They say they make companies more efficient through savvy management. Critics say they bend the rules to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers and employees. Can they both be right? (Probably not.) RESOURCES: Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America , by Brendan Ballou (2023). Two and Twenty: How the Masters of Private Equity Always Win , by Sachin Khajuria (2022). " Local Journalism under Private Equity Ownership ," by Michael Ewens, Arpit Gupta, and Sabrina T. Howell ( NBER Wo...
Nov 16, 2023•51 min•Ep 565•Transcript available on Metacast Evidence from Nazi Germany and 1940’s America (and pretty much everywhere else) shows that discrimination is incredibly costly — to the victims, of course, but also the perpetrators. One modern solution is to invoke a diversity mandate. But new research shows that’s not necessarily the answer. RESOURCES: " Discrimination, Managers, and Firm Performance: Evidence from 'Aryanizations' in Nazi Germany ," by Kilian Huber, Volker Lindenthal, and Fabian Waldinger ( Journal of Political Economy, 2021)....
Nov 09, 2023•58 min•Ep 480•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone makes mistakes. How do you learn from them? Lessons from the classroom, the Air Force, and the world’s deadliest infectious disease. RESOURCES: Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well , by Amy Edmondson (2023). " You Think Failure Is Hard? So Is Learning From It ," by Lauren Eskreis-Winkler and Ayelet Fishbach ( Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2022). " The Market for R&D Failures ," by Manuel Trajtenberg and Roy Shalem ( SSRN, 2010). " Performing a Project Pre mortem ," ...
Nov 02, 2023•52 min•Ep 564•Transcript available on Metacast 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. RESOURCES " Data Snapshot: Tenure and Contingency in US Higher Education ," by Glenn Colby ( American Association of University Professors , 2023). Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance , by Angela Duckworth (2016). " Entrepreneurship and the U.S. Economy ," by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016). " A CV of...
Oct 26, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 563•Transcript available on Metacast 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. RESOURCES: Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well , by Amy Edmondson (2023). " Reconsidering the Application of Systems Thinking in Healthcare: The RaDonda Vaught Case ," by Connor Lusk, Elise DeForest, Gabriel Segarra, David M. Neyens, James H. Abernathy III, and Ken Catchpole ( British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2022). " Disp...
Oct 19, 2023•54 min•Ep 562•Transcript available on Metacast 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. RESOURCES Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well , by Amy Edmondson (2023). " Michigan School Shooter Is Found Eligible for Life Sentence Without Parole ," by Stephanie Saul and Dana Goldstein ( The New York Times, 2023). " How Fire Turned Lahaina Into a Death Trap ," by Nicholas Bog...
Oct 12, 2023•55 min•Ep 561•Transcript available on Metacast Claudia Goldin is the newest winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. We spoke with her in 2016 about why women earn so much less than men — and how it’s not all explained by discrimination. SOURCES: Claudia Goldin , professor of economics at Harvard University.
Oct 10, 2023•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast John Ray is an emergency C.E.O., a bankruptcy expert who takes over companies that have succumbed to failure or fraud. He’s currently cleaning up the mess left by alleged crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried. And he loves it. RESOURCES: " United States of America v. Samuel Bankman-Fried, a/k/a 'SBF,' " by the United States District Court Southern District of New York (2023). " Does FTX’s New CEO Have the Worst Job in Corporate America? " by Ben Cohen ( The Wall Street Journal, 2022). " John J. Ray I...
Oct 05, 2023•40 min•Ep 560•Transcript available on Metacast If two parents can run a family, why shouldn’t two executives run a company? We dig into the research and hear firsthand stories of both triumph and disaster. Also: lessons from computer programmers, Simon and Garfunkel, and bears versus alligators. RESOURCES: " How Allbirds Lost Its Way ," by Suzanne Kapner (The Wall Street Journal, 2023). " Is It Time to Consider Co-C.E.O.s? " by Marc A. Feigen, Michael Jenkins, and Anton Warendh (Harvard Business Review, 2022). " The Costs and Benefits of Pai...
Sep 28, 2023•51 min•Ep 559•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 558•Transcript available on Metacast The union that represents N.F.L. players conducted their first-ever survey of workplace conditions, and issued a report card to all 32 teams. What did the survey reveal? Clogged showers, rats in the locker room — and some helpful insights for those of us who don’t play pro football. For show notes, visit freakonomics.com/podcast/when-is-a-superstar-just-another-employee/
Sep 14, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 557•Transcript available on Metacast For all the speculation about the future, A.I. tools can be useful right now. Adam Davidson discovers what they can help us do, how we can get the most from them — and why the things that make them helpful also make them dangerous. (Part 3 of " How to Think About A.I." )
Sep 07, 2023•49 min•Ep 556•Transcript available on Metacast Guest host Adam Davidson looks at what might happen to your job in a world of human-level artificial intelligence, and asks when it might be time to worry that the machines have become too powerful. (Part 2 of " How to Think About A.I. ")
Aug 31, 2023•48 min•Ep 555•Transcript available on Metacast Artificial intelligence, we’ve been told, will destroy humankind. No, wait — it will usher in a new age of human flourishing! Guest host Adam Davidson (co-founder of Planet Money ) sorts through the big claims about A.I.'s future by exploring its past and present — and whether it has a sense of humor. (Part 1 of " How to Think About A.I. ")
Aug 24, 2023•48 min•Ep 554•Transcript available on Metacast The famously profane politician and operative is now U.S. ambassador to Japan, where he’s trying to rewrite the rules of diplomacy. But don’t worry: When it comes to China, he’s every bit as combative as you’d expect.
Aug 17, 2023•56 min•Ep 553•Transcript available on Metacast Americans are so accustomed to the standard intersection that we rarely consider how dangerous it can be — as well as costly, time-wasting, and polluting. Is it time to embrace the lowly, lovely roundabout?
Aug 10, 2023•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bjorn Andersen killed 111 minke whales this season. He tells us how he does it, why he does it, and what he thinks would happen if whale-hunting ever stopped. (This bonus episode is a follow-up to our series “ Everything You Never Knew About Whaling .")
Aug 06, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast In three stories from our newest podcast, host Zachary Crockett digs into sports mascots, cashmere sweaters, and dinosaur skeletons.
Aug 03, 2023•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the final episode of our whale series, we learn about fecal plumes, shipping noise, and why "Moby-Dick" is still worth reading. (Part 3 of " Everything You Never Knew About Whaling .")
Jul 27, 2023•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine. Whale meat was also on a few menus. But today, demand for whale products is at a historic low. And yet some countries still have a whaling industry. We find out why. (Part 2 of “ Everything You Never Knew About Whaling .”)
Jul 20, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Whaling was, in the words of one scholar, “early capitalism unleashed on the high seas.” How did the U.S. come to dominate the whale market? Why did whale hunting die out here — and continue to grow elsewhere? And is that whale vomit in your perfume? (Part 1 of “Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.”)
Jul 13, 2023•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Actually, the reasons are pretty clear. The harder question is: Will we ever care enough to stop?
Jul 06, 2023•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sure, you were “in love.” But economists — using evidence from Bridgerton to Tinder — point to what’s called “assortative mating.” And it has some unpleasant consequences for society.
Jun 29, 2023•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast But as C.E.O. of the resurgent Microsoft, he is firmly at the center of the A.I. revolution. We speak with him about the perils and blessings of A.I., Google vs. Bing, the Microsoft succession plan — and why his favorite use of ChatGPT is translating poetry.
Jun 22, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Probably not. The economist Kelly Shue argues that E.S.G. investing just gives more money to firms that are already green while depriving polluting firms of the financing they need to get greener. But she has a solution.
Jun 15, 2023•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Gun control, abortion rights, drug legalization — it seems like every argument these days claims that if X happens, then Y will follow, and we’ll all be doomed to Z. Is the slippery-slope argument a valid logical construction or just a game of feelingsball?
Jun 08, 2023•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast He turned a small Hollywood talent agency into a massive sports-and-entertainment empire. In a freewheeling conversation, he explains how he did it and why it nearly killed him.
Jun 01, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sure, markets work well in general. But for some transactions — like school admissions and organ transplants — money alone can’t solve the problem. That’s when you need a market-design wizard like Al Roth. Plus: We hear from a listener who, inspired by this episode, made a remarkable decision.
May 25, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Museums are purging their collections of looted treasures. Can they also get something in return? And what does it mean to be a museum in the 21st century? (Part 3 of “Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard.”)
May 18, 2023•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast The world’s great museums are full of art and artifacts that were plundered during an era when plunder was the norm. Now there’s a push to return these works to their rightful owners. Sounds simple, right? It's not. (Part 2 of “Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard.”)
May 11, 2023•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
