The Rich vs Poor Debate: Are Kids Normal or Inferior Goods?
Photo: Leszek.Leszczynski Are you likely to have more kids if you are rich or poor? Or to put this in econo-jargon: Are kids normal or inferior goods? (Reminder: When you…
The thrill of customization, via Pandora, and a radical new teaching method.
The pizza-and-gaming emporium prides itself on affordability, which means its arcade games are really cheap to play. Does that lead to kids hogging the best games — and parents starting…
He’s the chief creative officer of Pixar, and the Academy Award-winning director of Soul, Inside Out, Up, and Monsters, Inc. Pete Docter and Steve talk about Pixar’s scrappy beginnings, why…
Sal Khan returns to discuss his innovative online high school’s first year — and Steve grills a member of the school’s class of 2026 about what it’s really like….
Photo: Leszek.Leszczynski Are you likely to have more kids if you are rich or poor? Or to put this in econo-jargon: Are kids normal or inferior goods? (Reminder: When you…
In this episode of Freakonomics Radio, we explore a way to make 1.1 million schoolkids feel like they have 1.1 million teachers….
…me is that it teaches kids how to buckle down.? Chua says that Tiger parents often know that with hard work, kids can accomplish more than the kids thought they…
…kids — Democrats or Republicans? By a fairly large margin (2.70 vs. 2.16 average kids per member), the answer is Republicans. But here’s a tougher question: Who has more kids…
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…
…of kids living in those households. It’s a sad story: nearly 5 percent of the kids in their sample could be linked to a household with a reported domestic violence…
…power, fortune, and more. We look at what happens to Dragon babies when they grow up, and why timing your kid’s birth based on the zodiac isn’t as ridiculous it…
Also: how do you avoid screwing up your kids?
Must one always strive for excellence? Is perfectionism a good thing? And can Mike have two bad days in a row?
If we want our kids to thrive in school, maybe we should just pay them.
…or decades later should be enough to motivate them, even though for most kids a month or two feels like an eternity. To learn a little more about whether kids’…
…love kids.” — Kathleen A. We never said that men don’t love their kids (or other people’s kids). In fact, we never said that MBA moms love their kids. But…
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?…
Psychologist Thomas Curran argues that perfectionism isn’t about high standards — it’s about never being enough. He explains how the drive to be perfect is harming education, the economy, and…
…of how sometimes the best intentions of rational, unemotional economists often run face-first into something called kids. Bruce Sacerdote is a professor of economics at Dartmouth College and the…
For decades, there’s been a huge gender disparity both on-screen and behind the scenes. But it seems like cold, hard data — with an assist from the actor Geena Davis…
The psychologist Angela Duckworth argues that a person’s level of stick-to-itiveness is directly related to their level of success. No big surprise there. But grit, she says, isn’t something you’re…
The psychologist Angela Duckworth argues that a person’s level of stick-to-itiveness is directly related to their level of success. No big surprise there. But grit, she says, isn’t something you’re…
…are aware of any reputable organizations which are devoted to animals. I wouldn’t expect kids to want to give any of their money to grown-ups. And while kids may be…
…cartoons and labeling. What struck me first about the kids’ answers was the instinctive and repeated emphasis on taste. There’s nothing refined about juvenile taste buds. Like most kids, my…
Could a lack of sleep help explain why some people get much sicker than others?
…kids have a shorter attention span? Do adults wrongly assume that kids have a shorter attention span? Do adults have a shorter attention span? Do the parents have less time…
O.K., maybe the steps aren’t so easy. But a program run out of a Toronto housing project has had great success in turning around kids who were headed for trouble.
…question is whether people plan bequests to compensate for their kids’ differential economic successes — give a bigger bequest to the “loser” among one’s kids — presumably to equalize the…
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…
