236. How Can This Possibly Be True?
18 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
A famous economics essay features a pencil (yes, a pencil) arguing that “not a single person on th...
235. Who Needs Handwriting?
11 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The digital age is making pen and paper seem obsolete. But what are we giving up if we give up on ha...
How to Fix a Broken High Schooler, in Four Easy Steps (Rebroadcast)
04 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Okay, maybe the steps aren't so easy. But a program run out of a Toronto housing project has had gre...
Is America’s Education Problem Really Just a Teacher Problem? (Rebroadcast)
28 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
If U.S. schoolteachers are indeed "just a little bit below average," it's not really their...
234. Do Boycotts Work?
21 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Montgomery Bus Boycott, the South African divestment campaign, Chick-fil-A! Almost anyone can la...
233. How to Be Less Terrible at Predicting the Future
14 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Experts and pundits are notoriously bad at forecasting, in part because they aren't punished for bad...
232. The True Story of the Gender Pay Gap
07 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Discrimination can't explain why women earn so much less than men. If only it were that easy.
When Willpower Isn’t Enough (Rebroadcast)
31 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Sure, we all want to make good personal decisions, but it doesn't always work out. That's where &quo...
Fixing the World, Bang-for-the-Buck Edition (Rebroadcast)
24 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A team of economists has been running the numbers on the U.N.'s development goals. They have a diffe...
231. Is Migration a Basic Human Right?
17 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The argument for open borders is compelling -- and deeply problematic.
230. The Cheeseburger Diet
10 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
One woman's quest to find the best burger in town can teach all of us to eat smarter.
229. Ben Bernanke Gives Himself a Grade
03 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
He was handed the keys to the global economy just as it started heading off a cliff. Fortunately, he...
Why Do People Keep Having Children? (Rebroadcast)
26 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Even a brutal natural disaster doesn't diminish our appetite for procreating. This surely means we'r...
228. Does “Early Education” Come Way Too Late?
19 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In our collective zeal to reform schools and close the achievement gap, we may have lost sight of wh...
227. Should Everyone Be in a Rock Band?
12 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Lessons from Tom Petty's rise and another rocker's fall.
226. Food + Science = Victory!
05 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A kitchen wizard and a nutrition detective talk about the perfect hamburger, getting the most out of...
225. Am I Boring You?
29 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers are trying to figure out who gets bored - and why - and what it means for ourselves and ...
How to Save $1 Billion Without Even Trying (Rebroadcast)
22 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Doctors, chefs, and other experts are much more likely than the rest of us to buy store-brand produc...
224. How To Win A Nobel Prize
15 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The process is famously secretive (and conducted in Swedish!) but we pry the lid off at least a litt...
223. Should Kids Pay Back Their Parents for Raising Them?
08 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
When one athlete turned pro, his mom asked him for $1 million. Our modern sensibilities tell us she ...
222. Meet the Woman Who Said Women Can’t Have It All
01 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Anne-Marie Slaughter was best known for her adamant views on Syria when she accidentally became a po...
221. How Did the Belt Win?
24 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Suspenders may work better, but the dork factor is too high. How did an organ-squeezing belly tourni...
220. “I Don't Know What You've Done With My Husband, But He's a Changed Man.”
17 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
From domestic abusers to former child soldiers, there is increasing evidence that behavioral therapy...
219. Preventing Crime for Pennies on the Dollar
10 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Conventional programs tend to be expensive, onerous, and ineffective. Could something as simple (and...
218. The Harvard President Will See You Now
03 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
How a pain-in-the-neck girl from rural Virginia came to run the most powerful university in the worl...
217. Are You Ready for a Glorious Sunset?
27 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We spend billions on end-of-life healthcare that doesn't do much good. So what if a patient could fo...
216. How to Make a Smart TV Ad
20 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Step 1: Hire a Harvard psych professor as the pitchman. Step 2: Have him help write the script ...
The Dangers of Safety (Rebroadcast)
13 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What do NASCAR drivers, Glenn Beck and the hit men of the NFL have in common?
215. Why Do We Really Follow the News?
06 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
There are all kinds of civics-class answers to that question. But how true are they? Could it be tha...
214. How to Create Suspense
30 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Why is soccer the best sport? How has Harlan Coben sold 70 million books? And why does "Apollo ...
213. Aziz Ansari Needs Another Toothbrush
23 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The comedian, actor -- and now, author -- answers our FREAK-quently Asked Questions
212. The Economics of Sleep, Part 2
16 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
People who sleep better earn more money. Now all we have to do is teach everyone to sleep better.
211. The Economics of Sleep, Part 1
09 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Could a lack of sleep help explain why some people get much sicker than others?
A Better Way to Eat (Rebroadcast)
02 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Takeru Kobayashi revolutionized the sport of competitive eating. What can the rest of us learn from ...
210. Is It Okay for Restaurants to Racially Profile Their Employees?
25 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We seem to have decided that ethnic food tastes better when it's served by people of that ethnicity ...
209. Make Me a Match
18 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Sure, markets generally work well. But for some transactions -- like school admissions and organ tra...
208. Making Sex Offenders Pay -- and Pay and Pay and Pay
11 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Sure, sex crimes are horrific, and the perpetrators deserve to be punished harshly. But society keep...
207. Should We Really Behave Like Economists Say We Do?
04 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
One man's attempt to remake his life in the mold of homo economicus.
Tell Me Something I Don’t Know (Rebroadcast)
28 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The debut of a live game show from Freakonomics Radio, with judges Malcolm Gladwell, Ana Gasteyer, a...
Failure Is Your Friend (Rebroadcast)
21 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In which we argue that failure should not only be tolerated but celebrated.
206. Ten Years of Freakonomics
14 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Dubner and Levitt are live onstage at the 92nd Street Y in New York to celebrate their new book &quo...
205. Could the Next Brooklyn Be ... Las Vegas?!
07 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has a wild vision and the dollars to try to make it real. But it still might b...
Think Like a Child (Rebroadcast)
30 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to generating ideas and asking questions it can be really fruitful to have the mentali...
204. Nate Silver Says: “Everyone Is Kind of Weird”
23 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
America's favorite statistical guru answers our FREAK-quently Asked Questions, and more.
203. Diamonds Are a Marriage Counselor’s Best Friend
16 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
It may seem like winning a valuable diamond is an unalloyed victory. It's not. It's not even clear t...
202. How Many Doctors Does It Take to Start a Healthcare Revolution?
09 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The practice of medicine has been subsumed by the business of medicine. This is great news for healt...
201. How Do We Know What Really Works in Healthcare?
02 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of the conventional wisdom in medicine is nothing more than hunch or wishful thinking. A new b...
The Perfect Crime (Rebroadcast)
26 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
If you are driving and kill a pedestrian, there's a good chance you'll barely be punished. Why?
What You Don’t Know About Online Dating (Rebroadcast)
19 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Thick markets, thin markets, and the triumph of attributes over compatibility.
200. When Willpower Isn’t Enough
12 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Sure, we all want to make good personal decisions, but it doesn't always work out. That's where &quo...
199. This Idea Must Die
05 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Every year, Edge.org asks its salon of big thinkers to answer one big question. This year's question...
198. The Maddest Men of All
26 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Advertisers have always been adept at manipulating our emotions. Now they're using behavioral econom...
197. Hacking the World Bank
19 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Jim Yong Kim has an unorthodox background for a World Bank president — and his reign thus far is j...
196. Is There a Better Way to Fight Terrorism?
12 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The White House is hosting an anti-terror summit next week. Summits being what they are, we try to o...
195. How Efficient Is Energy Efficiency?
05 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
It's a centerpiece of U.S. climate policy and a sacred cow among environmentalists. Does it work?
194. How Safe Is Your Job?
29 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Economists preach the gospel of "creative destruction," whereby new industries -- and jobs...
193. Someone Else’s Acid Trip
22 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
As Kevin Kelly tells it, the hippie revolution and the computer revolution are nearly one and the sa...
192. That’s a Great Question!
15 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Verbal tic or strategic rejoinder? Whatever the case: it’s rare to come across an interview these ...
191. Why Doesn’t Everyone Get the Flu Vaccine?
08 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Influenza kills, but you’d never know it by how few of us get the vaccine.
What’s the “Best” Exercise? (Rebroadcast)
01 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Most people blame lack of time for being out of shape. So maybe the solution is to exercise more eff...
What’s More Dangerous: Marijuana or Alcohol? (Rebroadcast)
25 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine that both substances were undiscovered until today. How would we think about their relative ...
190. Time to Take Back the Toilet
18 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Public bathrooms are noisy, poorly designed, and often nonexistent. What to do?
The Troubled Cremation of Stevie the Cat (Rebroadcast)
11 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We spend billions on our pets, and one of the fastest-growing costs is pet "aftercare." Bu...
189. How to Fix a Broken High Schooler, in Four Easy Steps
04 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Okay, maybe the steps aren’t so easy. But a program run out of a Toronto housing project has had g...
188. Is America’s Education Problem Really Just a Teacher Problem?
27 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
If U.S. schoolteachers are indeed “just a little bit below average,” it’s not really their fau...
187. The Man Who Would Be Everything
20 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson -- mayor of London, biographer of Churchill, cheese-box painter and tennis-racket coll...
186. Why Do People Keep Having Children?
13 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Even a brutal natural disaster doesn’t diminish our appetite for procreating. This surely means we...
185. Should the U.S. Merge With Mexico?
06 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Corporations around the world are consolidating like never before. If it’s good enough for compani...
184. What Can Vampires Teach Us About Economics?
30 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A lot! “The Economics of the Undead” is a book about dating strategy, job creation, and whether ...
183. “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know”
23 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The debut of a live game show from Freakonomics Radio, with judges Malcolm Gladwell, Ana Gasteyer, a...
182. How Can Tiny Norway Afford to Buy So Many Teslas?
16 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The Norwegian government parleys massive oil wealth into huge subsidies for electric cars. Is that c...
How to Raise Money Without Killing a Kitten (Rebroadcast)
09 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The science of what works -- and doesn't work -- in fund-raising
181. Fixing the World, Bang-for-the-Buck Edition
02 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A team of economists has been running the numbers on the U.N.'s development goals. They have a diffe...
180. Fitness Apartheid
25 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Markets are hardly perfect, but the results can be ugly when you try to subvert them.
179. Outsiders by Design
18 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to pursue something that everyone else thinks is nuts? And what does it take to su...
178. How to Save $1 Billion Without Even Trying
11 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Doctors, chefs, and other experts are much more likely than the rest of us to buy store-brand produc...
177. Regulate This!
04 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, EatWith, and other companies in the “sharing economy” are practically daring...
Who Runs the Internet? (Rebroadcast)
28 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The online universe doesn't have nearly as many rules, or rulemakers, as the real world. Discuss.
Parking Is Hell (Rebroadcast)
21 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
There ain't no such thing as a free parking spot. Somebody has to pay for it -- and that somebody is...
What Do Medieval Nuns and Bo Jackson Have in Common? (Rebroadcast)
14 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A look at whether spite pays -- and if it even exists.
Should Tipping be Banned? (Rebroadcast)
07 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
It's awkward, random, confusing -- and probably discriminatory too.
How Much Does Your Name Matter? (Rebroadcast)
31 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
A kid's name can tell us something about his parents -- their race, social standing, even their poli...
176. Does Religion Make You Happy?
24 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a hard question to answer, but we do our best.
175. Why You Should Bribe Your Kids
17 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Educational messaging looks good on paper but kids don’t respond to it -- and adults aren’t much...
174. What Do King Solomon and David Lee Roth Have in Common?
10 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
It isn’t easy to separate the guilty from the innocent, but a clever bit of game theory can help.
173. A Better Way to Eat
03 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Takeru Kobayashi revolutionized the sport of competitive eating. What can the rest of us learn from ...
172. How to Screen Job Applicants, Act Your Age, and Get Your Brain Off Autopilot
26 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Dubner and Levitt answer reader questions in this first installment of the “Think Like a Freak” ...
171. There’s No Such Thing as a Free Appetizer
19 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Is it really in a restaurant’s best interest to give customers free bread or chips before they eve...
170. Why America Doesn’t Love Soccer (Yet)
12 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Every four years, the U.S. takes a look at the World Cup and develops a slight crush. What would it ...
169. Failure Is Your Friend
05 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In which we argue that failure should not only be tolerated but celebrated.
The Upside of Quitting (Rebroadcast )
29 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
You know the saying: a winner never quits and a quitter never wins. To which Freakonomics Radio says...
168. Think Like a Child
22 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to generating ideas and asking questions it can be really fruitful to have the mentali...
167. The Three Hardest Words in the English Language
15 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Why learning to say “I don’t know” is one of the best things you can do.
166. How to Think Like a Freak -- and Other FREAK-quently Asked Questions
08 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt talk about their new book and field questions about prestige, univer...
165. The Perfect Crime
01 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
If you are driving and kill a pedestrian, there's a good chance you'll barely be punished. Why?
164. Which Came First, the Chicken or the Avocado?
24 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to exercising outrage, people tend to be very selective. Could it be that humans are o...
163. What’s More Dangerous: Marijuana or Alcohol?
17 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine that both substances were undiscovered until today. How would we think about their relative ...
162. “If Mayors Ruled the World”
10 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Unlike certain elected officials in Washington, mayors all over the country actually get stuff done....
161. How to Make People Quit Smoking
03 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The war on cigarettes has been fairly successful in some places. But 1 billion humans still smoke --...
160. Why Everybody Who Doesn’t Hate Bitcoin Loves It
27 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Thinking of Bitcoin as just a digital currency is like thinking about the Internet as just e-mail. I...