Further fact-checking of James Frey’s memoirs
…say that his criminal history is a minor part of the book and these inconsistencies do not substantively change the meaning of the story. Of course, his criminal history is…
…say that his criminal history is a minor part of the book and these inconsistencies do not substantively change the meaning of the story. Of course, his criminal history is…
…Q. What would you say are the fundamental differences between the new leadership and Upshaw’s? A. Strangely, not many differences. De and I are both students of history and look…
…are broken. On Monday, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history was made by Lehman Brothers. Lehman had over $600 billion in assets and 25,000 employees. (The largest previous filing…
…Catalunya, said the deal was unnecessary and goes against the history of the strip. “We are a unique club in the world, no one has kept their jersey intact throughout…
…Boxing: A Cultural History, Advertisement for “TV Fights,” The Ring, February 1955 Kasia Boddy, English teacher at University College, London and author of Boxing: A Cultural History. “The myth of…
…be found in the most widely consumed food in the most populous nation in the history of humanity — rice in China. But, it turned up exactly where theory predicted…
…to it as the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world. I say this because American suburbia requires an infinite supply of cheap energy in order to…
…of his 12 field goals were game-winners! His performance against the Bears was sick – joining Mike Vanderjagt as the only other man in NFL history to make a 50-plus-yarder…
…Parkinson’s, or is it based on a health history people fill out? — Megan A. 23andMe currently carries information for over 100 diseases in total. For some of these, there…
…and economic stagnation, the effects of which are still apparent in many areas. The South’s relationship with the “Lost Cause” is obviously complicated, but where else in history do we…
…said: The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history,” says Barry Ritholtz, who’s quoted in the piece. Surowiecki thinks factors like simple greed and…
…another. I did not intend the book to be an indictment of the nuclear industry, although I do criticize it for handling some matters clumsily, a history of lame P.R.,…
…then, since the Battle of Balaclava was fought in 1854.” It was foolish of me to volunteer a piece of military history, since in addition to jogging, my father’s other…
Michael Specter has written a good and interesting New Yorker article about the history and current state of geoengineering, called “The Climate Fixers: Is There a Technological Solution to Global…
…women can easily bring the fall and ruin of others. The Everleigh Club might be the only brothel in American history that enhanced, rather than diminished, a man’s reputation. Clients…
…frequently strange history of self-experimentation has led to, among other things, a revolutionary new diet. Click here to read the article. This blog post supplies additional research material. Self-Experimentation: Here…
A language invented in the 19th century and meant to be universal, it never really caught on. So why does a group of Esperantists from around the world gather once…
In this live episode of “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know,” we learn why New York has skinny skyscrapers, how to weaponize water, and what astronauts talk about in space….
He’s one of the world’s leading neuroscientists, with a focus on the physiological effects of stress. (For years, he spent his summers in Kenya, alone except for the baboons he…
Playing notes on her piano, she demonstrates for Steve why whole numbers sound pleasing, why octaves are mathematically imperfect, and how math underlies musical composition. Sarah, a professor at the…
Every year, Americans short the I.R.S. nearly half a trillion dollars. Most ideas to increase compliance are more stick than carrot — scary letters, audits, and penalties. But what if…
In just a few weeks, the novel coronavirus has undone a century’s worth of our economic and social habits. What consequences will this have on our future — and is…
When Stephen Dubner learned that Dallas–Fort Worth will soon overtake Chicago as the third-biggest metro area in the U.S., he got on a plane to find out why. Despite getting…
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…
Beatrice Fihn wants to rid the world of nuclear weapons. As Russian aggression raises the prospect of global conflict, can she put disarmament on the world’s agenda?…
There are more than twice as many suicides as murders in the U.S., but suicide attracts far less scrutiny. Freakonomics Radio digs through the numbers and finds all kinds of…
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…
Stephen Dubner’s conversation with the Virgin Group founder, recorded for the Freakonomics Radio series “The Secret Life of a C.E.O.”…
Standing in line represents a particularly sloppy — and frustrating — way for supply and demand to meet. Why haven’t we found a better way to get what we want?…
There are more than twice as many suicides as murders in the U.S., but suicide attracts far less scrutiny. Freakonomics Radio digs through the numbers and finds all kinds of…
