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•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast They used to be the N.F.L.’s biggest stars, with paychecks to match. Now their salaries are near the bottom, and their careers are shorter than ever. We speak with an analytics guru, an agent, some former running backs (including LeSean McCoy), and the economist Roland Fryer (a former Pop Warner running back himself) to understand why. SOURCES: Brian Burke, sports data scientist at ESPN Roland Fryer, professor of economics at Harvard University LeSean McCoy, former running back in the N.F.L. and...
Jan 31, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast When the computer scientist Ben Zhao learned that artists were having their work stolen by A.I. models, he invented a tool to thwart the machines. He also knows how to foil an eavesdropping Alexa and how to guard your online footprint. The big news, he says, is that the A.I. bubble is bursting. SOURCES: Erik Brynjolfsson , professor of economics at Stanford University Ben Zhao , professor of computer science at the University of Chicago RESOURCES: " The AI lab waging a guerrilla war over exploit...
Jan 24, 2025•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Stephen Dubner, live on stage, mixes it up with outbound mayor London Breed, and asks economists whether A.I. can be “human-centered” and if Tang is a gateway drug. SOURCES: London Breed , former mayor of San Francisco. Erik Brynjolfsson , professor of economics at Stanford University Koleman Strumpf , professor of economics at Wake Forest University RESOURCES: " SF crime rate at lowest point in more than 20 years, mayor says, " by George Kelly ( The San Francisco Standard , 2025) " How the Trum...
Jan 22, 2025•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Their trade organization just lost a huge lawsuit. Their infamous commission model is under attack. And there are way too many of them. If they go the way of travel agents, will we miss them when they’re gone? SOURCES: Sonia Gilbukh , assistant professor of real estate at CUNY Baruch College. Kevin Sears , 2025 president of the National Association of Realtors. Chad Syverson , professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Lawrence Yun , chief economist for the National Association of Real...
Jan 17, 2025•53 min•Ep 618•Transcript available on Metacast Like tens of millions of people, Stephen Dubner thought he had a penicillin allergy. Like the vast majority, he didn’t. This misdiagnosis costs billions of dollars and causes serious health problems, so why hasn’t it been fixed? And how about all the other things we think we’re allergic to? SOURCES: Kimberly Blumenthal , allergist-immunologist and researcher at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Theresa MacPhail , associate professor of science and technology studies at Stevens In...
Jan 10, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep 617•Transcript available on Metacast Incarcerated people grow crops, fight wildfires, and manufacture everything from prescription glasses to highway signs — often for pennies an hour. Zachary Crockett takes the next exit, in this special episode of The Economics of Everyday Things . SOURCES: Laura Appleman , professor of law at Willamette University. Christopher Barnes, inmate at the Franklin Correctional Center. Lee Blackman , general manager at Correction Enterprises. Gene Hawkins , senior principal engineer at Kittelson and pro...
Jan 06, 2025•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Probably not — the incentives are too strong. But a few reformers are trying. We check in on their progress, in an update to an episode originally published last year. (Part 2 of 2) SOURCES: Max Bazerman , professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. Leif Nelson , professor of business administration at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business. Brian Nosek , professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and executive director at the Center for Op...
Jan 02, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep 573•Transcript available on Metacast Some of the biggest names in behavioral science stand accused of faking their results. Last year, an astonishing 10,000 research papers were retracted. In a series originally published in early 2024, we talk to whistleblowers, reformers, and a co-author who got caught up in the chaos. (Part 1 of 2) SOURCES: Max Bazerman , professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. Leif Nelson , professor of business administration at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Bus...
Dec 26, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep 572•Transcript available on Metacast David Eagleman upends myths and describes the vast possibilities of a brainscape that even neuroscientists are only beginning to understand. Steve Levitt interviews him in this special episode of People I (Mostly) Admire. SOURCES: David Eagleman , professor of cognitive neuroscience at Stanford University and C.E.O. of Neosensory. RESOURCES: Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain , by David Eagleman (2020). " Why Do We Dream? A New Theory on How It Protects Our Brains ," by David...
Dec 23, 2024•48 min•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 616•Transcript available on Metacast 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 policy. SOURCES: Ezekiel Emanuel , vice provost for Global Initiatives, co-director of the Health Transformation Institute, and professor at the Univers...
Dec 12, 2024•57 min•Ep 615•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Hamilton , historian at the University of York. Peter Timmer , economist and former professor at Harvard University. Audra Wolfe , writer, editor, an...
Dec 09, 2024•39 min•Ep 386•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 614•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Jeff Kinney , author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café. Tony Spring , chairman and C.E.O. of Macy’s Inc. RESOURCES: " Ma...
Nov 28, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep 613•Transcript available on Metacast 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/survey . SOURCES: John Cheney, carpenter at Macy’s Studios. Will Coss , vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios. Jeff Kinney , author, ca...
Nov 21, 2024•53 min•Ep 612•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Technology. James Rosenman , C.E.O. of Andrus on Hudson senior care community. Karen Eggleston , economist at Stanford University. Yong Suk Lee , professor of...
Nov 18, 2024•49 min•Ep 461•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Really Be Called a Strategy ," by Fareed Zakaria ( The Washington Post, 2024). Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present ,...
Nov 14, 2024•59 min•Ep 611•Transcript available on Metacast 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 University. Adam Goers , senior vice president of The Cannabist Company and chairperson of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform. Yasmin Hurd , dir...
Nov 07, 2024•43 min•Ep 610•Transcript available on Metacast 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 complicated than it looks. He gave us the grand tour. (Part three of a four-part series .) SOURCES: Chris Bennett, operations manager at Berkshire Mounta...
Oct 31, 2024•40 min•Ep 609•Transcript available on Metacast 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 economics at Amherst College. RESOURCES: “ The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime Over the Last Two Decades ,” by John J. Donohue and Steven D...
Oct 28, 2024•55 min•Ep 384•Transcript available on Metacast 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 at Carnegie Mellon University. Adam Goers , senior vice president of The Cannabist Company and chairperson of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling R...
Oct 24, 2024•51 min•Ep 608•Transcript available on Metacast 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 at Carnegie Mellon University. Yasmin Hurd , director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai. Michael Siegel , professor of public health and co...
Oct 17, 2024•46 min•Ep 607•Transcript available on Metacast 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. RESOURCES: " A Trump Dictatorship Won’t Happen ," by Eric Posner ( Project Syndicate, 2023). The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy f...
Oct 11, 2024•56 min•Ep 606•Transcript available on Metacast 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 two-part series .) SOURCE: Eric Posner , professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School. RESOURCES: " Presidential Leadership and the Separat...
Oct 10, 2024•47 min•Ep 260•Transcript available on Metacast 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 York Times. Ellen Griesedieck , artist and president of the American Mural Project. Adina Lichtman , co-host of the Our Friends Are Smart party. Av...
Oct 03, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 605•Transcript available on Metacast 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 , professor of economics at Harvard University. RESOURCES: " How to Make Up the Covid Learning Loss ," by Roland Fryer ( Wall Street Journal, 2022). " R...
Sep 30, 2024•1 hr•Ep 514•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Christopher Rider , professor of entrepreneurial studies at the University of Michigan. Jim Rooney , author and co-partner of Rooney Consulting. S...
Sep 26, 2024•47 min•Ep 604•Transcript available on Metacast 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 University. Herm Edwards , former N.F.L. player and head coach. Jim Rooney , author and co-partner of Rooney Consulting. RESOURCES: A Different Way to Win: D...
Sep 19, 2024•48 min•Ep 603•Transcript available on Metacast 
