Eugene Mirman, Ed Glaeser and Amy Glasmeier are panelists. The comedian, the Harvard economist and the MIT professor join us in one of America’s oldest urban centers for a show about cities, including ruins, sewage and ghost towns. Mike Maughan is our fact-checker.
Angela Duckworth (psychologist and author of Grit) is our special guest co-host, with Mike Maughan (head of global insights at Qualtrics) as real-time fact-checker. TMSIDK is in Philadelphia with a cornucopia of the world’s most renowned behavior change experts presenting original research.
Tell Me Something I Don’t Know is on the weird side of the tracks in Philadelphia with everything you’ve ever wanted to know about graffiti, cockroaches, tattoos, pee, and more. James Altucher (host of The James Altucher Show) is our special guest co-host, with Mike Maughan (head of global insights at Qualtrics) as real-time fact-checker.
Things we learn this week: dogs aren’t so great at sniffing, men aren’t so lazy, and New York doesn’t smell so bad (anymore). Gail Simmons (Top Chef) is co-host; Jon Batiste plays his melodica for us; the live fact-checker is Mike Maughan.
How to make people like you, why you should lick rocks, and what an awkward person is really thinking. Angela Duckworth (Grit author) is co-host; Mike Maughan (Qualtrics) is live fact-checker.
Our co-host is Grit author Angela Duckworth, and we learn fascinating, Freakonomical facts from a parade of guests. For instance: what we all get wrong about Darwin; what an iPod has in common with the “hell ant”; and how a “memory athlete” memorizes a deck of cards. Mike Maughan is our real-time fact-checker.
Recorded live in San Francisco. Guests include the keeper of a 10,000-year clock, the co-founder of Lyft, a pioneer in male birth control, a specialist in water security, and a psychology professor who is also a puppy. With co-host Angela Duckworth, fact-checker Mike Maughan, and the Freakonomics Radio Orchestra.
How do friendships change as we get older? Should you join a bowling league? And is Angela more important to Mike than Mike is to Angela?
What makes a con succeed? Does snake oil actually work? And just how gullible is Angela?
Must one always strive for excellence? Is perfectionism a good thing? And can Mike have two bad days in a row?
Is it worse to regret something you’ve done, or something you haven’t done? What’s the upside of rejection? And which great American short-story writer convinced Angela to quit driving?
Is a walk through the city as good as a walk through the woods? Who’s most likely to die while taking a selfie? And how does Angela protect herself from the beer cans falling onto her deck?
Why do people drink? Why do people not drink? And why specifically do Angela and Mike not drink?
What’s more stressful, divorce or jail? Are you in the middle of a “lifequake”? And should we all be taking notes from Martha Stewart?
How vulnerable should you get with your coworkers? What’s the benefit of telling strangers about your relationship with your mother? And why did Mike’s childhood home burn down — twice?
How well do you know the people in your life, really? Are you stuck having surface-level conversations? And should we all be in couples therapy?
Is it better to be the best player on the worst team or the worst player on the best team? How did Angela cope with her extremely impressive freshman dorm-mates? And why won’t Shaquille O’Neal let Charles Barkley have an onion ring?
How do you deal with a close talker? Is Angela drinking too much water? And why can’t Mike keep his phone out of his bedroom?
Why would a successful person feel the need to stick it to the little guy? Is Angela a name-dropper? And why do rappers grab their crotches?
How final is a final offer, really? Does anonymity turn nice people into jerks? And should you tell your crush that you dreamed about marrying them?
How do you practice self-care if you don’t have time for a break? Is it weird to talk to yourself? And does Mike need a bag of Doritos — or just a hug?
How much control do you really have over your body? Could understanding genetics help combat fat-shaming? And why is Mike’s life coach so happy all the time?
Does anyone really know what they’re doing? How do we reward the competent and not the confident? And what’s wrong with using TikTok for research?
Do you get grittier as you age? What’s worse for mental health: video games or social media? And do baby boomers make the best D.J.s?
What’s the difference between being busy and being productive? Would you be better at your job if you cared a little less? And can somebody get Mike a cup of coffee?
Is it better to be an egocentric navigator or an allocentric navigator? Was the New York City Department of Education wrong to ban ChatGPT? And did Mike get ripped off by Michael Jackson’s cousin?
Should you become an artist or an accountant? Did Sylvia Plath have to be depressed to write The Bell Jar? And what can Napoleon Dynamite teach us about the creative life?
Do you suffer from the sin of certainty? How did Angela react when a grad student challenged her research? And can a Heineken commercial strengthen our democracy?
How can you be lonely when so many people showed up at your birthday party? Can you fight loneliness by managing expectations? And where can you find company while enjoying the best garlic cheeseburger in the greater Salt Lake City metro area?
Why do we use “literally” figuratively? Does conveying an “emotional truth” justify making things up? And are Angela’s kids really starving or just hungry?
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