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Discover the hidden side of everything with Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of the Freakonomics books. Each week, Freakonomics Radio tells you things you always thought you knew (but didn’t) and things you never thought you wanted to know (but do) — from the economics of sleep to how to become great at just about anything. Dubner speaks with Nobel laureates and provocateurs, intellectuals and entrepreneurs, and various other underachievers.
Stephen Dubner (co-author of the Freakonomics book series) and research psychologist Angela Duckworth (author of Grit) really like to ask people questions, and came to believe there’s no such thing as a stupid one. So they made a podcast where they can ask each other as many “stupid questions” as they want. New episodes each week. No Stupid Questions is a production of the Freakonomics Radio Network.
Steve Levitt, the iconoclastic University of Chicago economist and co-author of the Freakonomics book series, tracks down other high achievers and asks questions that only he would think to ask. Guests include all-time Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, WNBA champion Sue Bird, Operation Warp Speed chief Moncef Slaoui, and neuroscientist/actress Mayim Bialik. People I (Mostly) Admire is a production of the Freakonomics Radio Network.
Dog-cognition expert and bestselling author Alexandra Horowitz (Inside of a Dog) takes us on a walk into the scruffy, curious, joyful world of dogs. What does it mean to "own" a dog? Can dogs demonstrate genuine heroism? And what is it like to experience reality primarily through smell? Off Leash is a delightful and surprising look at the deeply familiar, profoundly mysterious animals who walk alongside us.
Each week, physician and economist Dr. Bapu Jena will dig into a fascinating study at the intersection of economics and healthcare. He takes on questions like: Why do kids with summer birthdays get the flu more often? Can surviving a hurricane help you live longer? What do heart surgery and grocery-store pricing have in common?
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The Freakonomics Radio Book Club
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The Freakonomics Radio Book Club
Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
From the podcast that explores the hidden side of everything, hear authors like you’ve never heard them before. Stephen Dubner and a stable of Freakonomics friends talk with the writers of mind-bending books, and we hear the best excerpts as well. You’ll learn about skill versus chance, the American discomfort with death, the secret life of dogs, and much more.
Journalism wrapped in a game-show package. Host Stephen J. Dubner (of “Freakonomics Radio”) and a celebrity co-host invite guests on stage in front of a live audience to tell us something we don’t know. The co-hosts — a mix of leaders in science, academia, sports, media, and comedy — grill the guests, and by the end we’ve all gotten a bit smarter. Each episode has a new topic, a new co-host, and new guests. There’s also a real-time human fact-checker to keep everyone honest. Think of the mos ...
The Columbia University sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh studies exclusive worlds by embedding himself — with a crack-selling gang, sex workers, the teenage children of billionaires, and most recently, at the highest levels of companies at the vanguard of the digital revolution, including Facebook and Twitter. And now he’s hosting a podcast. In each episode, Venkatesh will reveal what he learned in Silicon Valley and talk with the people he met along the way who are building and running the digi ...
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No Stupid Questions
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100. Is It Weird for Adults to Have Imaginary Friends?
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By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Jane McGonigal designed a game to help herself recover from a traumatic brain injury — and she thinks playing games can help us all lead our best lives.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
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Freakonomics, M.D.
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38. Pfizer’s CEO on the Big Gamble That Brought Us the COVID Vaccine
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Bapu Jena talks with Albert Bourla about his unusual path to the top, developing a life-saving vaccine in record time, and the second-hardest decision he made along the wayBy Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
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Freakonomics Radio
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503. What Is the Future of College — and Does It Have Room for Men?
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Educators and economists tell us all the reasons college enrollment has been dropping, especially for men, and how to stop the bleeding. (Part 4 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”)By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
What do dogs know about their own names? And is there any science about what to name them? Alexandra talks to a researcher with some answers, and takes a walk with the actress Isabella Rossellini, her dogs, and a sheep named Frida Kahlo.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Dogs are, above all, creatures of the nose. What can they sniff out, and what can we learn about smelling by following them? Alexandra Horowitz talks to a detection-dog handler and a food critic about olfaction, then puts some Freakonomics hosts' noses to the test.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
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No Stupid Questions
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99. Do You Mind if I Borrow Your Personality?
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By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz combs through mountains of information to find advice for everyday life.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Fear is a popular tool in public health campaigns. But is it an effective one? Bapu Jena discusses new research on whether we can — and should — scare people into being healthier.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
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Freakonomics Radio
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Abortion and Crime, Revisited (Ep. 384 Update)
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As the Supreme Court considers overturning Roe v. Wade, we look back at Steve Levitt’s controversial research on an unintended consequence of the 1973 ruling.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Soil scientist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe could soon hold one of the most important jobs in science. She explains why the ground beneath our feet is one of our greatest resources — and, possibly, one of our deadliest threats.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
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Freakonomics, M.D.
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36. Bad News — It’s Your Surgeon’s Birthday
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Distractions are everywhere — including in the operating room. So, what happens if a surgeon loses focus? A tap dancer, a health researcher, and a surgeon help Bapu Jena find out.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
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Freakonomics Radio
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502. “I Don’t Think the Country Is Turning Away From College.”
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Enrollment is down for the first time in memory, and critics complain college is too expensive, too elitist, and too politicized. The economist Chris Paxson — who happens to be the president of Brown University — does not agree. (Part 3 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”)By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
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No Stupid Questions
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97. Are Women Really Less Happy Than Men?
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By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
How psychologist Dan Gilbert went from high school dropout to Harvard professor, found the secret of joy, and inspired Steve Levitt's divorce.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
For lots of things, price is an indicator of quality. But what about in health care? Bapu Jena gets some clues from Steve Levitt’s wine tasting experiment, and looks at why shopping for health care is so hard.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
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Freakonomics Radio
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501. The University of Impossible-to-Get-Into
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America’s top colleges are facing record demand. So why don’t they increase supply? (Part 2 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”)By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
In the Freakonomics Radio Network's newest show, dog-cognition expert and bestselling author Alexandra Horowitz (Inside of a Dog) takes us on a walk into the scruffy, curious, joyful world of dogs. What does it mean to "own" a dog? Can dogs demonstrate genuine heroism? And what is it like to experience reality primarily through smell? Off Leash is …
By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Linguist and social commentator John McWhorter explains how good intentions may be hurting Black America — and where the word “motherf*cker” comes from.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Taxes on alcohol and tobacco promise to make people healthier and raise public funds. But can they backfire? Bapu Jena looks at the complicated economics of sin taxes.By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
We think of them as intellectual enclaves and the surest route to a better life. But U.S. colleges also operate like firms, trying to differentiate their products to win market share and prestige points. In the first episode of a special series, we ask what our chaotic system gets right — and wrong. (Part 1 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to Schoo…
By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Beatrice Fihn wants to rid the world of nuclear weapons. As Russian aggression raises the prospect of global conflict, can she put disarmament on the world's agenda?By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
