Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School
Date
Length
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 share and prestige points. In the first episode of a special series originally published in 2022, we ask what our chaotic system gets right — and wrong. (Part 1 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.” This is a 2024 update of this episode; the original is here.)
8/14/24
50:51
The University of Impossible-to-Get-Into
America’s top colleges are facing record demand. So why don’t they increase supply? (Part 2 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.” This is a 2024 update of this episode; the original is here.)
8/21/24
71:10
What Is the Future of College — and Does It Have Room for Men?
Educators and economists tell us all the reasons college enrollment has been dropping, especially for men, and how to stop the bleeding. (Part 3 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.” This is a 2024 update of this episode; the original is here.)
8/28/24
49:17
“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 the president of Brown University — does not agree. (This episode was part of the original 2022 series.)
5/4/22
47:58
