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Episode 386

How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Replay)

Aisle upon aisle of fresh produce, cheap meat, and sugary cereal — a delicious embodiment of free-market capitalism, right? Not quite. The supermarket was in fact the endpoint of the

Episode 386

How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War

Aisle upon aisle of fresh produce, cheap meat, and sugary cereal — a delicious embodiment of free-market capitalism, right? Not quite. The supermarket was in fact the endpoint of the

Episode 92

Is Poor Nutrition a Supply Problem or a Demand Problem?

Is evolution stacked against healthy eating? What policies could increase demand for nutritious food? And does Popeyes count as a cultural icon?…

Episode 30

Why Do We Seek Comfort in the Familiar? (Replay)

Also: is a little knowledge truly a dangerous thing?

Episode 67

Why Did This 60-Year-Old Man Collapse at the Supermarket?

Bapu tries to stump master clinician Dr. Gurpreet Dhaliwal with a medical mystery….

Episode 445

Why Do We Seek Comfort in the Familiar?

In this episode of No Stupid Questions — a Freakonomics Radio Network show launched earlier this year — Stephen Dubner and Angela Duckworth debate why we watch, read and eat…

Episode 30

Why Do We Seek Comfort in the Familiar?

Also: is a little knowledge truly a dangerous thing?…

Episode 359

Should America Be Run by … Trader Joe’s?

The quirky little grocery chain with California roots and German ownership has a lot to teach all of us about choice architecture, efficiency, frugality, collaboration and team spirit.

Episode 359

Should America Be Run by … Trader Joe’s? (Replay)

The quirky little grocery chain with California roots and German ownership has a lot to teach all of us about choice architecture, efficiency, frugality, collaboration, and team spirit.

Episode 178

How to Save $1 Billion Without Even Trying

Doctors, chefs and other experts are much more likely than the rest of us to buy store-brand products. What do they know that we don’t?

Episode 178

How to Save $1 Billion Without Even Trying (Replay)

Doctors, chefs, and other experts are much more likely than the rest of us to buy store-brand products. What do they know that we don’t?

Episode 175

Why Is Astrology So Popular?

Why does your horoscope seem so accurate? Is it possible to believe and not believe in something at the same time? And is Mike a classic Gemini?…

Freakonomics Radio Live: “The World’s a Mess. But Oysters, They Hold it Down.”

Celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli joins us to co-host an evening of delicious fact-finding: where a trillion oysters went, whether a soda tax can work, and how beer helped build an…

Episode 321

Extra: Richard Branson Full Interview

Stephen Dubner’s conversation with the Virgin Group founder, recorded for the Freakonomics Radio series “The Secret Life of a C.E.O.”…

Episode 2

Girl Scout Cookies (Replay)

How does America’s cutest sales force get billions of Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs into our hands every year? Zachary Crockett digs in….

It’s All in the Framing

Reader Steve Cebalt from Fort Wayne, Ind., sent in this picture, taken at a mega-supermarket near his home. Here’s what he had to say about it: I was struck by…



Episode 58

What’s So Gratifying About Gossip?

Also: why do people hate small talk?…


Episode 241

Are Payday Loans Really as Evil as People Say?

Critics — including President Obama — say short-term, high-interest loans are predatory, trapping borrowers in a cycle of debt. But some economists see them as a useful financial instrument for…

EXTRA

The Economics of Everyday Things: Girl Scout Cookies

How does America’s cutest sales force get billions of Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs into our hands every year? Zachary Crockett finds out in the second episode of our newest…

Episode 2

Girl Scout Cookies

How does America’s cutest sales force get billions of Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs into our hands every year? Zachary Crockett digs in….

Episode 226

Food + Science = Victory! (Replay)

A kitchen wizard and a nutrition detective talk about the perfect hamburger, getting the most out of garlic, and why you should use vodka in just about everything.

Counterfeit Wine Below the Radar: The Case of Tesco

Britain’s Sun recently reported that supermarket giant Tesco sold two bottles of counterfeit Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuissé, distributed by Hatch Mansfield, to a customer named Danny McGowan of Clacton, Essex, who…



Food Deserts: A Guest Post

…markets work better — and potentially help their citizens eat better too. Related links: “The lost supermarket: a breed in need of replenishment” “Where have all the supermarkets gone?” Addendum:…



Episode 147

Is Nudging Enough?

Is it enough to toss a soda can in the recycling? Why is Maria obsessed with Nobel Prize lectures? And wait — is that a news alert or a tiger?…

Episode 76

Why Can’t Baby Boomers and Millennials Just Get Along?

Also: how do phone cameras affect the way we experience live events?…

The Economics of Toilet Paper

…right up your alley. An analysis only a true cheapskate could love. I get very frustrated trying to compare prices on “paper products” at my local supermarket, Safeway. They have…



Episode 149

Is It Harder to Make Friends as an Adult? (Replay)

How do friendships change as we get older? Should you join a bowling league? And also: how does a cook become a chef?…

Episode 66

Does Health Insurance Make You Healthier?

It’s a surprisingly hard question to answer. Bapu talks with a health economist about a natural experiment that led to some unexpected findings….

Episode 412

What Happens When Everyone Stays Home to Eat?

Covid-19 has shocked our food-supply system like nothing in modern history. We examine the winners, the losers, the unintended consequences — and just how much toilet paper one household really…