Freakonomics Radio
1,329 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 29.3K ratingsFreakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior.
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Episodes
585. A Social Activist in Prime Minister’s Clothing
April 25, 2024 03:00 - 52 minutes - 48 MBJustin Trudeau, facing record-low approval numbers, is doubling down on his progressive agenda. But he is so upbeat (and Canada-polite) that it’s easy to miss just how radical his vision is. Can he make it work? SOURCE: Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. RESOURCES: 2024 Canadian Federal Budget. "Canada to Set First-Ever Cap on Temporary Residents," by Nadine Yousif (BBC News, 2023). Common Ground, by Justin Trudeau (2014). EXTRAS: "Why Is Everyone Moving to Canada?" b...
584. How to Pave the Road to Hell
April 18, 2024 03:00 - 43 minutes - 40 MBSo you want to help people? That’s great — but beware the law of unintended consequences. Three stories from the modern workplace. SOURCES: Joshua Angrist, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Zoe Cullen, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. Marina Gertsberg, senior lecturer in finance at the University of Melbourne. RESOURCES: "Is Pay Transparency Good?" by Zoë Cullen (Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2024). "DP18969...
Extra: The Men Who Started a Thinking Revolution (Update)
April 14, 2024 22:00 - 34 minutes - 31.9 MBThe psychologist Daniel Kahneman — a Nobel laureate and the author of Thinking, Fast and Slow — recently died at age 90. Along with his collaborator Amos Tversky, he changed how we all think about decision-making. The journalist Michael Lewis told the Kahneman-Tversky story in a 2016 book called The Undoing Project. In this episode, Lewis explains why they had such a profound influence. SOURCE: Michael Lewis, writer. RESOURCES: The Undoing Project, by Michael Lewis (2016). Thinkin...
Why Are There So Many Bad Bosses? (Update)
April 11, 2024 03:00 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBPeople who are good at their jobs routinely get promoted into bigger jobs they’re bad at. We explain why firms keep producing incompetent managers — and why that’s unlikely to change. SOURCES: Nick Bloom, professor of economics at Stanford University. Katie Johnson, freelance data and analytics coach. Kelly Shue, professor of finance at the Yale University School of Management. Steve Tadelis, professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business. ...
583. Are We Living Through the Most Revolutionary Period in History?
April 04, 2024 03:00 - 1 hour - 57.4 MBFareed Zakaria says yes. But it’s not just political revolution — it’s economic, technological, even emotional. He doesn’t offer easy solutions but he does offer some hope. SOURCES: Fareed Zakaria, journalist and author. RESOURCES: Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present, by Fareed Zakaria (2024). "The Ultimate Election Year: All the Elections Around the World in 2024," by Koh Ewe (TIME, 2023). "The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism,...
Extra: How Much Do You Know About Immigration?
April 01, 2024 01:00 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBThe political debates over immigration can generate a lot of fuzzy facts. We wanted to test Americans’ knowledge — so, to wrap up our special series on immigration, we called some Freakonomics Radio listeners and quizzed them. SOURCES: Zeke Hernandez, professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. RESOURCES: The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Societies Welcome Newcomers, by Zeke Hernandez (2024, available for pre-order). EXTRA: “The True Story of A...
582. Why Is Everyone Moving to Canada?
March 28, 2024 03:00 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBAs the U.S. tries to fix its messy immigration system, our neighbor to the north is scooping up more talented newcomers every year. Are the Canadians stealing America’s bacon? (Part three of a three-part series.) SOURCES: Zeke Hernandez, professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. William Kerr, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. David Leonhardt, senior writer at the New York Times. Sindhu Mahadevan, creator of This Immigrant Life n...
581. What Both Parties Get Wrong About Immigration
March 21, 2024 03:00 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MBThe U.S. immigration system is a massively complicated machine, with a lot of worn-out parts. How to fix it? Step one: Get hold of some actual facts and evidence. (We did this step for you.) (Part two of a three-part series.) SOURCES: Zeke Hernandez, professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. David Leonhardt, senior writer at the New York Times. Sindhu Mahadevan, creator of This Immigrant Life newsletter. RESOURCES: The Truth About Immigration: Why Success...
Extra: Madeleine Albright’s Warning on Immigration
March 18, 2024 04:05 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBShe arrived in the U.S. as an 11-year-old refugee, then rose to become Secretary of State. Her views on immigration, nationalism, and borders, from this 2015 interview, are almost strangely appropriate to the present moment. SOURCE: Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. RESOURCES: "Madeleine Albright, First Woman to Serve as Secretary of State, Dies at 84," by Robert D. McFadden (The New York Time...
580. The True Story of America’s Supremely Messed-Up Immigration System
March 14, 2024 03:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBHow did a nation of immigrants come to hate immigration? We start at the beginning, sort through the evidence, and explain why your grandfather was lying about Ellis Island. (Part one of a three-part series.) SOURCES: Leah Boustan, professor of economics at Princeton University. Zeke Hernandez, professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Roger Nam, professor of Hebrew Bible at Emory University. RESOURCES: The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Societie...
579. Are You Caught in a Social Media Trap?
March 07, 2024 04:00 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBEconomists have discovered an odd phenomenon: many people who use social media (even you, maybe?) wish it didn’t exist. But that doesn’t mean they can escape. SOURCES: Leonardo Bursztyn, professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Benjamin Handel, professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. RESOURCES: "When Product Markets Become Collective Traps: The Case of Social Media," by Leonardo Bursztyn, Benjamin Handel, Rafael Jimenez, and Christopher Roth (...
Extra: What Is Sportswashing — and Does It Work? (Update)
March 04, 2024 05:05 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBIn ancient Rome, it was bread and circuses. Today, it’s a World Cup, an Olympics, and a new Saudi-backed golf league that’s challenging the PGA Tour. Can a sporting event really repair a country’s reputation — or will it trigger the dreaded Streisand Effect? Also: why the major U.S. sports leagues are warming up to the idea of foreign investment. SOURCES: Jodi Balsam, professor of clinical law at Brooklyn Law School. Brandel Chamblee, Golf Channel analyst. Karen Crouse, sports journal...
578. Water, Water Everywhere — But You Have to Stop and Think
February 29, 2024 04:00 - 52 minutes - 47.8 MBWhat surprises lurk in our sewage? How did racist city planners end up saving Black lives? Why does Arizona grow hay for cows in Saudi Arabia? Three strange stories about the most fundamental substance we all take for granted. SOURCES: Brian Beach, professor of economics at Vanderbilt University. Marc Johnson, professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. Amy Kirby, program lead for the National Wastewater Surveillance System at t...
Is Google Getting Worse? (Update)
February 22, 2024 04:00 - 56 minutes - 52.1 MBIt used to feel like magic. Now it can feel like a set of cheap tricks. Is the problem with Google — or with us? And is Google Search finally facing a real rival, in the form of A.I.-powered “answer engines”? SOURCES: Marissa Mayer, co-founder of Sunshine; former C.E.O. of Yahoo! and vice president at Google. Ryan McDevitt; professor of economics at Duke University. Tim Hwang, media researcher and author; former Google employee. Elizabeth Reid, vice president of Search at Google. A...
Extra: Mr. Feynman Takes a Trip — But Doesn’t Fall
February 19, 2024 05:05 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBA wide-open conversation with three women who guided Richard Feynman through some big adventures at the Esalen Institute. (Part of our Feynman series.) SOURCES: Barbara Berg, friend of Richard Feynman. Cheryl Haley, friend of Richard Feynman. Debby Harlow, friend of Richard Feynma Sam Stern, content creator at the Esalen Institute. EXTRAS: Richard Feynman Series, by Freakonomics Radio (2024). "The Future of Therapy Is Psychedelic," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
The Vanishing Mr. Feynman
February 15, 2024 04:00 - 1 hour - 55.9 MBIn his final years, Richard Feynman's curiosity took him to some surprising places. We hear from his companions on the trips he took — and one he wasn’t able to. (Part three of a three-part series.) SOURCES: Alan Alda, actor and screenwriter. Barbara Berg, friend of Richard Feynman. Helen Czerski, physicist and oceanographer at University College London. Michelle Feynman, photographer and daughter of Richard Feynman. Cheryl Haley, friend of Richard Feynman. Debby Harlow, friend of...
The Brilliant Mr. Feynman
February 08, 2024 04:00 - 52 minutes - 48.2 MBWhat happens when an existentially depressed and recently widowed young physicist from Queens gets a fresh start in California? We follow Richard Feynman out west, to explore his long and extremely fruitful second act. (Part two of a three-part series.) SOURCES: Seamus Blackley, video game designer and creator of the Xbox. Carl Feynman, computer scientist and son of Richard Feynman. Michelle Feynman, photographer and daughter of Richard Feynman. Ralph Leighton, biographer and film pr...
How the San Francisco 49ers Stopped Being Losers (Update)
February 05, 2024 05:05 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBThey’re heading to the Super Bowl for the second time in five years. But back in 2018, they were coming off a long losing streak — and that’s the year we sat down with 49ers players, coaches, and executives to hear their turnaround plans. It’s probably time to consider the turnaround a success. SOURCES: Jimmy Garoppolo, quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders; former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Al Guido, president of the San Francisco 49ers. Kyle Juszczyk, fullback for th...
The Curious Mr. Feynman
February 01, 2024 04:00 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBFrom the Manhattan Project to the Challenger investigation, the physicist Richard Feynman loved to shoot down what he called “lousy ideas.” Today, the world is awash in lousy ideas — so maybe it’s time to get some more Feynman in our lives? (Part one of a three-part series.) SOURCES: Helen Czerski, physicist and oceanographer at University College London. Michelle Feynman, photographer and daughter of Richard Feynman. Ralph Leighton, biographer and film producer. Charles Mann, scienc...
574. “A Low Moment in Higher Education”
January 25, 2024 04:00 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBMichael Roth of Wesleyan University doesn’t hang out with other university presidents. He also thinks some of them have failed a basic test of good sense and decency. It’s time for a conversation about college, and courage. SOURCE: Michael S. Roth, president of Wesleyan University. RESOURCES: "Opinion: College Presidents Are Supposed to Be Moral Leaders, Not Evasive Bureaucrats," by Michael S. Roth (Los Angeles Times, 2023). "Transcript: What Harvard, MIT and Penn Presidents Sai...
5 Psychology Terms You’re Probably Misusing (Replay)
January 22, 2024 05:05 - 49 minutes - 45 MBWe all like to throw around terms that describe human behavior — “bystander apathy” and “steep learning curve” and “hard-wired.” Most of the time, they don’t actually mean what we think they mean. But don’t worry — the experts are getting it wrong, too. SOURCES: Sharon Begley, senior science writer for Stat at The Boston Globe. Jerome Kagan, emeritus professor of psychology at Harvard University. Bibb Latané, social psychologist and senior fellow at the Center for Human Science. Scot...
573. Can Academic Fraud Be Stopped?
January 18, 2024 04:00 - 1 hour - 57.3 MBProbably not — the incentives are too strong. Scholarly publishing is a $28 billion global industry, with misconduct at every level. But a few reformers are gaining ground. (Part 2 of 2) SOURCES: Max Bazerman, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. Leif Nelson, professor of business administration at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business. Brian Nosek, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and executive director at th...
572. Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia?
January 11, 2024 04:00 - 1 hour - 67.8 MBSome of the biggest names in behavioral science stand accused of faking their results. Last year, an astonishing 10,000 research papers were retracted. We talk to whistleblowers, reformers, and a co-author who got caught up in the chaos. (Part 1 of 2) SOURCES: Max Bazerman, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. Leif Nelson, professor of business administration at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business. Brian Nosek, professor of psycho...
571. Greeting Cards, Pizza Boxes, and Personal Injury Lawyers
January 04, 2024 04:00 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBIn a special episode of The Economics of Everyday Things, host Zachary Crockett explains what millennials do to show they care, how corrugated cardboard keeps your food warm, and why every city has a billboard for a guy who calls himself “The Hammer.” SOURCES: Jason Abraham, managing partner of Hupy & Abraham. Nora Engstrom, professor at Stanford Law School. Kyle Hebenstreit, C.E.O. of Practice Made Perfect. Patrick Kivits, president of corrugated packaging at WestRock. Mia Mercado,...
570. Is Gynecology the Best Innovation Ever?
December 28, 2023 04:00 - 46 minutes - 42.1 MBIn a special episode of People I (Mostly) Admire, Steve Levitt talks to Cat Bohannon about her new book Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. SOURCE: Cat Bohannon, researcher and author. RESOURCES: Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, by Cat Bohannon (2023). "Genomic Inference of a Severe Human Bottleneck During the Early to Middle Pleistocene Transition," by Wangjie Hu, Ziqian Hao, Pengyuan Du, Fabio Di Vincenzo, Gior...
569. Do You Need Closure?
December 21, 2023 04:00 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBIn a special episode of No Stupid Questions, Angela Duckworth and Mike Maughan talk about unfinished tasks, recurring arguments, and Irish goodbyes. SOURCES: Roy Baumeister, social psychologist and visiting scholar at Harvard University. Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard University. John Gottman, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Washington. Kurt Lewin, 20th-century German-American psychologist. E. J. Masicampo, professor of psychology at Wake Fo...
568. Why Are People So Mad at Michael Lewis?
December 14, 2023 04:00 - 1 hour - 55.5 MBLewis got incredible access to Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire behind the spectacular FTX fraud. His book is a bestseller, but some critics say he went too easy on S.B.F. Lewis tells us why the critics are wrong — and what it’s like to watch your book get turned into a courtroom drama. SOURCES: Michael Lewis, author. RESOURCES: Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, by Michael Lewis (2023). "Column: In Michael Lewis, Sam Bankman-Fried Found His Last and Most Willing...
567. Do the Police Have a Management Problem?
December 07, 2023 04:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBIn policing, as in most vocations, the best employees are often promoted into leadership without much training. One economist thinks he can address this problem — and, with it, America’s gun violence. SOURCES Kenneth Corey, director of outreach and engagement for the Policing Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago and retired chief of department for the New York Police Department. Stephanie Drescher, operations captain in the City of Madison Police Department. Max Kapustin, a...
513. Should Public Transit Be Free? (Update)
November 30, 2023 04:00 - 56 minutes - 51.4 MBIt boosts economic opportunity and social mobility. It’s good for the environment. So why do we charge people to use it? The short answer: it’s complicated. Also: We talk to the man who gets half the nation’s mass-transit riders where they want to go (most of the time). SOURCES: Marcus Finbom, traffic planner in Stockholm, Sweden. Robbie Makinen, former president and C.E.O. of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. Janno Lieber, chair and C.E.O. of the M.T.A. in New York City...
566. Why Is It So Hard (and Expensive) to Build Anything in America?
November 23, 2023 04:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBMost industries have become more productive over time. But not construction! We identify the causes — and possible solutions. (Can you say ... “prefab”?) RESOURCES: "The Strange and Awful Path of Productivity in the US Construction Sector," by Austan Goolsbee and Chad Syverson (BFI Working Paper, 2023). "Infrastructure Costs," by Leah Brooks and Zachary D. Liscow (American Economic Journal: Applied, 2023). "The Silicon Valley Elite Who Want to Build a City From Scratch," by Conor Dough...
Extra: Jason Kelce Hates to Lose
November 19, 2023 05:05 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBPro footballer and star podcaster Jason Kelce is ubiquitous right now (almost as ubiquitous as his brother and co-host Travis, who's been in the limelight for his relationship with Taylor Swift). After you hear this wide-ranging interview, you might want even more Kelce in your life. RESOURCES: “N.F.L. Player Team Report Cards,” by the National Football League Players Association (2023). Kelce, documentary (2023). New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, (produced by Wave Sports + En...
565. Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy?
November 16, 2023 04:00 - 51 minutes - 47 MBThey 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 (N...
480. How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy? (Replay)
November 09, 2023 04:00 - 57 minutes - 52.9 MBEvidence 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, ...
564. How to Succeed at Failing, Part 4: Extreme Resiliency
November 02, 2023 03:00 - 52 minutes - 47.6 MBEveryone 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 Premortem,...
563. How to Succeed at Failing, Part 3: Grit vs. Quit
October 26, 2023 03:00 - 1 hour - 58.2 MBGiving 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 ...
562. How to Succeed at Failing, Part 2: Life and Death
October 19, 2023 03:00 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBIn 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). ...
561. How to Succeed at Failing, Part 1: The Chain of Events
October 12, 2023 03:00 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MBWe 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 Nichola...
232. A New Nobel Laureate Explains the Gender Pay Gap (Replay)
October 10, 2023 01:37 - 44 minutes - 40.8 MBClaudia 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.
560. Is This “the Worst Job in Corporate America” — or Maybe the Best?
October 05, 2023 03:00 - 40 minutes - 36.7 MBJohn 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. ...
559. Are Two C.E.O.s Better Than One?
September 28, 2023 03:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBIf 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 ...
558. The Facts Are In: Two Parents Are Better Than One
September 21, 2023 03:00 - 1 hour - 58.7 MBIn 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.
557. When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee?
September 14, 2023 03:00 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBThe 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/
556. A.I. Is Changing Everything. Does That Include You?
September 07, 2023 03:00 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBFor 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.")
555. New Technologies Always Scare Us. Is A.I. Any Different?
August 31, 2023 03:00 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBGuest 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.")
554. Can A.I. Take a Joke?
August 24, 2023 03:00 - 48 minutes - 44 MBArtificial 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.")
553. The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm Emanuel
August 17, 2023 03:00 - 56 minutes - 51.6 MBThe 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.
Should Traffic Lights Be Abolished? (Ep. 454 Replay)
August 10, 2023 03:00 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBAmericans 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?
Extra: A Modern Whaler Speaks Up
August 06, 2023 21:00 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBBjorn 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.")
552. Freakonomics Radio Presents: The Economics of Everyday Things
August 03, 2023 03:00 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBIn three stories from our newest podcast, host Zachary Crockett digs into sports mascots, cashmere sweaters, and dinosaur skeletons.
551. What Can Whales Teach Us About Clean Energy, Workplace Harmony, and Living the Good Life?
July 27, 2023 03:00 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBIn 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.")