Stephen Dubner

speaker

14,303 appearances 95 recordings 4 series first heard Dec 2024 last heard 6d ago

Stephen Dubner’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 62 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 12.

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Freakonomics Radio · 686. Why Is It So Hard to Find an NFL Quarterback? · 11 Sep 2026 podcast

And in the National Football League, you can't win unless you have a good quarterback or maybe a great one. voice-verified

It is the most important position in the NFL. voice-verified

And since the NFL is the world's biggest commercial sports operation, voice-verified

This means that hiring a new quarterback is a big-dollar, high-risk decision. voice-verified

So how does that decision get made? voice-verified

Every year, there is a fresh crop of college quarterbacks who enter the NFL draft. voice-verified

College football would seem to be the ultimate audition for the pros. voice-verified

It generates mountains of evidence, statistical and otherwise. voice-verified

And then the NFL holds combine auditions. voice-verified

where all 32 teams get to poke and prod the new talent, part meat market, part beauty pageant, part job fair. voice-verified

These teams are simply trying to predict which of the best college quarterbacks will succeed in the pros. voice-verified

How hard voice-verified

sport. voice-verified

If you are a football fan, you already know this. voice-verified

You know that NFL draft history is littered with can't-miss quarterbacks who miss big time. voice-verified

You also know that some of the very best quarterbacks were overlooked in the draft. voice-verified

Tom Brady was the 199th player taken in his draft season. voice-verified

And in 2022, the San Francisco 49ers chose Brock Purdy with the very last pick of the draft, earning him the nickname Mr. Irrelevant. voice-verified

Purdy was the ninth quarterback taken that season, but he has turned out to be easily the best quarterback from that class. voice-verified

This quarterback prediction problem has been discussed for a while. voice-verified

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