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The New Yorker Geoengineers Itself

…on scientists Ken Caldeira and Nathan Myhrvold. Let me be clear: I have no problem whatsoever with Specter’s piece. It is very well done, includes plenty of original reporting in…






Is Dubner a Robot?

Nathan Myhrvold writes: This photo, from a New York Times article, suggests that you just might be a Japanese robot! In robot form you don’t need glasses. … Considering Dubner’s…



How to Make the Perfect Cup of Coffee

…picked up his coffee technique from Chris Young, the acclaimed Fat Duck chef (and food scientist/writer) whom Nathan Myhrvold brought on board at I.V. to create Modernist Cuisine, the landmark…



Breakthrough Batteries?

…Gates and inventors connected to Nathan Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures made headlines two years ago with a patent application for an electromagnetic engine. Now a Seattle-based company, Clarian Labs, says it…



The Hurricane "Vaccine"

…So what if there were a hurricane “vaccine”? This week on Marketplace, Stephen J. Dubner and Kai Ryssdal talk about the Salter Sink, an invention from Nathan Myhrvold and Intellectual…



Episode 177

Regulate This!

Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, EatWith, and other companies in the “sharing economy” are practically daring government regulators to shut them down. The regulators are happy to comply.

EXTRA

Extra: Steve Levitt: “I’m Not as Childlike as I’d Like to Be”

Steve Levitt has so far occupied the interviewer chair on his new show, but in a special live event — recorded over Zoom and presented by WNYC and the Greene…

Will the Icelandic Volcano Cool off the Planet?

…drastic climate effects. That’s what inspired some scientists, including Nathan Myhrvold, to suggest that if global warming gets out of hand, one solution might be to intentionally distribute sulfur dioxide…



Geoengineering Is in the Air

…some of the oldest and least practical modes of geoengineering as opposed to the ideas put forth by Nathan Myhrvold and his team at Intellectual Ventures (see this recent Myhrvold



Whatever Happened to Nathan Englander?

Nathan Englander is, or at least was, a startlingly good young writer who in 1999 published a collection of short stories called For the Relief of Unbearable Urges. The book…



FREAK-est Links

A lovely obituary for a lovely singer, Cesaria Evora. Nathan Myhrvold makes an appearance on Top Chef. Halting your newspaper delivery to thwart burglary can backfire (when the delivery guy…



Bill Gates, Book Critic

…was called Azyxxi. Gates is also affiliated with Intellectual Ventures, the invention firm founded by Nathan Myhrvold, the former C.T.O. of Microsoft. Among the I.V. projects we write about are…



Radio in Progress: Napoleon's War on Rotting Food

…a two-part podcast scheduled for late January/early February. You’ll also hear from Nathan Myhrvold about his jaw-dropping new cookbook, Modernist Cuisine. And you’ll hear from Alice Waters, too. I don’t…




Episode 173

A Better Way to Eat (Replay)

Takeru Kobayashi revolutionized the sport of competitive eating. What can the rest of us learn from his breakthrough?

Episode 173

A Better Way to Eat (Replay)

Takeru Kobayashi revolutionized the sport of competitive eating. What can the rest of us learn from his breakthrough?

Episode 339

The Future of Freakonomics Radio

After eight years and more than 300 episodes, it was time to either 1) quit, or 2) make the show bigger and better. We voted for number 2. Here’s a…

Episode 119

Higher Education Is Broken. Can It Be Fixed?

Economist Michael D. Smith says universities are scrambling to protect a status quo that deserves to die. He tells Steve why the current system is unsustainable, and what’s at stake…

Episode 173

A Better Way to Eat

Takeru Kobayashi revolutionized the sport of competitive eating. What can the rest of us learn from his breakthrough?


Nature’s View of Geoengineering

…of the world’s nearly eight thousand coal-burning electricity units would be in a lot of trouble.) Still, [Nathan] Myhrvold admits that “it would freak people out” if someone unilaterally built…



ClimateGate as Rorschach Test

…phenomena they can’t model. They can’t do even giant storms like hurricanes.” There are several reasons for this, [Nathan] Myhrvold explains. Today’s models use a grid of cells to map…



FREAK Shots: Mispriced Hot Dogs

Tom Glickman sent us this photo at a Nathan’s restaurant. One hot dog will cost you $1.99. But two will cost you $3.99 — and three will cost you $5.99….



Episode 343

An Astronaut, a Catalan, and Two Linguists Walk Into a Bar…

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….

Massive Teacher Cheating Scandal Erupts in Atlanta

…an investigative report released Tuesday by Gov. Nathan Deal. In the report, the governor’s special investigators describe an enterprise where unethical — and potentially illegal — behavior pierced every level…



Episode 300

Why Don’t We All Speak the Same Language?

There are 7,000 languages spoken on Earth. What are the costs — and benefits — of our modern-day Tower of Babel? (Part 3 of the “Earth 2.0” series.)…

Episode 457

Is Dialysis a Test Case of Medicare for All?

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…