Freakonomics Radio
Episodes
87. The Season of Death
08 Aug 2012
Contributed by Lukas
We know that summertime brings far too many fatal accidents. But you may be surprised if you dig into the numbers.
86. Freakonomics Goes to College, Part 1
29 Jul 2012
Contributed by Lukas
What's a college degree really worth these days?
85. Olympian Economics
25 Jul 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Do host cities really get the benefits their boosters promise, or are they just engaging in some fiscal gymnastics?
84. Legacy of a Jerk
18 Jul 2012
Contributed by Lukas
What happens to your reputation when you're no longer around to defend it?
83. What's Wrong With Cash for Grades?
10 Jul 2012
Contributed by Lukas
If we want our kids to thrive in school, maybe we should just pay them.
82. Please Steal My Car
04 Jul 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Levitt and Dubner answer your FREAK-quently Asked Questions about junk food, insurance, and how to make an economist happy.
81. Star-Spangled Banter?
26 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Once a week, the British Prime Minister goes before the House of Commons for a lightning round of hard questions. Should the U.S. give it a try?
80. Riding the Herd Mentality
20 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
How using peer pressure -- and good, old-fashioned shame -- can push people to do the right thing.
79. A Cheap Employee Is … a Cheap Employee
13 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Paying workers as little as possible seems smart -- unless you can make more money by paying them more.
78. You Eat What You Are, Part 2
06 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
To feed 7 billion people while protecting the environment, it would seem that going local is a no-brainer -- until you start looking at the numbers.
77. Playing the Nerd Card
30 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
The NBA’s superstars are suddenly sporting Urkel glasses -- but is it more than a fashion statement?
76. You Eat What You Are, Part 1
23 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
How American food so got bad -- and why it's getting so much better.
75. Retirement Kills
16 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Sure, we all dream of leaving the office forever. But what if it's bad for your health?
74. Soul Possession
07 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
In a world where nearly everything is for sale, is it always okay to buy what isn’t yours?
73. A Rose By Any Other Distance
02 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
At a time when people worry about every mile their food must travel, why is it okay to import most of our cut flowers from thousands of miles away?
72. Lottery Loopholes and Deadly Doctors
25 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
What do you do when smart people keep making stupid mistakes? And: are we a nation of financial illiterates?
71. Is Good Corporate Citizenship Also Good for the Bottom Line?
18 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
A new study says that yes, it is -- but try telling that to the United Nations officials who are preaching sustainability practices.
70. Eating and Tweeting
11 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Does the future of food lie in its past – or inside a tank of liquid nitrogen? Also: how anti-social can you be on a social network?
69. The Hidden Cost of False Alarms
03 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
If any other product failed 94 percent of the time, you’d probably stop using it. So why do we put up with burglar alarms?
68. The Power of the President -- and the Thumb
28 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
How much does the President of the United States really matter? And: where did all the hitchhikers go? A pair of "attribution errors."
67. The Patent Gap
22 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Women hold fewer than one in 10 patents. Why? And what are we missing out on?
66. Show and Yell
14 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Is booing an act of verbal vandalism or the last true expression of democracy? And: when you drive a Prius, are you guilty of “conspicuous conservat...
65. It’s Not the President, Stupid
07 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Isn’t it time to admit that the U.S. economy doesn’t have a commander in chief?
64. The Days of Wine and Mouses
27 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Do more expensive wines taste better? And: what does one little rodent in a salad say about a restaurant’s future?
63. The Dilbert Index?
22 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Measuring workplace morale -- and how to game the sick-day system.
62. How Biased Is Your Media?
15 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
The left and the right blame each other for pretty much everything, including slanted media coverage. Can they both be right?
61. Does This Recession Make Me Look Fat?
08 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
A look at some non-obvious ways to lose weight.
60. Save Me From Myself
01 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
A commitment device forces you to be the person you really want to be. What could possibly go wrong?
59. The Hidden Side of the Super Bowl
25 Jan 2012
Contributed by Lukas
A football cheat sheet to help you sound like the smartest person at the party.
58. What Do Hand-Washing and Financial Illiteracy Have in Common?
19 Jan 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Education is the surest solution to a lot of problems. Except when it’s not.
57. Does Money Really Buy Elections?
11 Jan 2012
Contributed by Lukas
We all know the answer is yes. But the data -- and Rudy Giuliani -- say no.
56. Why Is “I Don’t Know” So Hard to Say?
04 Jan 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Levitt and Dubner answer your FREAK-quently Asked Questions about certifying politicians, irrational fears, and the toughest three words in the Englis...
55. The Perils of Drunk Walking
27 Dec 2011
Contributed by Lukas
We know it's terribly dangerous to drive drunk. But heading home on foot isn't the solution.
54. How Is a Bad Radio Station Like Our Public-School System? (Encore)
21 Dec 2011
Contributed by Lukas
The thrill of customization, via Pandora and a radical new teaching method
53. How American Food Got So Bad
13 Dec 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Tyler Cowen points fingers. There's plenty of blame to go around.
52. Weird Recycling
02 Dec 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Clever ways to not waste our waste.
51. What Makes a Donor Donate?
29 Nov 2011
Contributed by Lukas
The science of charity, with economist John List.
50. The Truth Is Out There…Isn’t It?
22 Nov 2011
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a nasty secret about hot-button topics like global warming: knowledge is not always power.
49. Unnatural Turkeys
16 Nov 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Our appetite for breast meat renders our holiday birds unable to reproduce.
48. Boo…Who?
08 Nov 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Is booing an act of verbal vandalism—or the last true expression of democracy?
47. Wildfires, Cops, and Keggers
02 Nov 2011
Contributed by Lukas
On Election Day, most people focus on the obvious winners and losers -- that is, the candidates. But we went looking for some of the strange side effe...
46. Misadventures in Baby-Making
25 Oct 2011
Contributed by Lukas
We are constantly wowed by new technologies and policies meant to make childbirth better. But beware the unintended consequences.
45. Those Cheating Teachers!
18 Oct 2011
Contributed by Lukas
High-stakes testing has produced some rotten apples. But they can be caught.
44. Where Have All the Hitchhikers Gone?
10 Oct 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Did we needlessly scare ourselves into ditching a good thing? And, with millions of cars driving around with no passengers, should we be rooting for a...
43. The Decline and Fall of Violence
05 Oct 2011
Contributed by Lukas
The world is a more peaceful place today that at any time in history -- by a long, long shot.
42. The Upside of Quitting
28 Sep 2011
Contributed by Lukas
You know the saying: a winner never quits and a quitter never wins. To which Freakonomics Radio says … Are you sure?
41. The Folly of Prediction
14 Sep 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Human beings love to predict the future, but we're quite terrible at it. So how about punishing all those bad predictions?
40. The Suicide Paradox
31 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
There are more than twice as many suicides as murders in the U.S., but suicide attracts far less scrutiny. Freakonomics Radio digs through the numbers...
39. The Economist’s Guide to Parenting
16 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Think you know how much parents matter? Think again. Economists crunch the numbers to learn the ROI on child-rearing.
38. The Church of "Scionology"
03 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
We worship the tradition of handing off a family business to the next generation. But is that really such a good idea?
37. Mouse in the Salad
20 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
In restaurants and in life, bad things happen. But what happens next is just as important.
36. Hey Baby, Is That a Prius You're Driving?
06 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
"Conspicuous conservation" is about showing off your environmental bona fides. In other words, if you lean green, there's extra value in bei...
35. Live From St. Paul!
22 Jun 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Freakonomics Radio hits the road, and plays some Quiz Bowl
34. Things Our Fathers Gave Us
08 Jun 2011
Contributed by Lukas
What did Levitt and Dubner learn as kids from their dads?
33. To Catch a Fugitive
25 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Who is likelier to get to the fugitive first? When a fugitive is on the run, it’s not only the police he has to worry about. A bounty hunter could b...
32. Growing Up Buffett
11 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
What’s it like to wake up one day and realize Dad is a multi-billionaire? That's what happened to Warren Buffett’s son Peter -- who then started t...
31. Gambling With Your Life
27 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Does Las Vegas increase your risk of suicide? A researcher embeds himself in the city where Americans are most likely to kill themselves.
30. Does College Still Matter? And Other Freaky Questions Answered ...
13 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
In our second round of FREAK-quently Asked Questions, Steve Levitt answers some queries from listeners and readers.
29. Smarter Kids at 10 Bucks a Pop
06 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
It won’t work for everyone, but there’s a cheap, quick, and simple way to lift some students’ grades.
28. Why Can’t We Predict Earthquakes?
30 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
We talk to a U.S. Geological Survey physicist about the science -- and folly -- of predicting earthquakes. There are lots of known knowns; and, fortun...
27. Death by Fire? Probably Not
23 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Fire deaths in the U.S. have fallen 90 percent over the past 100 years, a great and greatly underappreciated gain. How did it happen -- and could we e...
26. The Health of Nations
16 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, GDP has been the yardstick for measuring living standards around the world. Martha Nussbaum would rather use something that actually work...
25. Is Twitter a Two-Way Street?
09 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
To get a lot of followers on Twitter, do you need to follow a lot of other Tweeps? And if not, why not?
24. The Power of Poop
02 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Since the beginning of civilization, we’ve thought that human waste was worthless and dangerous. What if we were wrong?
23. Millionaires vs. Billionaires
24 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Five things you don’t know about the NFL labor standoff
22. Why Cities Rock
17 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Could it be that cities are "our greatest invention" -- that, despite a reputation as black-soot-spewing engines of doom, they in fact make ...
21. Bring on the Pain!
09 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
It's not about how much something hurts -- it's how you remember the pain. This week, lessons on pain from the New York City subway, the professional ...
20. Waiter, There’s a Physicist in My Soup! (Part 2)
02 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
What do a computer hacker, an Indiana farm boy, and Napoleon Bonaparte have in common? The past, present, and future of food science.
19. Waiter, There’s a Physicist in My Soup! (Part 1)
26 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
The "molecular gastronomy" movement -- which gets a bump in visibility next month with the publication of the mammoth cookbook "Moderni...
18. Freakonomics FAQ, No. 1
19 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Levitt and Dubner field questions from the public and hold forth on everything from dating strategies and rock-and-roll accordion music to whether dif...
17. Trashed
13 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
How economics -- and emotion -- have turned our garbage into such a mess
16. Exit Interview: Schools Chancellor, NYC
05 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Having already amassed an eventful resume -- the Clinton White House, the Department of Justice, and Bertelsmann -- Joel I. Klein spent the past eight...
15. You Say Repugnant, I Say … Let's Do It!
29 Dec 2010
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when the most disturbing ideas are also the best?
14. Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better?
15 Dec 2010
Contributed by Lukas
They should! It's a cardinal rule: more expensive items are supposed to be qualitatively better than their cheaper versions. But is that true for wine...
13. The "No-Lose Lottery," Part 2
01 Dec 2010
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the banking tool that got millions of people around the world to stop wasting money on the lottery. So why won't state and federal officials in...
12. Is America Ready for a "No-Lose Lottery"?
17 Nov 2010
Contributed by Lukas
For the most part, Americans don't like the simple, boring act of putting money in a savings account. We do, however, love to play the lottery. So wha...
11. How Much Does the President of the U.S. Really Matter?
03 Nov 2010
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. president is often called the "leader of free world." But if you ask an economist or a Constitutional scholar how much the occupant of the Ov...
10. The NFL's Best Real Estate Isn't For Sale. Yet.
28 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
The NFL is very good at making money. So why on earth doesn't it sell ad space on the one piece of real estate that football fans can’t help but see...
9. Reading, Rockets, and 'Rithmetic
21 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Government and the private sector often feel far apart. One is filled with compliance-driven bureaucracy. The other, with market-fueled innovation. ...
8. Who Stole All the Runs in Major League Baseball?
07 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
It was a pretty good baseball season -- especially if you're a fan of the Yankees, Rays, Twins, Rangers, Reds, Braves, Phillies, or Giants, all of who...
7. Two Book Authors and a Microphone
30 Sep 2010
Contributed by Lukas
The next chapter in the adventures of Dubner and Levitt has begun. Listen to a preview of what's to come for the fall season of Freakonomics Radio.
6. Why the World Cup Is an Economist's Dream
10 Jun 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Levitt talks about why the center cannot hold in penalty kicks, why a running track hurts home-field advantage, and why the World Cup is an econ...
5. How Is a Bad Radio Station Like Our Public-School System?
13 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Freakonomics Radio, we explore a way to make 1.1 million schoolkids feel like they have 1.1 million teachers.
4. Faking It
13 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Do you "fake it"? If so, you're hardly alone. In this episode, you'll hear how everyone from the President of the United States to a kosher-...
3. What Would the World Look Like if Economists Were in Charge?
24 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we speculate what would happen if economists got to run the world. Hear from a high-end call girl; an Estonian who ran his country acc...
2. Is America's Obesity Epidemic For Real?
26 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Americans keep putting on pounds. So is it time for a cheeseburger tax? Or would a chill pill be the best medicine? In this episode, we explore the un...
1. The Dangers of Safety
06 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
What do NASCAR drivers, Glenn Beck and the hit men of the NFL have in common?