environment, the economy, even our own health. So is it time to dial down our disgust reflex? You can help fix things — as Stephen Dubner does in this 2021 episode — by chowing down on some delicious insects. SOURCES: Paul Rozin, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Val Curtis , late disgustologist at the London Schoo...
To most people, the rat is vile and villainous. But not to everyone! We hear from a scientist who befriended rats and another who worked with them in the lab — and from the animator who made one the hero of a Pixar blockbuster. (Part three of a three-part series , “Sympathy for the Rat.”) SOURCES: Bethany Brookshire , author of Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains Jan Pinkava, creator and co-writer of "Ratatouille," and director of the Animation Institute at the Film Academy Baden-Württember...
Even with a new rat czar, an arsenal of poisons, and a fleet of new garbage trucks, it won’t be easy — because, at root, the enemy is us. (Part two of a three-part series , “Sympathy for the Rat.”) SOURCES: Kathy Corradi, director of rodent mitigation for New York City. Robert Corrigan, urban rodentologist and pest consultant for New York City. Ed Glaeser, professor of economics at Harvard University. Robert Sullivan, author of Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City’s Most Unw...
A brief meditation on loss, relativity, and the vagaries of show business. RESOURCES: Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry, documentary (2021) Genius & Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947 , by Norman Lebrecht (2019) The War Room , documentary (1993) EXTRAS: “ Is San Francisco a Failed State? (And Other Questions You Shouldn’t Ask the Mayor) ” by Freakonomics Radio (2025) “ Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent, ” by Freakonomics Radio (2023)...
New York City’s mayor calls them “public enemy number one.” History books say they caused the Black Death — although recent scientific evidence disputes that claim. So is the rat a scapegoat? And what does our rat hatred say about us? (Part one of a three-part series .) SOURCES: Bethany Brookshire , author of Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. Kathy Corradi , director of rodent mitigation for New York City. Ed Glaeser , professor of economics at Harvard University. Nils Stenseth , profess...
Licensing began with medicine and law; now it extends to 20 percent of the U.S. workforce, including hair stylists and auctioneers. In a new book, the legal scholar Rebecca Allensworth calls licensing boards “a thicket of self-dealing and ineptitude” and says they keep bad workers in their jobs and good ones out — while failing to protect the public. SOURCES: Rebecca Allensworth , professor of law at Vanderbilt University. RESOURCES: " The Licensing Racket: How We Decide Who Is Allowed to Work, ...
In 2023, the N.F.L. players’ union conducted a workplace survey that revealed clogged showers, rats in the locker room — and some insights for those of us who don’t play football. Today we’re updating that episode, with extra commentary from Omnipresent Football Guy (and former Philadelphia Eagle) Jason Kelce. SOURCES: Tom Garfinkel , vice chairman, C.E.O., and president of the Miami Dolphins. Jim Ivler , certified contract advisor for players in the National Football League. Jason Kelce , host ...
