…knowledge, instructional materials, time) to bring about improvement. The decision to link incentives to student test results exclusively or almost exclusively may be another design element contributing to the lack…
Google researcher Blaise Agüera y Arcas spends his work days developing artificial intelligence models and his free time conducting surveys for fun. He tells Steve how he designed an algorithm…
To her neighbors in the English countryside, the woman known as Mrs. Burton was a cake-baking mother of three. To the Soviet Union, she was an invaluable Cold War operative….
…maximum company match. Assuming you have decades before you need the money, investing in a diversified stock fund — such as a total market fund — is a smart move….
…lack of empathy. Doctors and nurses have tragically high levels of burnout. Could fixing the first problem solve the second? And does the rest of society need more compassion too?…
She is one of the best basketball players ever. She’s won multiple championships, including four Olympic gold medals and four W.N.B.A. titles — the most recent in 2020, just before…
Steve Levitt is obsessed with golf — and he’s pretty good at it too. As a thinly-veiled ploy to improve his own game, Steve talks to two titans of the…
Climbing the corporate ladder to become head of Nike’s Jordan brand, he kept his teenage murder conviction a secret from employers. Larry talks about living in fear, accepting forgiveness, and…
Researchers are trying to figure out who gets bored — and why — and what it means for ourselves and the economy. But maybe there’s an upside to boredom?
America’s favorite statistical guru answers our FREAK-quently Asked Questions, and more.
Neil Shubin hunts for fossils in the Arctic and experiments with D.N.A. in the lab, hoping to find out how fish evolved to walk on land. He explains why unlocking…
Can you quantify emotional intelligence? Who should you hire — someone smart, or someone good with people? And how did Angie do on an online emotional intelligence test?…
…eat into your profits. We talk to N.F.L., N.B.A., and U.F.C. executives about labor costs, viewership numbers, legalized gambling, and the rise of e-sports. (Ep. 5 of “The Hidden Side…
…well by a number of companies. Has it been successfully done? While most publishers to date have declined to invest in the implementation of such systems, the few companies that…
…work? None! Airline pilots do. Fail your medical exam and you’re done! How many surgeons (or any other critical professional like surgeon or politician) are subject to random drug and…
In this busy time of year, we could all use some tips on how to get more done in less time. First, however, a warning: there’s a big difference between…
Bren Smith, who grew up fishing and fighting, is now part of a movement that seeks to feed the planet while putting less environmental stress on it. He makes his…
Do economic sanctions work? Are big democracies any good at spreading democracy? What is the root cause of terrorism? It turns out that data analysis can help answer all these…
For our latest podcast, “The Economist’s Guide to Parenting,” (you can download/subscribe at iTunes, get the RSS feed, listen live via the media player, or read a transcript here) we…
…Ages, for example). The best example of this (or at least the most visually-enticing example) is Hans Rosling’s now famous TED talk on the subject. But it’s the digital revolution…
We all like to throw around terms that describe human behavior — “bystander apathy” and “steep learning curve” and “hard-wired.” Most of the time, they don’t actually mean what we…
We all like to throw around terms that describe human behavior — “bystander apathy” and “steep learning curve” and “hard-wired.” Most of the time, they don’t actually mean what we…
…people need computing services, so we’d better build more mainframe computer centers where you can come run your computing task,” you’d probably reply, “We did that in the 1960’s, but…
It’s not a new question, but it’s a tricky one to study. Bapu explains why, and talks about how an N.F.L. labor dispute helped him get some answers….
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….
Victoria Groce is one of the best trivia contestants on earth. She explains the structure of a good question, why she knits during competitions, and how to memorize 160,000 flashcards….
Curses and other superstitions may have no basis in reality, but that doesn’t stop us from believing.
So you want to help people? That’s great — but beware the law of unintended consequences. Three stories from the modern workplace….
We spend billions on our pets, and one of the fastest-growing costs is pet “aftercare.” But are those cremated remains you got back really from your pet?…
