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Episode 184

Are You Doing Too Much?

How can you strive for excellence without overworking yourself? Why is perfectionism on the rise? And is Angela part of the problem?…

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EXTRA

Why Is 23andMe Going Under? (Update)

Five years ago, we published an episode about the boom in home DNA testing kits, focusing on the high-flying firm 23andMe and its C.E.O. Anne Wojcicki. Their flight has been…

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Episode 506

What Is Sportswashing (and Does It Work)?

In ancient Rome, it was bread and circuses. Today, it’s a World Cup, an Olympics, and a new Saudi-backed golf league that’s challenging the P.G.A. Tour. Can a sporting event…


Why It Pays to Pay Employees More

(Photo: Peter) We blogged a while back about how some retail firms succeed by hiring more, not fewer, floor employees, and by treating them particularly well. Among the examples: Trader…



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Episode 399

Honey, I Grew the Economy

Innovation experts have long overlooked where a lot of innovation actually happens. The personal computer, the mountain bike, the artificial pancreas — none of these came from some big R&D…

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EXTRA

A Modern Whaler Speaks Up

Bjørn Andersen killed 111 minke whales this season. He tells us how he does it, why he does it, and what he thinks would happen if whale-hunting ever stopped. (This…

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Episode 432

When Your Safety Becomes My Danger

The families of U.S. troops killed and wounded in Afghanistan are suing several companies that did reconstruction there. Why? These companies, they say, paid the Taliban protection money, which gave…

Are Predictions Getting Better?

…person, they could be disciplined, fired, even prosecuted. But somehow they have to collectively pick the winner to succeed. In other spheres, however, predictions just keep getting better. “Smart people…



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Episode 379

How to Change Your Mind (Replay)

There are a lot of barriers to changing your mind: ego, overconfidence, inertia — and cost. Politicians who flip-flop get mocked; family and friends who cross tribal borders are shunned….

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Episode 398

The Truth About the Vaping Crisis

A recent outbreak of illness and death has gotten everyone’s attention — including late-to-the-game regulators. But would a ban on e-cigarettes do more harm than good? We smoke out the…

A Second Life for Hero-Worship

…it didn’t succeed commercially, it became easier to think that it wasn’t a good book. The correlation of quality to success is well-established, isn’t it? (Joke.) Anyway, I reread Confessions…



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Episode 379

How to Change Your Mind

There are a lot of barriers to changing your mind: ego, overconfidence, inertia — and cost. Politicians who flip-flop get mocked; family and friends who cross tribal borders are shunned….

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Episode 27

What Can Bin Laden Teach Us About Medicine?

When trust in doctors or the healthcare system is lost, it’s really hard to get back. Bapu Jena explores the ripple effects of a C.I.A. operation to catch Osama bin…


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Episode 246

How to Get More Grit in Your Life (Replay)

The psychologist Angela Duckworth argues that a person’s level of stick-to-itiveness is directly related to their level of success. No big surprise there. But grit, she says, isn’t something you’re…


Fix Medicare's Bizarre Auction Program

…for the Medicare auctions to succeed in lowering costs while maintaining quality for medical equipment and supplies. For the last ten years, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has…




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Episode 248

How to Be Tim Ferriss

Our Self-Improvement Month concludes with a man whose entire life and career are one big pile of self-improvement. Nutrition? Check. Bizarre physical activities? Check. Working less and earning more? Check….

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Episode 273

Is the American Dream Really Dead?

Just a few decades ago, more than 90 percent of 30-year-olds earned more than their parents had earned at the same age. Now it’s only about 50 percent. What happened…

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EXTRA

Mark Teixeira Full Interview

A conversation with former Major League Baseball player and current E.S.P.N. analyst Mark Teixeira, recorded for the Freakonomics Radio series “The Hidden Side of Sports.”…

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Episode 101

Celebrating 100 People I (Mostly) Admire

Steve and producer Morgan Levey look back at the first 100 episodes of the podcast, including surprising answers, spectacular explanations, and listeners who heard the show and changed their lives….

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Episode 65

A Rockstar Chemist and Her Cancer-Attacking “Lawn Mower”

Stanford professor Carolyn Bertozzi’s imaginative ideas for treating disease have led to ten start-ups. She talks with Steve about the next generation of immune therapy she’s created, and why she…


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Episode 357

Can an Industrial Giant Become a Tech Darling?

The Ford Motor Company is ditching its legacy sedans, doubling down on trucks, and trying to steer its stock price out of a long skid. But C.E.O. Jim Hackett has…

The FREAKest Links: Two’s A Crowd Edition

…on the likelihood of various Wall Street Journal staffers leaving the paper should Rupert Murdoch‘s takeover bid succeed. Anyone who cares one way or the other about Murdoch should read…



The 100 Rules for Being an Entrepreneur

…described in the rest of this blog, some have succeeded, many have failed. I’m invested in about 13 private companies. I’ve advised probably another 50 private companies. Along the way…



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Episode 2

Mayim Bialik: “I Started Crying When I Realized How Beautiful the Universe Is”

She’s best known for playing neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory, but the award-winning actress has a rich life outside of her acting career, as a teacher,…