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, ...
Feb 07, 2025•55 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast Adam Moss was the best magazine editor of his generation. When he retired, he took up painting. But he wasn’t very good, and that made him sad. So he wrote a book about how creative people work— and, in the process, he made himself happy again. SOURCE: Adam Moss , magazine editor and author. RESOURCES: The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing , by Adam Moss (2024). " Goodbye, New York. Adam Moss Is Leaving the Magazine He Has Edited for 15 Years ," by Michael M. Grynbaum ( The New York ...
Dec 19, 2024•48 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast 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: John Sullivan , former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. RESOURCES: Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Li...
Dec 05, 2024•51 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast The economist and social critic Glenn Loury has led a remarkably turbulent life, both professionally and personally. In a new memoir, he has chosen to reveal just about everything. Why? SOURCE: Glenn Loury , professor of economics at Brown University and host of The Glenn Show . RESOURCES: Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative , by Glenn Loury (2024). " Amy Wax – The DEI Witch Hunt at Penn Law ," by Glenn Loury ( The Glenn Show, 2024). " The Conservative Line on Race ," by Glenn L...
May 16, 2024•57 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast From politics and economics to psychology and the arts, many of the modern ideas we take for granted emerged a century ago from a single European capital. In this episode of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, the historian Richard Cockett explores all those ideas — and how the arrival of fascism can ruin in a few years what took generations to build. SOURCE: Richard Cockett , author and senior editor at The Economist . RESOURCES: Vienna: How the City of Ideas Created the Modern World , by Richard...
May 02, 2024•57 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast Nobel laureate, bestselling author, and groundbreaking psychologist Daniel Kahneman died in March. In 2021 he talked with Steve Levitt — his friend and former business partner — about his book Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment (cowritten with Olivier Sibony and Cass Sunstein) and much more. SOURCES: Daniel Kahneman , professor emeritus of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University. RESOURCES: Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment , by Olivier Sibony, Daniel Kahneman, and Cass R. Sunstein (202...
Apr 09, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fareed Zakaria says yes. But it’s not just political revolution — it’s economic, technological, even emotional. He doesn’t offer easy solutions but he does offer some hope. SOURCES: Fareed Zakaria , journalist and author. RESOURCES: Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present , by Fareed Zakaria (2024). " The Ultimate Election Year: All the Elections Around the World in 2024 ," by Koh Ewe ( TIME, 2023). " The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism ," by Vane...
Apr 04, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast Lewis got incredible access to Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire behind the spectacular FTX fraud. His book is a bestseller, but some critics say he went too easy on S.B.F. Lewis tells us why the critics are wrong — and what it’s like to watch your book get turned into a courtroom drama. SOURCES: Michael Lewis , author. RESOURCES: Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon , by Michael Lewis (2023). " Column: In Michael Lewis, Sam Bankman-Fried Found His Last and Most Willing Victim ," b...
Dec 14, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast In her new book The Two-Parent Privilege , the economist Melissa Kearney says it’s time for liberals to face the facts: U.S. marriage rates have plummeted but the babies keep coming, and the U.S. now leads the world in single-parent households. Plus: our friends at Atlas Obscura explore just how many parents a kid can have.
Sep 21, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast The economist Amy Finkelstein explains why insurance markets are broken and how to fix them. Also: why can’t you buy divorce insurance?
Mar 23, 2023•53 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast And with her book "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat," she succeeded. Now she's not so sure how to feel about all the attention.
Jan 16, 2023•38 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast No — but he does have a knack for stumbling into the perfect moment, including the recent FTX debacle. In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, we revisit the book that launched the analytics revolution.
Nov 24, 2022•53 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast It used to be at the center of our conversations about politics and society. Scott Hershovitz is the author of Nasty, Brutish, and Short , in which he argues that philosophy still has a lot to say about work, justice, and parenthood.
Jul 28, 2022•50 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast In a new book called The Voltage Effect , the economist John List — who has already revolutionized how his profession does research — is trying to start a scaling revolution. In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, List teaches us how to avoid false positives, how to know whether a given success is due to the chef or the ingredients, and how to practice “optimal quitting.”
Feb 24, 2022•49 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast You know the saying: “There are no shortcuts in life.” What if that saying is just wrong? In his new book Thinking Better: The Art of the Shortcut in Math and Life , the mathematician Marcus du Sautoy argues that shortcuts can be applied to practically anything: music, psychotherapy, even politics. Our latest installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club.
Nov 18, 2021•43 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast The N.B.A. superstar Chris Bosh was still competing at the highest level when a blood clot abruptly ended his career. In his new book, Letters to a Young Athlete , Bosh covers the highlights and the struggles. In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, he talks with guest host Angela Duckworth.
Sep 27, 2021•33 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast To her neighbors in the English countryside, the woman known as Mrs. Burton was a cake-baking mother of three. To the Soviet Union, she was an invaluable Cold War operative. Ben Macintyre, author of Agent Sonya: Moscow’s Most Daring Wartime Spy , explains how the woman who fed America’s atomic secrets to the Russians also struggled to balance her family and her cause. Hosted by Sarah Lyall.
Sep 25, 2021•44 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Do you think public bathrooms are too small, smartphones are too big, and public transit just wasn’t made for you? Then you’re probably a woman. In her book Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men , Caroline Criado Perez argues that products and processes — from medications to snowplow routes — have historically been tailored for the “standard male.” Hosted by Maria Konnikova.
Sep 25, 2021•42 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast When Richard Thaler published Nudge in 2008 (with co-author Cass Sunstein), the world was just starting to believe in his brand of behavioral economics. How did nudge theory hold up in the face of a global financial meltdown, a pandemic, and other existential crises? With the publication of a new, radically updated edition, Thaler tries to persuade Stephen Dubner that nudging is more relevant today than ever.
Sep 09, 2021•57 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Bren Smith, who grew up fishing and fighting, is now part of a movement that seeks to feed the planet while putting less environmental stress on it. He makes his argument in a book called Eat Like a Fish ; his secret ingredient: kelp. But don’t worry, you won’t have to eat it (not much, at least). Hosted by Stephen Dubner.
Jun 24, 2021•43 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast The social psychologist Robert Cialdini is a pioneer in the science of persuasion. His 1984 book Influence is a classic, and he has just published an expanded and revised edition. In this episode, he gives a master class in the seven psychological levers that bewitch our rational minds and lead us to buy, behave, or believe without a second thought. Hosted by Stephen Dubner.
May 27, 2021•58 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast In a word: networks. Once it embraced information as its main currency, New York was able to climb out of a deep fiscal (and psychic) pit. Will that magic trick still work after Covid? In this episode, hear Thomas Dyja, author of New York, New York, New York: Four Decades of Success, Excess and Transformation, tell us about the past and future of the Big Apple. Hosted by Kurt Andersen.
May 21, 2021•52 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast New York Times columnist Charles Blow argues that white supremacy in America will never fully recede, and that it’s time for Black people to do something radical about it. In his new book, The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto , he urges a “reverse migration” to the South to consolidate political power and create a region where it’s safe to be Black. Hosted by Stephen Dubner.
May 21, 2021•57 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Caitlin Doughty is a mortician who would like to put herself out of business. Our corporate funeral industry, she argues, has made us forget how to offer our loved ones an authentic sendoff. In this episode, Doughty shares insights from her book Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons From the Crematory . Hosted by Maria Konnikova.
May 21, 2021•58 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast As beloved and familiar as they are, we rarely stop to consider life from the dog’s point of view. That stops now. In this episode, we discuss the book Inside of a Dog with author and cognitive scientist (and dog devotee) Alexandra Horowitz. Hosted by Stephen Dubner.
May 21, 2021•58 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings came to believe that corporate rules can kill creativity and innovation. In this episode, Hastings talks about his new book, No Rules Rules , and why for some companies the greatest risk is taking no risks at all. Hosted by Maria Konnikova.
May 21, 2021•55 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Before she decided to become a poker pro, Maria Konnikova didn’t know how many cards are in a deck. But she did have a Ph.D. in psychology, a brilliant coach, and a burning desire to know whether life is driven more by skill or chance. She found some answers in poker — and in her new book The Biggest Bluff , she’s willing to tell us everything she learned. Hosted by Stephen Dubner.
May 21, 2021•1 hr•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast 
