PimpThisBum.com
…panhandling; it directed passersby to his website, PimpThisBum.com. In less than two months, the site has garnered $50,000 in pledges and donations. The project’s creators believe its success has to…
Why would a successful person feel the need to stick it to the little guy? Is Angela a name-dropper? And why do rappers grab their crotches?
Does instinct trump expertise? Can playing poker improve your intuition? And why did Angela jump off of a moving trolley car?…
Many of us hate to think about future crises. Game designer Jane McGonigal wants to make it fun….
Author and YouTuber John Green thought his breakout bestseller wouldn’t be a commercial success, wrote 40,000 words for one sentence, and brought Steve to tears.
How can you be lonely when so many people showed up at your birthday party? Can you fight loneliness by managing expectations? And where can you find company while enjoying…
How psychologist Dan Gilbert went from high school dropout to Harvard professor, found the secret of joy, and inspired Steve Levitt’s divorce….
Physicist Helen Czerski loves to explain how the world works. She talks with Steve about studying bubbles, setting off explosives, and how ocean waves have changed the course of history….
How can you break a bad habit if you’re not aware that you’re doing it? Does Barack Obama grind his teeth? And is Angela’s dentist a crook?
Former professional poker player Annie Duke has a new book on Steve’s favorite subject: quitting. They talk about why quitting is so hard, how to do it sooner, and why…
Do highway warnings save lives or cost lives? How do you keep men from peeing on the floor? And what’s Angela’s plan to get more people washing their hands?…
Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a bodybuilder, an actor, a governor, and, now, an author. He tells Steve how he’s managed to succeed in so many fields — and what to…
Billionaire John Arnold is figuring out how to do as much good as he can with his wealth. It takes hard work, risk tolerance, and a lot of spending.
Why do so many book clubs fall apart? Do the best parties have rules? And does Angela’s husband want to date you?…
G.M. produces more than 20 times as many cars as Tesla, but Tesla is worth nearly 10 times as much. Mary Barra, the C.E.O. of G.M., is trying to fix…
Three former White House economists weigh in on the new tax bill. A sample: “The overwhelming evidence is that the trickle-down, magic-beanstalk beans argument — that’s just nonsense.”
…charge of paying the waitstaff. So what happens if you eliminate tipping, raise menu prices, and redistribute the wealth? New York restaurant maverick Danny Meyer is about to find out….
The comedian, actor — and now, author — answers our FREAK-quently Asked Questions.
…panhandling; it directed passersby to his website, PimpThisBum.com. In less than two months, the site has garnered $50,000 in pledges and donations. The project’s creators believe its success has to…
What happens to your reputation when you’re no longer around to defend it?
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/…
(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:…
…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?
Whether you’re building a business or a cathedral, execution is everything. We ask artists, scientists, and inventors how they turned ideas into reality. And we find out why it’s so…
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….
Gun control, abortion rights, drug legalization — it seems like every argument these days claims that if X happens, then Y will follow, and we’ll all be doomed to Z….
Photo: Jupiterimages Even with concepts that seem totally non-economic, market forces are crucial. In a new paper, “Beauty Is the Promise of Happiness?”, using data from the U.S., Canada, Germany,…
Photo: Michael (mx5tx) Every time the subject of guns comes up, whether on this blog or elsewhere (see here, here, and here for a few examples), the resultant discussion is…
…new research paper by Jenny C. Aker, Rachid Boumnijel, Amanda McClelland and Niall Tierney analyzes the effectiveness of yet another mobile application gaining strength in the developing world: cash transfer…
…hand, when your calories come from relatively tasteless food sources, they tell your body not to work too hard to obtain food, because your energy will be better spent waiting…
