In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. 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.”
Everyone 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.”
Travis Thul invented a so-called Keurig for ramen, but he failed to bring it to store shelves. We talk to him about innovation, risk, the thrill of starting a business, and the heartbreak of pulling the plug.
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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 wildfires, school shootings, and love.
Giving up can be painful. That’s why we need to talk about 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.”
Bob Langer is one of the world’s most prominent biotech researchers. He helped make mRNA vaccines a reality. How much failure did he have to go through first?
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Claudia Goldin is the newest winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. We spoke with her in 2016 about why women earn so much less than men — and how it’s not all explained by discrimination.
In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. 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.”
Researcher David Riedman argues that every school shooting is the culmination of a long chain of failures. Could his database be the key to stopping them?
To get Plus episodes, you can sign up for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts here.
John Ray is an emergency C.E.O., a bankruptcy expert who takes over companies that have succumbed to failure or fraud. He’s currently cleaning up the mess left by alleged crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried. And he loves it.
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 wildfires, school shootings, and love.
Claudia Goldin is the newest winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. We spoke with her in 2016 about why women earn so much less than men — and how it’s not all explained by discrimination.
After we published our series on art repatriation, a Freakonomics Radio listener made what seemed like an incredible find in Scottsboro’s Unclaimed Baggage store. We put an art historian on the case.
To get Plus episodes, you can sign up for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts here.
If two parents can run a family, why shouldn’t two executives run a company? We dig into the research and hear firsthand stories of both triumph and disaster. Also: lessons from computer programmers, Simon and Garfunkel, and bears versus alligators.
John Ray is an emergency C.E.O., a bankruptcy expert who takes over companies that have succumbed to failure or fraud. He’s currently cleaning up the mess left by alleged crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried. And he loves it.
Dave and Sophie Smallwood cofounded Roleshare to spread the gospel of job-sharing. In this special episode for Freakonomics Radio Plus members, they talk to Stephen Dubner about being a couple both in and out of the workplace.
To get Plus episodes, you can sign up for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts here.
U.S. marriage rates have plummeted. But the babies keep coming, and the U.S. now leads the world in single-parent households. In her new book The Two-Parent Privilege, the economist Melissa Kearney says this is a huge problem, and that it’s time for liberals to face the facts. Plus: our friends at Atlas Obscura explore just how many parents a kid can have.
If two parents can run a family, why shouldn’t two executives run a company? We dig into the research and hear firsthand stories of both triumph and disaster. Also: lessons from computer programmers, Simon and Garfunkel, and bears versus alligators.
Employers hire consultants to help them get a good deal on prescription-drug benefits — but many of those consultants have a nasty conflict of interest. Stephen Dubner talks to the health care reporter who exposed the double-dealing, in a special episode only for Freakonomics Radio Plus members.
To get Plus episodes, you can sign up for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts here.
In her new book The Two-Parent Privilege, the economist Melissa Kearney says it’s time for liberals to face the facts: U.S. marriage rates have plummeted but the babies keep coming, and the U.S. now leads the world in single-parent households. Plus: our friends at Atlas Obscura explore just how many parents a kid can have.
In her new book The Two-Parent Privilege, the economist Melissa Kearney says it’s time for liberals to face the facts: U.S. marriage rates have plummeted but the babies keep coming, and the U.S. now leads the world in single-parent households. Plus: our friends at Atlas Obscura explore just how many parents a kid can have.
In the first special episode for Freakonomics Radio Plus members, Stephen Dubner goes long with Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce on sibling rivalry, head injuries, and why his team upgraded its swimming pool.
To get Plus episodes, you can sign up for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts here.
The union that represents N.F.L. players conducted their first-ever survey of workplace conditions, and issued a report card to all 32 teams. What did the survey reveal? Clogged showers, rats in the locker room — and some helpful insights for those of us who don’t play pro football.
The union that represents N.F.L. players conducted their first-ever survey of workplace conditions, and issued a report card to all 32 teams. What did the survey reveal? Clogged showers, rats in the locker room — and some helpful insights for those of us who don’t play pro football.
For all the speculation about the future, A.I. tools can be useful right now. Adam Davidson discovers what they can help us do, how we can get the most from them — and why the things that make them helpful also make them dangerous. (Part 3 of “How to Think About A.I.“)
Guest host Adam Davidson looks at what might happen to your job in a world of human-level artificial intelligence, and asks when it might be time to worry that the machines have become too powerful. (Part 2 of “How to Think About A.I.“)
Rahm Emanuel, the famously profane politician and operative, is now U.S. ambassador to Japan, where he’s trying to rewrite the rules of diplomacy. But don’t worry: When it comes to China, he’s every bit as combative as you’d expect.
Artificial intelligence, we’ve been told, will destroy humankind. No, wait — it will usher in a new age of human flourishing! Guest host Adam Davidson (co-founder of Planet Money) sorts through the big claims about A.I.’s future by exploring its past and present — and whether it has a sense of humor. (Part 1 of “How to Think About A.I.“)
Americans are so accustomed to the standard intersection that we rarely consider how dangerous it can be — as well as costly, time-wasting, and polluting. Is it time to embrace the lowly, lovely roundabout?
The famously profane politician and operative is now U.S. ambassador to Japan, where he’s trying to rewrite the rules of diplomacy. But don’t worry: When it comes to China, he’s every bit as combative as you’d expect.
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