Welcome to the New Freakonomics.com
…the past few years. As this new site is very much a work in progress, we’d appreciate your feedback. Please leave questions, suggestions, and complaints in the comments section below….
Astronomer Jill Tarter spent her career searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. She explains what civilizations from other planets could teach us about our own future….
What happens to your reputation when you’re no longer around to defend it?
…What’s the difference between betting on sports and entering a charity raffle? And does Angela know the name of her city’s football team? Take the Seven Deadly Sins survey: freakonomics.com/nsq-sins/…
…the past few years. As this new site is very much a work in progress, we’d appreciate your feedback. Please leave questions, suggestions, and complaints in the comments section below….
Is pride an emotion? Where’s the line between self-esteem and hubris? And what does Stephen have against peacocks? Take the Seven Deadly Sins survey: freakonomics.com/nsq-sins/…
Cat Bohannon’s new book puts female anatomy at the center of human evolution. She tells Steve why it takes us so long to give birth, what breast milk is really…
…it big. This was during the early dotcom years. (His company, which designed corporate websites, was bought in the sort of corporate roll-up that was common then.) But, as if…
Why does your horoscope seem so accurate? Is it possible to believe and not believe in something at the same time? And is Mike a classic Gemini?…
The documentary filmmaker, known for The Civil War, Jazz, and Baseball, turns his attention to the Holocaust, and asks what we can learn from the evils of the past….
…online gaming companies, Sportsbook.com’s parent company, Sportingbet PLC, has decided to stop taking wagers from customers in the US effective immediately. Does this mean you can’t bet on sports or…
(Photo: Håkan Dahlström) ESPN.com recently offered a somewhat confusing article comparing the 2012 U.S. Men’s Olympic basketball team to the 1992 Dream Team. The headline of the article – “LeBron:…
Are you the same person you were a decade ago? Do we get better as we age? And is your sixth-grade class clown still funny?…
There’s a new news aggregator in town, called Newser.com, and from the quick look I gave it this morning, it immediately looks like one of the best I’ve seen. It…
Clementine Jacoby went from performing in a circus to founding a nonprofit that works to shrink the prison population….
Computer scientist Fei-Fei Li had a wild idea: download one billion images from the internet and teach a computer to recognize them. She ended up advancing the state of artificial…
What do the most creative people have in common? How open-minded are you, really? And what’s wrong with ordering eggs Benedict? Take the Big Five inventory: freakonomics.com/bigfive…
The author of Sapiens has a knack for finding the profound in the obvious. He tells Steve why money is fiction, traffic can be mind-blowing, and politicians have a right…
…your bed? What’s the benefit of hiring a lazy person? And how many cups of spinach can Mike fit in a red Solo cup? Take the Big Five inventory: freakonomics.com/bigfive…
Public bathrooms are noisy, poorly designed, and often nonexistent. What to do?
Avi Loeb is a Harvard astronomer who argues that we’ve already encountered extraterrestrial technology. His approach to the search for interstellar objects is scientific, but how plausible is his argument?
…or use this link: www.debbiesidea.com to get there. 1(Searching for “Debbies Idea”-or “Debbie’s Idea”-will not work.) The site is simple and self-explanatory. Registration takes a few minutes. Your e-mail address…
…day you do NOT press snooze, you add money to your “to donate” pot. (Yet another disclosure: this would thus work similarly to the American Cancer Society’s http://www.chooseyou.com campaign, which…
Soil scientist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe could soon hold one of the most important jobs in science. She explains why the ground beneath our feet is one of our greatest resources…
…and indignation? What’s Angela’s problem with turkey sandwiches? And why wasn’t a No Stupid Questions listener angry at the men who assaulted him? Take the Seven Deadly Sins survey: freakonomics.com/nsq-sins/…
…research on car seats. Here is what the agency had to say in response to the Edmunds.com analysis: “It is unfortunate that Edmunds.com has had nothing but negative things to…
How many bottles of wine are regifted? What’s wrong with giving cash? And should Angela give her husband a subscription to the Sausage of the Month Club?
What does social media do to our self-esteem? How is envy affecting our politics? And should you go to your high school reunion? Take the Seven Deadly Sins survey: freakonomics.com/nsq-sins/…
Abraham Verghese is a physician and a best-selling author — in that order, he says. He explains the difference between curing and healing, and tells Steve why doctors should spend…
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….
What happens to your reputation when you’re no longer around to defend it?
