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Search Results for: the vanishing walk to school

Episode 96

Steven Strogatz Thinks You Don’t Know What Math Is

The mathematician and author sees mathematical patterns everywhere — from DNA to fireflies to social connections….

Episode 110

Why Is Angela Stepping Down as C.E.O. of the Nonprofit She Founded?

Are you a problem solver or an opportunity seeker? Why is it so hard to find a good leader these days? And could you be Angela’s next boss?…

Against (Discretionary) Snow Days

…than if your school has only been canceled one prior time.? This factor is interesting to me because it might play a role in testing whether cancelling school for small…



Episode 500

What Exactly Is College For?

…prestige points. In the first episode of a special series, we ask what our chaotic system gets right — and wrong. (Part 1 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”)…

Episode 387

Hello, My Name Is Marijuana Pepsi!

Research shows that having a distinctively black name doesn’t affect your economic future. But what is the day-to-day reality of living with such a name? Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck, a newly-minted…

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 188

Why Do Kids Today Get So Many A’s?

Is grade inflation on the rise? How much does your G.P.A. matter in the long run? And when did M.I.T., of all places, become “the cool university”?…

Episode 87

How Much Are the Right Friends Worth?

Harvard economist Raj Chetty uses tax data to study inequality, kid success, and social mobility. He explains why you should be careful when choosing your grade school teachers — and…

Episode 538

A Radically Simple Way to Boost a Neighborhood

Many companies say they want to create more opportunities for Black Americans. One company is doing something concrete about it. We visit the South Side of Chicago to see how…

Episode 48

Marc Davis Can’t Stop Watching Basketball — But He Doesn’t Care Who Wins

His childhood dream of playing in the N.B.A. led him to a career as a referee. Marc is one of the league’s top performers after over 20 seasons, but he…

Episode 355

Where Does Creativity Come From (and Why Do Schools Kill It Off)?

Family environments and “diversifying experiences” (including the early death of a parent); intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations; schools that value assessments, but don’t assess the things we value. All these elements…

Episode 50

Edward Miguel on Collecting Economic Data by Canoe and Correlating Conflict with Rainfall

He’s a pioneer of using randomized control experiments in economics — studying the long-term benefits of a $1 health intervention in Africa. Steve asks Edward, a Berkeley professor, about Africa’s…

Episode 177

What Does Success Look Like?

What matters more: meeting our own ambitions, or winning fame and glory? What’s it like to earn a gold medal at the Olympics? And why didn’t Mike’s grandfather get a…

Episode 235

Who Needs Handwriting?

The digital age is making pen and paper seem obsolete. But what are we giving up if we give up on handwriting?


Incentivizing the School Commute

school-based incentive program on children’s exercise habits. The program offers children an opportunity to win prizes if they walk or bike to school during prize periods. We use daily child-level…



Episode 351

Here’s Why You’re Not an Elite Athlete

There are a lot of factors that go into greatness, many of which are not obvious. A variety of Olympic and professional athletes tell us how they made it and…


Episode 493

Why Does the Most Monotonous Job in the World Pay $1 Million?

Adam Smith famously argued that specialization is the key to prosperity. In the N.F.L., the long snapper is proof of that argument. Just in time for the Super Bowl, here’s…


Evidence on School Choice

…a school of their choice in the subsequent school year. Furthermore, test scores seem to bolster the argument: We then examine the impact attending a chosen school has on student…



Episode 66

The Professor Who Said “No” to Tenure

Columbia astrophysicist David Helfand is an academic who does things his own way — from turning down job security to helping found a radically unconventional university….

Episode 175

Why You Should Bribe Your Kids

Educational messaging looks good on paper but kids don’t respond to it — and adults aren’t much better.


Episode 29

Smarter Kids at 10 Bucks a Pop

It won’t work for everyone, but there’s a cheap, quick, and simple way to lift some students’ grades.

Episode 178

Do Kids Need More Independence?

Are modern parents too protective? Why do we worry so much about things that almost never happen? And how did Mike learn about bus stops?…

Episode 129

Why Do We Cheat, and Why Shouldn’t We?

Is there such a thing as a victimless crime? In an unfair system, is dishonesty okay? And are adolescent vandals out of ideas?…

Episode 88

Freakonomics Goes to College, Part 2 (Replay)

College tends to make people happier, healthier, and wealthier. But how?

Episode 254

What Are Gender Barriers Made Of?

Overt discrimination in the labor markets may be on the wane, but women are still subtly penalized by all sorts of societal conventions. How can those penalties be removed without…

Episode 88

Freakonomics Goes to College, Part 2

College tends to make people happier, healthier, and wealthier. But how?