How do TV producers decide how much money to give away? A little psychology and a lot of math. Zachary Crockett phones a friend. SOURCES:Bowen Kerins, math teacher and former contestant on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire.Arthur Smith, CEO of A. Smith & Co. Productions and author of "Reach: Hard Lessons and Learned Truths from a Lifetime in Television."Aaron Solomon, television producer. RESOURCES:"‘The Price Is Right’ Celebrates 10,000 Episodes With Extra Big Wins for Contestants That Top Off at $100,000!" by Rosemary Rossi (Variety, 2025)."Why haven’t more game show prizes been adjusted for inflation?" by Janet Nguyen (Marketplace, 2023)."Deal or No Deal? Decision Making under Risk in a Large-Payoff Game Show," by Thierry Post, Martijn J. van den Assem, Guido Baltussen, and Richard Thaler (American Economic Review, 2008)."Why Game Shows Have Economists Glued to Their TVs," by Charles Florelle (Wall Street Journal, 2006). EXTRAS:"Bowen Kerins on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (2000). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
No persons identified in this episode.
This episode hasn't been transcribed yet
Help us prioritize this episode for transcription by upvoting it.
Popular episodes get transcribed faster
Other recent transcribed episodes
Transcribed and ready to explore now
Before the Crisis: How You and Your Relatives Can Prepare for Financial Caregiving
06 Dec 2025
Motley Fool Money
OpenAI's Code Red, Sacks vs New York Times, New Poverty Line?
06 Dec 2025
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
OpenAI's Code Red, Sacks vs New York Times, New Poverty Line?
06 Dec 2025
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Anthropic Finds AI Answers with Interviewer
05 Dec 2025
The Daily AI Show
#2423 - John Cena
05 Dec 2025
The Joe Rogan Experience
Warehouse to wellness: Bob Mauch on modern pharmaceutical distribution
05 Dec 2025
McKinsey on Healthcare