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Episode 564

How to Succeed at Failing, Part 4: Extreme Resiliency

…makes mistakes. How do you learn from them? Lessons from the classroom, the Air Force, and the world’s deadliest infectious disease. Part of the series “How to Succeed at Failing.”…

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Episode 562

How to Succeed at Failing, Part 2: Life and Death

…It can also produce discoveries that save millions of lives. Tales from the front line, the lab, and the I.T. department. Part of the series “How to Succeed at Failing.”…

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Episode 563

How to Succeed at Failing, Part 3: Grit vs. Quit

…it. Today: stories about glitchy apps, leaky paint cans, broken sculptures — and a quest for the perfect bowl of ramen. Part of the series “How to Succeed at Failing.”…

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Episode 561

How to Succeed at Failing, Part 1: The Chain of Events

We tend to think of tragedies as a single terrible moment, rather than the result of multiple bad decisions. Can this pattern be reversed? We try — with stories about…

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EXTRA

Why Quitting Is Usually Worth It

Stephen Dubner appears as a guest on Fail Better, a new podcast hosted by David Duchovny. The two of them trade stories about failure, and ponder the lessons that success…


Are America's Schools Failing … or Thriving?

…Obama’s proposed Race to the Top initiatives, Strauss faults the news media for failing to ask whether “the rhetoric matches the practice. There’s nothing new under the sun. Some of…



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Episode 438

How to Succeed by Being Authentic (Hint: Carefully)

John Mackey, the C.E.O. of Whole Foods, has learned the perils of speaking his mind. But he still says what he thinks about everything from “conscious leadership” to the behavioral…

If at First You Don't Succeed …

…say what he did.? Barry, with typical acuity, said, “If at first you don’t succeed, then use stickK.” This story is adapted from a diet booklet that I’ve posted just…



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PLUS

Failing in Front of a Crowd

After our four-part series on failure, we took the show on the road. Hear Stephen Dubner talk to failure experts Amy Edmondson and Gary Klein, live in Boston. To get…

What Kind of Stories Are the Media Failing to Cover?

Dan Froomkin of the Nieman Watchdog Project interviews William K. Black about the media’s underreporting of fraud cases. Black, a regulator and professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, outlined…



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Episode 169

Failure Is Your Friend (Replay)

In which we argue that failure should not only be tolerated but celebrated.

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Episode 169

Failure Is Your Friend

In which we argue that failure should not only be tolerated but celebrated.

Newt Gingrich Answers Your Questions

…to a minority party culture among House Republicans that told them the way to succeed was to keep quiet, allow the Democratic majority to dictate the agenda, and maybe they’ll…



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Episode 188

Is America’s Education Problem Really Just a Teacher Problem? (Replay)

The gist: If U.S. schoolteachers are indeed “just a little bit below average,” it’s not really their fault. So what should be done about it?

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Episode 188

Is America’s Education Problem Really Just a Teacher Problem?

We’ve all heard the depressing numbers: when compared to kids from other rich countries, U.S. students aren’t doing very well, especially in math, even though we spend more money per…

The Authors of Willpower Answer Your Questions

…always bothered me about willpower. I consider myself a very disciplined, strong willpower’ed, self-controlled man. I’ve never had troubles with productivity at work, failing to study or do homework at…



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Episode 75

How Do You Deal With Intrusive Thoughts?

Also: how much does confidence really matter?…

If at First You Don’t Succeed

As the average price of gasoline nationwide topped $4 a gallon this week, Sen. John McCain said he would renew his call for a summer gas tax holiday. The idea…



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Episode 229

Ben Bernanke Gives Himself a Grade

He was handed the keys to the global economy just as it started heading off a cliff. Fortunately, he’d seen this movie before.

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Episode 370

How to Fail Like a Pro

The road to success is paved with failure, so you might as well learn to do it right. (Ep. 5 of the “How to Be Creative” series.)…

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Episode 362

Why Is This Man Running for President? (Update)

A year ago, nobody was taking Andrew Yang very seriously. Now he is America’s favorite entrepre-nerd, with a candidacy that keeps gaining momentum. This episode includes our Jan. 2019 conversation…

Special Series

How to Succeed at Failing How to Think About A.I. Everything You Never Knew About Whaling Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard. No Stupid Questions: The Seven…



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PLUS

Detroit’s Failed Olympic Dream

…Olympic Committee to reconsider? A special postscript to the series “How to Succeed at Failing.” To get Plus episodes, you can sign up for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts here….

Are Public Commitments Counterproductive?

…was no subsequent “holding us to it.”? For goal-telling to be effective, it is crucial that your friends subsequently learn whether or not you succeeded.? It is the potential embarrassment…



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EXTRA

Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America (Update)

His research on police brutality and school incentives won him acclaim, but also enemies. He was suspended for two years by Harvard, during which time he took a hard look…

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Episode 514

Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America

The controversial Harvard economist, recently back from a suspension, “broke a lot of glass early in my career,” he says. His research on school incentives and police brutality won him…

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Episode 263

In Praise of Maintenance (Replay)

Has our culture’s obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact that things also need to be taken care of?

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Episode 354

How to Be Creative

There are thousands of books on the subject, but what do we actually know about creativity? In this new series, we talk to the researchers who study it as well…

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Episode 263

In Praise of Maintenance

Has our culture’s obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact that things also need to be taken care of?