How psychologist Dan Gilbert went from high school dropout to Harvard professor, found the secret of joy, and inspired Steve Levitt’s divorce….
He’s been U.S. Treasury Secretary, a chief economist for the Obama White House and the World Bank, and president of Harvard. He’s one of the most brilliant economists of his…
How do you let go of resentment? Do apologies even work? And what grievances have Stephen and Angela been nursing for years?…
Picture day is an annual tradition for American families — and, for the companies that take the photos, a lucrative one. Zachary Crockett smiles for the camera….
Victoria Groce is the best trivia contestant on earth. The winner of the 2024 World Quizzing Championship explains the structure of a good question, why she knits during competitions, and…
From the Manhattan Project to the Challenger investigation, the physicist Richard Feynman loved to shoot down what he called “lousy ideas.” Today, the world is awash in lousy ideas —…
We’ve collected some of our favorite moments from People I (Mostly) Admire, the latest show from the Freakonomics Radio Network. Host Steve Levitt seeks advice from scientists and inventors, memory…
Celiac disease is thought to affect roughly one percent of the population. The good news: it can be treated by quitting gluten. The bad news: many celiac patients haven’t been…
Grocery stores have turned shoppers into cashiers. Zachary Crockett runs two bags of chips and a Gatorade over the scanner….
…securities watchdog, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), promised a deep review of the practice. And as evidence of the degree to which banks value their high-frequency source codes,…
The philosopher known for his rigorous ethics explains why Steve is leading a morally inconsistent life….
Also: should we all have personal mission statements?
…a sign of producer desperation rather than a sign of health by those designers.” Are rising prices at the top of the fashion food chain good news for producers—or bad?…
…contract. Durant signed a maximum contract in 2010. Green was apparently not deemed worthy of a significant long-term contract (and this conclusion is consistent with the statistical evidence), so he…
How using peer pressure — and good, old-fashioned shame — can push people to do the right thing.
…copy of freakonomics, and made me sign it. we are totally co-branded! cheers, m. For what it is worth, neither Dubner or Levitt has ever been recognized by a stranger…
…even Al Qaeda. According to the book’s promo materials, you will learn: The purpose of meetings and why they will never go away Why even members of Al Qaeda are…
And so I am heading over. The occasion? A promo tour for the paperback publication of SuperFreakonomics. Here’s what the cover looks like, via a tube poster: I will be…
…does the long line incurred by giving out free coffee serve as a reverse incentive, driving Starbucks to do more business on a Dunkin’ Donuts promotional day? I am guessing…
…but I have to say that I do like Apple’s taste in the podcasts it has chosen for its promo materials: Here is where to find Freakonomics Radio on iTunes….
A conversation with veteran N.B.A. point guard Jeremy Lin, recorded for the Freakonomics Radio series “The Hidden Side of Sports.”…
…heartthrob: it takes the form of this promo shot taken shortly after the band was signed by Clive Davis to Arista Records. That is sexy Stephen on the far right….
…A sign asks people to pay $1 per bottle, a heavy discount already. Viewers then “watched people wrestle with their conscience.” Hidden cameras live-stream the action here. So far, the…
Video My first job in journalism was as an editorial assistant at New York magazine, writing up the back-of-the-book culture listings. This meant that I received a lot of promotional…
He’s so fascinating that Steve Levitt brought him back for a second conversation. Yul Kwon currently works at Google, but he’s been a lawyer, political organizer, government regulator, organ donation…
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.
Suleika Jaouad was diagnosed with cancer at 22. She made her illness the subject of a New York Times column and a memoir, Between Two Kingdoms. She and Steve talk…
By some estimates, medical error is the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. How can that be? And what’s to be done? Our third and final episode in this…
By some estimates, medical error is the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. How can that be? And what’s to be done? Our third and final episode in this…
…industry — analytics that showed large potential losses in the event of a downturn in housing prices, leverage constraints imposed by regulatory capital requirements, and warning signs from the hedge-fund…
