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Episode 500

What Exactly Is College For?

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…

Episode 82

Is This the Future of High School?

Khan Academy founder Sal Khan returns to share his vision for a new way to learn — and the conversation inspires Steve to make a big announcement.

Episode 502

“I Don’t Think the Country Is Turning Away From College.”

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…

Episode 119

Higher Education Is Broken. Can It Be Fixed?

Economist Michael D. Smith says universities are scrambling to protect a status quo that deserves to die. He tells Steve why the current system is unsustainable, and what’s at stake…

Is There a Market for "Conscious Capitalists"?

…changing classroom culture and, when I created schools, on creating a distinctively intellectual culture at the new schools (even among student populations that were not originally intellectual). In order to…





Episode 48

The Hidden Consequences of School Shootings

Beyond the immediate casualties, school shootings have costs — for survivors, and for the rest of us….

Episode 87

How Much Are the Right Friends Worth?

Harvard economist Raj Chetty uses tax data to study inequality, kid success, and social mobility. He explains why you should be careful when choosing your grade school teachers — and…

Episode 391

America’s Math Curriculum Doesn’t Add Up

Most high-school math classes are still preparing students for the Sputnik era. Steve Levitt wants to get rid of the “geometry sandwich” and instead have kids learn what they really…

Episode 42

America’s Math Curriculum Doesn’t Add Up

A special episode: Steve reports on a passion of his. Most high-school math classes are still preparing students for the Sputnik era. Steve wants to get rid of the “geometry…

Episode 228

Does “Early Education” Come Way Too Late?

In our collective zeal to reform schools and close the achievement gap, we may have lost sight of where most learning really happens — at home.


Episode 50

Edward Miguel on Collecting Economic Data by Canoe and Correlating Conflict with Rainfall

He’s a pioneer of using randomized control experiments in economics — studying the long-term benefits of a $1 health intervention in Africa. Steve asks Edward, a Berkeley professor, about Africa’s…

Episode 114

Can You Learn to Love Hard Work?

Can exercising your body boost your brain’s stamina? Are some people just born lazy? And why did Angela stop reading “Us Weekly”?…

An Online Economics Professor Reveals All

Online education is seriously on the rise, garnering praise from congressmen and even gaining share among elementary school students. In the realm of higher education, more and more schools are…



Episode 228

Does “Early Education” Come Way Too Late? (Replay)

The gist: in our collective zeal to reform schools and close the achievement gap, we may have lost sight of where most learning really happens — at home.


Episode 22

Sal Khan: “If It Works for 15 Cousins, It Could Work for a Billion People.”

Khan Academy grew out of Sal Khan’s online math tutorials for his extended family. It’s now a platform used by more than 115 million people in 190 countries. So what…

Episode 6

A Shave, a Haircut, and a Blood Pressure Test (Update)

For Black men, the barbershop is a neighborhood hub. It could also be a place for them to get medical care. Plus: What happens to patients when affirmative action ends?…

Episode 107

Bringing Data to Life

Talithia Williams thinks you should rigorously track your body’s data. She and Steve Levitt trade birth stories and bemoan the state of STEM education….

Episode 491

Why Is Everyone Moving to Dallas?

When Stephen Dubner learned that Dallas–Fort Worth will soon overtake Chicago as the third-biggest metro area in the U.S., he got on a plane to find out why. Despite getting…

Let Me See You Wash Your Hands!

…the practice stick. (That’s how I finally got in the habit of using a seat-belt.) Having won the day with hospitals, we should turn our attention toward schools. Sadly, most…



Massive Teacher Cheating Scandal Erupts in Atlanta

…with at Freakonomics. Levitt and Brian Jacob investigated teacher cheating in Chicago schools. Their findings were detailed in Chapter 1 of Freakonomics. Since Chicago schools would destroy the physical tests…



Are We a Nation of Financial Illiterates?

…U.S. schools? (I believe that “home economics,” back when it was born, included some home-finance component, didn’t it?) A: Some type of consumer education has been present from the early…



Govt. Puts a Real Crimp on Canadian Dropouts

…and more schools across Oregon and the nation are using incentives ranging from cash to cars to encourage pupils to go to class. The schools need solid attendance figures to…






Do Good Grades Predict Success?

…requires a deeper understanding of what is to be done. 3. Most middle schools and high schools put so much emphasis on homework versus actual understanding that they are measuring…