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Stephen J. Dubner

“Musical Theater Is a Magic Trick”

A backstage conversation with Jeffrey Seller, producer of Rent, Avenue Q, and Hamilton. To get Plus episodes, become a member at Apple Podcasts or at freakonomics.com/plus.

4/28/25
23:07

Season 14, Episode 34

Live theater has become fiendishly expensive to produce, and has more competition than ever. And yet the believers still believe. Why? And does the world really want a new musical about … Abraham Lincoln?! (Part one of a three-part series.)

4/25/25
50:30

Will 3 Summers of Lincoln Make it to Broadway?

It’s been in development for five years and has at least a year to go. On the eve of its out-of-town debut, the actor playing Lincoln quit. And the producers still need to raise another $15 million to bring the show to New York. There really is no business like show business. (Part three of a three-part series.)

4/25/25
46:19

Is It a Theater Piece or a Psychological Experiment? (Update)

In an episode from 2012, we looked at what Sleep No More and the Stanford Prison Experiment can tell us about who we really are.

4/22/25
37:13

On Broadway, Nobody Knows Nothing

A hit like Hamilton can come from nowhere while a sure bet can lose $20 million in a flash. We speak with some of the biggest producers in the game — Sonia Friedman, Jeffrey Seller, Hal Luftig — and learn that there is only one guarantee: the theater owners always win. (Part two of a three-part series.)

4/18/25
61:30

Season 14, Episode 32

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 costing us? (Part one of a two-part series.)

4/11/25
50:30

How Is Live Theater Still Alive?

It has become fiendishly expensive to produce, and has more competition than ever. And yet the believers still believe. Why? And does the world really want a new musical about … Abraham Lincoln?! (Part one of a three-part series.)

4/11/25
59:43

Policymaking Is Not a Science — Yet (Update)

Why do so many promising solutions in education, medicine, and criminal justice fail to scale up into great policy? And can a new breed of “implementation scientists” crack the code?

4/9/25
45:28

Season 14, Episode 31

Nearly everything that politicians say about taxes is at least half a lie. They are also dishonest when it comes to the national debt. Stephen Dubner finds one of the few people in Washington who is willing to tell the truth — and it’s even worse than you think.

4/4/25
50:30

Sludge, Part 2: Is Government the Problem, or the Solution?

There is no sludgier place in America than Washington, D.C. But there are signs of a change. We’ll hear about this progress — and ask where Elon Musk and DOGE fit in. (Part two of a two-part series.)

4/4/25
48:31

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 costing us? (Part one of a two-part series.)

3/28/25
54:34

Season 14, Episode 30

Lina Khan, the youngest F.T.C. chair in history, reset U.S. antitrust policy by thwarting mega-mergers and other monopolistic behavior. This earned her enemies in some places, and big fans in others — including the Trump administration. Stephen Dubner speaks with Khan about her tactics, her track record, and her future.

3/27/25
50:30

The Rat Man

A full-length conversation with Robert Sullivan, who wrote the best book on rats you’ll ever read. To get subscriber-only episodes, become a member at Apple Podcasts or at freakonomics.com/plus.

3/24/25
20:07

Season 14, Episode 29

To most people, the rat is vile and villainous. But not to everyone! We hear from a scientist who befriended rats and another who worked with them in the lab — and from the animator who made one the hero of a Pixar blockbuster. (Part three of a three-part series, “Sympathy for the Rat.”)

3/21/25
50:30

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

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.

3/21/25
48:01

Season 14, Episode 28

Even with a new rat czar, an arsenal of poisons, and a fleet of new garbage trucks, it won’t be easy for New York City to win its war on rats — because, at root, the enemy is us. (Part two of a three-part series, “Sympathy for the Rat.”)

3/14/25
50:30

Ten Myths About the U.S. Tax System

Nearly everything that politicians say about taxes is at least half a lie. They are also dishonest when it comes to the national debt. Stephen Dubner finds one of the few people in Washington who is willing to tell the truth — and it’s even worse than you think.

3/14/25
63:55

Season 14, Episode 27

New York City’s mayor calls rats “public enemy number one.” History books say they caused the Black Death — although recent scientific evidence disputes that claim. So is the rat a scapegoat? And what does our rat hatred say about us? (Part one of a three-part series.)

3/7/25
50:30

The Biden Policy That Trump Hasn’t Touched

Lina Khan, the youngest F.T.C. chair in history, reset U.S. antitrust policy by thwarting mega-mergers and other monopolistic behavior. This earned her enemies in some places, and big fans in others — including the Trump administration. Stephen Dubner speaks with Khan about her tactics, her track record, and her future.

3/7/25
69:19

The Downside of Disgust (Update)

It’s a powerful biological response that has preserved our species for millennia. But now it may be keeping us from pursuing strategies that would improve the environment, the economy, even our own health. So is it time to dial down our disgust reflex? You can help fix things — as Stephen Dubner does in this 2021 episode — by chowing down on some delicious insects.

3/4/25
44:28

Season 14, Episode 26

Licensing began with medicine and law; now it extends to 20 percent of the U.S. workforce, including hair stylists and auctioneers. In a new book, the legal scholar Rebecca Allensworth calls licensing boards “a thicket of self-dealing and ineptitude” and says they keep bad workers in their jobs and good ones out — while failing to protect the public.

2/28/25
50:30

The Animal No One Loves, Until They Do

To most people, the rat is vile and villainous. But not to everyone! We hear from a scientist who befriended rats and another who worked with them in the lab — and from the animator who made one the hero of a Pixar blockbuster. (Part three of a three-part series, “Sympathy for the Rat.”)

2/28/25
45:19

A Rat in the Kitchen? Adorable!

Hear how Jan Pinkava created Ratatouille. To get Plus episodes, become a member at Apple Podcasts or at freakonomics.com/plus.

2/24/25
19:17

Season 14, Episode 25

When the computer scientist Ben Zhao learned that artists were having their work stolen by A.I. models, he invented a tool to thwart the machines. He also knows how to foil an eavesdropping Alexa and how to guard your online footprint. The big news, he says, is that the A.I. bubble is bursting.

2/21/25
50:30

Can New York City Win Its War on Rats?

Even with a new rat czar, an arsenal of poisons, and a fleet of new garbage trucks, it won’t be easy — because, at root, the enemy is us. (Part two of a three-part series, “Sympathy for the Rat.”)

2/21/25
50:23

The Show That Never Happened

A brief meditation on loss, relativity, and the vagaries of show business.

2/19/25
13:49

Season 14, Episode 24

The National Association of Realtors just lost a huge lawsuit. Their infamous commission model is under attack. And there are way too many of them. If they go the way of travel agents, will we miss them when they’re gone?

2/14/25
50:30

Why Does Everyone Hate Rats?

New York City’s mayor calls them “public enemy number one.” History books say they caused the Black Death — although recent scientific evidence disputes that claim. So is the rat a scapegoat? And what does our rat hatred say about us? (Part one of a three-part series.)

2/14/25
41:23

Season 14, Episode 23

Running backs used to be the N.F.L.’s biggest stars, with paychecks to match. Now their salaries are near the bottom, and their careers are shorter than ever. We speak with an analytics guru, an agent, some former running backs (including LeSean McCoy), and the economist Roland Fryer (a former Pop Warner running back himself) to understand why.

2/7/25
50:30

Is Professional Licensing a Racket?

Licensing began with medicine and law; now it extends to 20 percent of the U.S. workforce, including hair stylists and auctioneers. In a new book, the legal scholar Rebecca Allensworth calls licensing boards “a thicket of self-dealing and ineptitude” and says they keep bad workers in their jobs and good ones out — while failing to protect the public.

2/7/25
55:15

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