The FREAK-est Links
The baby names debate continues. (Earlier) Head of new NYC Office of Financial Empowerment answers questions. (Earlier) Is public peer review necessary in security? (Earlier) Dirty, dirty biofuel…
The baby names debate continues. (Earlier) Head of new NYC Office of Financial Empowerment answers questions. (Earlier) Is public peer review necessary in security? (Earlier) Dirty, dirty biofuel…
For those seeking a little variety in the name department, the U.K. Times ranks the fifty “craziest celebrity baby names,” including such gems as “Aurelius Cy,” “Fifi Trixibell,” “Moxie CrimeFighter”…
…and energy than ever into choosing baby names, scouring Social Security records and hiring consultants and numerologists to help pick the “right” name. Following Dubner’s surprise that Thomas the Tank…
…work, of course, if blacks and whites had very different preferences — which, as we’ve seen with TV viewing habits and baby names (to name a few), they plainly do….
New York’s most popular baby names in 2006. (Earlier) The science of four-letter words. Can immigration levels affect gas prices? College pharmacies jack up birth control prices, fewer women fill…
Every parent thinks he has the most beautiful baby in the world. Evolution, it seems, has molded our brains so that if you stare at your own baby’s face day…
Over 40 percent of U.S. births are to unmarried mothers, and the numbers are especially high among the less-educated. Why? One argument is that the decline in good manufacturing jobs…
(Brand X Pictures) Our latest Freakonomics podcast, “Misadventures in Baby-Making,” includes a discussion of how sex-selective abortion has led to 160 million missing females in Asia. Closer to home, however,…
…should you cut ties with them? Who’s more likely to break with relatives over politics, liberals or conservatives? And what would it take for Stephen to buy a baby elephant?…
Tamara Audi and Arlene Chang of the Wall Street Journal dissect the global baby industry, which is growing thanks to increasingly restrictive international adoption laws. “Prospective parents put off by…
Do you get grittier as you age? What’s worse for mental health: video games or social media? And do baby boomers make the best D.J.s?…
Here’s the latest from Jessica Hagy, the creator of Indexed and our regular guest blogger:…
…was; he just said they were some names he liked. Sure enough, she went for one of the names on the list: Sophie. Sophie is a beautiful name, to be…
…change the names of the authors? I can see if you are using a different alphabet you might not have a choice, but would it be normal to take the…
…people who Americanized their given names did better economically thereafter. But how to get around the possibility that those with more energy/ambition were more likely to change names—going from Giovanni…
Ever wondered why so many prescription drug names are loaded with x’s and z’s (Celebrex, Flomax, Zocor etc.)? “[U]se of these letters relates to the imperative to make a brand…
…have independent naming rights for their children. Too many black children — and many adults — bear names that border on not even being words, he said. “I am simply…
…your chances of getting a date in the online dating universe: The main finding here was that people with unfashionable names like Kevin or Chantal were dramatically more likely to…
Think you know how much parents matter? Think again. Economists crunch the numbers to learn the ROI on child-rearing.
…months, babies are already losing their ability to learn new sounds, and therefore new languages. A baby raised in a bilingual house, however, maintains the ability to distinguish different sounds…
…you are carrying a baby, and if you lose that pregnancy (miscarriage, premature, stillborn) then you would be able to take a tax deduction for having had a baby even…
…babies. The Ferber Sleep Method is a warm, loving bedtime routine after which you lie your baby in bed awake and leave him (even if he cries) for gradually longer…
…No. 45,093. There’s no video — only audio — but if you like “White and Nerdy,” you will love “Baby Got Stats” — courtesy of the Johns Hopkins Department of…
In this special episode of Freakonomics, M.D., host Bapu Jena looks at a clever new study that could help answer one of parenting’s most contentious questions….
…right now. I’m just sitting here.” Our latest Freakonomics Radio on Marketplace podcast is called “Baby, You Can Program My Car.” Yes, it’s about driverless vehicles. (You can download/subscribe at…
…after the baby is born, and Willow sees the baby has Down syndrome, the mother is still describing the situation in terms of “if he does,” when she knows the…
Can a clever new study shed light on one of parenting’s most elusive and contentious questions?…
Think you know how much parents matter? Think again. Economists crunch the numbers to learn the ROI on child-rearing.
Our co-host is Grit author Angela Duckworth, and we learn fascinating, Freakonomical facts from a parade of guests. For instance: what we all get wrong about Darwin; what an iPod…
