Our New Friend Mark Cuban’s New Football League
…very topic that several of you raised: his plans to start a new football league to compete with the NFL. Here are a couple of relevant passages: “It’s a pretty…
What do dogs know about their own names? And is there any science about what to name them? Alexandra talks to a researcher with some answers, and takes a walk…
What is the cost of admitting you’re wrong? How can intellectual humility make you more open minded? And will Stephen finally persuade Angela that rum-raisin is the best flavor of…
…cocaine — should be legalized. Steve talks to Carl about his new book, Drug Use for Grown-Ups, and Carl tells Steve why decriminalizing drugs is as American as apple pie….
…very topic that several of you raised: his plans to start a new football league to compete with the NFL. Here are a couple of relevant passages: “It’s a pretty…
…the rollout of the New PointsPlus system. The tagline “Because it works” is not well supported by the data.? (You can see the phrase in the background in?this television commercial,…
The road to success is paved with failure, so you might as well learn to do it right. (Ep. 5 of the “How to Be Creative” series.)…
…mentor Chuck Schumer, who won election to the U.S. Senate. Weiner now sits on the Judiciary Committee and the wide-reaching Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees telecommunications, public health, energy…
…over 5,000 private airports in the U.S., compared to 500 commercial airports. New pricing models and very light jets are lowering the barrier to entry. We’re doing our bit with…
Also: How do you recover from a bad day?…
In yesterday’s New York Times, Mike McIntyre writes about the reasons crime has fallen in New York City. Most of the article is about how Mayor Bloomberg claims credit for…
…maintained a passion for introducing new ideas to staid debates. Levitt finds out what makes Romer a serial “quitter,” why you can’t manufacture big ideas, and what happened when Romer…
Where does sentimental value come from? Why did Angela throw out her childhood journals? And would Mike wear Hitler’s sweater?…
Is a walk through the city as good as a walk through the woods? Who’s most likely to die while taking a selfie? And how does Angela protect herself from…
How much control do you really have over your body? Could understanding genetics help combat fat-shaming? And why is Mike’s life coach so happy all the time?…
You may have read about the standoff between Amazon.com and the Macmillan publishing company. Macmillan had objected to Amazon’s pricing, particularly its loss-leader $9.99 e-book price for new books. In…
If you’re frustrated with your family, 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…
Why are people so inconsistent? Is there such a thing as character? And did Stephen once have the world’s longest chain of gum wrappers?…
Levitt rarely interviews advocates, but the founder of the Good Food Institute is different. Once an outspoken — and sometimes outlandish — animal-rights activist, Bruce has come to believe that…
…from both Nerve.com and Bankrate.com, which strikes me as a legitimate mark of one man’s varied interests.) Freakonomics Q&A’s in: The New York Times Magazine; The Washington Post; Nerve.com; Bankrate.com….
Do you suffer from the sin of certainty? How did Angela react when a grad student challenged her research? And can a Heineken commercial strengthen our democracy?…
…people who listen to this podcast? Are we more afflicted by sloth or by lust? And what does Angela mutter under her breath? Take the Seven Deadly Sins survey: freakonomics.com/nsq-sins/…
What happens when machines become funnier, kinder, and more empathetic than humans? Do robot therapists save lives? And should Angela credit her virtual assistant as a co-author of her book?…
What’s the difference between schadenfreude and sadism? Can envy be put to good use? And how do you teach a kid to punch a clown?…
Naturalist Sy Montgomery explains how she learned to be social from a pig, discovered octopuses have souls, and came to love a killer that will never love her back.
How is the brain affected by solitary confinement? How would you deal with being stranded on a deserted island? And do baby monkeys make the best therapists?…
…NBA appears to have reached an agreement with its workers, ending the latest dispute in professional North American sports. Over the last three decades, labor disputes have become a common…
Why does the U.S. use Fahrenheit when Celsius is better? Would you quit your job if a coin flip told you to? And how do you get an entire country…
A leading expert on the Reformation era, Brad, a University of Notre Dame professor, tells Steve about how the “blood gets sucked out of history,” and why historians and economists…
