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Zachary Crockett

Tattoo Parlors

More people than ever before are getting tattoos — but social media has flipped the trade’s business model on its head. Zachary Crockett dips into the ink.

10/8/23
19:37

Pizza Boxes

There’s more than meets the eye to the box that stores the pie. Zachary Crockett cracks the lid.

10/1/23
16:45

Used Hotel Soaps (Replay)

Hotel guests adore those cute little soaps, but is it just a one-night stand? Zachary Crockett discovers what happens when we love ’em and leave ’em.

9/24/23
16:52

Mobile Home Parks

They’ve long been associated with crime and blight. Now, the investors are moving in. Zachary Crockett follows the trail.

9/17/23
22:29

Truffles

It takes fungi-sniffing dogs, back-room deals, and a guy named “The Kingpin” for the world’s most coveted morsel to end up on your plate. Zachary Crockett picks up the scent.

9/10/23
20:55

Prop Money

Who makes the stacks of fake cash used in movies — and how do they stay clear of counterfeit law? Zachary Crockett follows the fake money.

9/3/23
21:52

Home Staging

How do you turn an empty house into a buyer’s dream home? Zachary Crockett pulls back the curtain.

8/27/23
22:42

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.

8/20/23
15:48

“Happy Birthday to You”

The most popular song of the 20th century — and a key part of a ubiquitous American ritual — was also the subject of a years-long legal battle. Zachary Crockett blows out the candles.

8/13/23
15:25

Carnival Games

Does anyone ever win the giant teddy bear? Zachary Crockett steps right up.

8/6/23
19:58

Freakonomics Radio Presents: The Economics of Everyday Things

In three stories from our newest podcast, host Zachary Crockett digs into sports mascots, cashmere sweaters, and dinosaur skeletons.

8/2/23
52:43

Women’s Sports Bars

Most sports bars rarely screen women’s games. Zachary Crockett taps into the strategy of one woman who changed the channel.

7/30/23
19:20

Cashmere

Once a luxury good, the soft fiber is now everywhere — which has led to a goat boom in Mongolia. Zachary Crockett tugs at the thread.

7/23/23
15:46

Michelin Stars

Only the finest restaurants have a chance to bask in their glow. Sometimes, it’s a bit too bright. Zachary Crockett squints at the menu.

7/16/23
18:32

Bowling Alleys

Once America’s favorite recreational activity, bowling has been in the gutter for decades. But some surviving alleys are resetting the pins. Zachary Crockett laces up.

7/9/23
18:29

Delaware License Plates

Vanity plates might be 2KUL4U, but in the Blue Hen State, low-digit plates command high-digit prices. Zachary Crockett sums up a big market in a small state.

7/2/23
14:19

Animal Urine

One creature’s trash is another’s cash. Zachary Crockett flushes out the numbers with a man who found profit in pee.

6/25/23
13:45

T. rex Skeletons

How do they emerge from the Upper Cretaceous period to end up in natural-history museums and private collections? Zachary Crockett digs for answers.

6/18/23
19:29

Sports Mascots

We’re not sure what that creature cavorting on the sidelines is — but it doesn’t come cheap. Zachary Crockett gets the ballpark figures on everyone’s favorite ballpark figures.

6/11/23
15:20

The Economics of Everyday Things: Used Hotel Soaps

Hotel guests adore those cute little soaps, but is it just a one-night stand? In our fourth episode of The Economics of Everyday Things, Zachary Crockett discovers what happens to those soaps when we love ’em and leave ’em.

2/12/23
17:29

Used Hotel Soaps

Hotel guests adore those cute little soaps, but is it just a one-night stand? Zachary Crockett discovers what happens when we love ’em and leave ’em.

2/12/23
16:52

The Economics of Everyday Things: “My Sharona”

Can a hit single from four decades ago still pay the bills? Zachary Crockett f-f-f-finds out in the third episode of our newest podcast, The Economics of Everyday Things.

2/5/23
21:14

My Sharona

Can a hit single from four decades ago still pay the bills? Zachary Crockett f-f-f-finds out.

2/5/23
18:24

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 podcast, The Economics of Everyday Things.

1/29/23
16:13

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.

1/29/23
13:19

Introducing “The Economics of Everyday Things”

A new podcast hosted by Zachary Crockett. In the first episode: Gas stations. When gas prices skyrocket, do station owners get a windfall? And where do their profits really come from?

1/22/23
18:14

Gas Stations

In our first episode, host Zachary Crockett sidles up to the pump to ask: Who owns your local gas station, and where do their profits really come from?

1/22/23
14:02

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