Bring Us Your Repugnant Ideas
We just did a Marketplace radio piece on “The Year in Repugnant Ideas,” and tomorrow we’ll release a podcast on a similar theme. We plan to revisit this theme in…
What happens when the most disturbing ideas are also the best?
We just did a Marketplace radio piece on “The Year in Repugnant Ideas,” and tomorrow we’ll release a podcast on a similar theme. We plan to revisit this theme in…
…in an opera in the 1870’s was apparently considered repugnant. Today, of course, Carmen is one of the most popular operas in the world. This got me thinking about the…
Al Roth, whom we’ve blogged about in the past, is known (to me, at least) as the King of Repugnance. Not that Roth is himself in any way repugnant (quite…
The philosopher known for his rigorous ethics explains why Steve is leading a morally inconsistent life….
Philosopher Will MacAskill thinks about how to do as much good as possible. But that’s really hard, especially when you’re worried about humans who won’t be born for many generations….
…p.r. man. “So while environmentalists may find the very notion of geoengineering repugnant, the fact is that geoengineering is already with us, and will likely be put to use whether…
From the inbox: Gentlemen: I am a big fan — one who especially appreciates your willingness to (perhaps enjoyment in?) exploring solutions that many would consider repugnant. In that spirit,…
…kidney transplant waiting list, while the number of living donors was only 6,282, and the number of deceased donor transplants was 10,622. Freakonomics is no stranger to the repugnant discussion…
…For a variety of reasons, the idea of buying and selling human organs is one that people find repugnant — at least at this point in time, and in our…
…before. Still, it might be worth a look — especially when you think about how the line between repugnant and not repugnant can shift over time, sometimes faster and more…
…really repugnant and controversial. Well, I passed out a survey to my class of about thirty people and two whole people were against this system. And this isn’t a progressive…
…argued for a free market in organs that lets the market establish a price. I find that repugnant; I don’t want people selling their kidneys, just as I find the…
The gist: we spend billions on end-of-life healthcare that doesn’t do much good. So what if a patient could forego the standard treatment and get a cash rebate instead?
We spend billions on end-of-life healthcare that doesn’t do much good. So what if a patient could forego the standard treatment and get a cash rebate instead?
No one wants mass shootings. Unfortunately, no one has a workable plan to stop them either.
…to the radio waves as well, at least in the U.K. His first radio documentary, Analysis: Repugnant Markets, airs today on BBC radio (3:30 p.m. EDT), and will be archived…
(Photo: Stéphane Moussie) Alex Tabarrok explores the world of egg donation, which is heavily regulated by the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine…
…an idea so repugnant that even the most heartless economist surely wouldn’t endorse it. In fact, it’s so politically incorrect that perhaps only the folks at Irish airline Ryanair could…
…of the research cited in the Freakonomics column: A paper by the sociologist Viviana Zelizer about the history of life insurance, which used to be considered a vulturish, repugnant practice…
The cost of free donuts. (HT: Eric M. Jones) Is it harder to make friends after the age of 30? Repugnant? A crematorium installs turbines to generate electricity. (HT: Eric…
…of this article via Market Design, the blog of the always-interesting Al Roth. His headline was striking: “Anesthesia Was Once Repugnant.” There’s no way, I thought, that he could be…
…Say Repugnant, I Say… Lets Do it!” A few weeks ago, we blogged about whether the idea of a legal organ market is losing its stigma. So we were immediately…
…however, allowing people to bid for organs seems repugnant to me. (I do not want livers — except perhaps foie gras — on eBay!) Ethically, it seems wrong to let…
As the SuperFreakonomics chapter on global warming suggests, solutions that are initially viewed as repugnant sometimes gain acceptance over time. Consider, for example, that environmental groups have supported a “last-ditch…
…properly exploited? I propose one idea at the end of the Marketplace segment that, while seemingly practical, will certainly not be to everyone’s taste. Some might even think it repugnant….
…the practice illegal, but at the very least taboo or socially repugnant. I will put a few more examples below the fold, so as not to ruin the guessing game,…
…a bet is framed. One is modern finance, while the other is a repugnant market. Both, of course, are simply state-contingent contracts. But I’m also confused for another reason. The…
…as repugnant. I wonder if the same set of emotions were present when rivers were being dammed or land was being reclaimed from the sea in places like the Netherlands?…
…some behaviors considered repugnant while others are acceptable, and how and why do such demarcations change over time? Three of the panel’s five participants — Arthur Brooks, Sally Satel, and…
