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Episode 537

“Insurance Is Sexy.” Discuss.

…this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, the economist Amy Finkelstein explains why insurance markets are broken and how to fix them. Also: why can’t you buy divorce insurance?…

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Episode 537

“Insurance Is Sexy.” Discuss.

The economist Amy Finkelstein explains why insurance markets are broken and how to fix them. Also: why can’t you buy divorce insurance?…

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Episode 62

Title Insurance

Almost everyone who buys a home spends thousands of dollars on title insurance. Most of them don’t understand it, and almost none of them use it. So why does it…

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Episode 35

Dental Insurance

Why is it separate from medical insurance? And is it really insurance at all? Zachary Crockett goes in for a cleaning….

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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….

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Episode 437

Many Businesses Thought They Were Insured for a Pandemic. They Weren’t.

…reading of most policies for “business interruption” reveals that viral outbreaks aren’t covered. Some legislators are demanding that insurance firms pay up anyway. Is it time to rethink insurance entirely?…

Are We Heading Toward a Reinsurance Bubble?

…“captive reinsurance” rather than “shadow insurance.” As MetLife puts it: “Captive reinsurance is a cost-effective way of addressing overly conservative reserving requirements.” As of this writing, at least on my…




Paying Less … Without Health Insurance

…ignore his “low-cost ‘indemnity’ type of health insurance policy.” The patient’s estimated costs had he used his health insurance plan: approximately $20,000 (out of the estimated hospital charge of $23,000)….





Do You Need "Disgrace Insurance"?

Celebrity endorsements are all well and good … until the celebrity starts misbehaving. That’s where the insurance companies come in. Insurance brokers report a growing interest in “disgrace insurance,” which…



Who Steals Healthcare Insurance?

What happens when a firm starts a “dependent verification” program designed to make sure that its employees are carrying only legitimate dependents on their health insurance? The economists Michael Geruso…



FREAK Shots: How's Your Riot Insurance?

…won’t be seeing similar insurance pitches in the U.S., though maybe London could use them. Markl wonders why another type of insurance isn’t offered in the U.S. by now: the…



Getting Fat? Maybe It's Your Health Insurance

A new N.B.E.R. working paper finds a link between health insurance and obesity, and suggests that the better insured you are, the fatter you’re likely to be. We already knew…



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Episode 82

Please Steal My Car

Levitt and Dubner answer your FREAK-quently Asked Questions about junk food, insurance, and how to make an economist happy.

Airlines and Opting Ethics

…for trip insurance, or pre-checking a life-insurance policy in case the plane crashes? What does the trip insurance actually give you that you don’t already have? The Access America policy…



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Episode 457

Is Dialysis a Test Case of Medicare for All?

Kidney failure is such a catastrophic (and expensive) disease that Medicare covers treatment for anyone, regardless of age. Since Medicare reimbursement rates are fairly low, the dialysis industry had to…

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Episode 456

How to Fix the Hot Mess of U.S. Healthcare

Medicine has evolved from a calling into an industry, adept at dispensing procedures and pills (and gigantic bills), but less good at actual health. Most reformers call for big, bold…

Suze Orman Answers Your Money Questions

…own, rather than doing it through a life insurance policy. The bottom line is that you end up paying a lot for that investment component in an insurance policy. I’d…



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Episode 627

Sludge, Part 1: The World Is Drowning in It

Insurance forms that make no sense. Subscriptions that can’t be cancelled. A never-ending blizzard of automated notifications. Where does all this sludge come from — and how much is it…

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Episode 382

How Goes the Behavior-Change Revolution?

An all-star team of behavioral scientists discovers that humans are stubborn (and lazy, and sometimes dumber than dogs). We also hear about binge drinking, humblebragging, and regrets. Recorded live in…




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Episode 174

What Do King Solomon and David Lee Roth Have in Common?

It isn’t easy to separate the guilty from the innocent, but a clever bit of game theory can help.

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Episode 572

Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia? (Update)

Some of the biggest names in behavioral science stand accused of faking their results. Last year, an astonishing 10,000 research papers were retracted. In a series originally published in early…

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Episode 572

Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia?

Some of the biggest names in behavioral science stand accused of faking their results. Last year, an astonishing 10,000 research papers were retracted. We talk to whistleblowers, reformers, and a…

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Episode 124

Daron Acemoglu on Economics, Politics, and Power

Economist Daron Acemoglu likes to tackle big questions. He tells Steve how colonialism still affects us today, who benefits from new technology, and why democracy wasn’t always a sure thing….

Freakonomics in the Times Magazine: Not-So-Free Ride

…pollution, carbon emissions, congestion, accidents — and how one new strategy may be able to help: pay-as-you-drive (P.A.Y.D.) auto insurance. The strange truth is that most auto insurance in the…