In our second round of FREAK-quently Asked Questions, Steve Levitt answers some queries from listeners and readers.
Levitt and Dubner answer your FREAK-quently Asked Questions about junk food, insurance, and how to make an economist happy.
What “Sleep No More” and the Stanford Prison Experiment tell us about who we really are.
The data show that poker is indeed a game of skill, not chance, and a Federal judge agrees. So why are players still being treated like criminals?
Trying to go rustic by baking, brewing, and knitting at home can be terribly inefficient. And that’s a wonderful thing.
When you want to get rid of a nasty pest, one obvious solution comes to mind: just offer a cash reward. But be careful — because nothing backfires quite like a bounty.
The very long reach of Winston Churchill — and how the British government is remaking copyright law.
No one wants mass shootings. Unfortunately, no one has a workable plan to stop them either.
Once upon a time, office workers across America lived in fear of a dreaded infirmity. Was the computer keyboard really the villain — and did carpal tunnel syndrome really go away?
Dubner and Levitt field your queries in this latest installment of our FREAK-quently Asked Questions.
The science of what works — and doesn’t work — in fundraising.
More than 1 million people die worldwide each year from traffic accidents. But there’s never been a safer time to drive.
The war on cigarettes has been fairly successful in some places. But 1 billion humans still smoke — so what comes next?
When it comes to exercising outrage, people tend to be very selective. Could it be that humans are our least favorite animal?
When it comes to generating ideas and asking questions it can be really fruitful to have the mentality of an eight year old.
In which we argue that failure should not only be tolerated but celebrated.
A lot! “The Economics of the Undead” is a book about dating strategy, job creation, and whether there should be a legal market for blood.
Imagine that both substances were undiscovered until today. How would we think about their relative risks?
When one athlete turned pro, his mom asked him for $1 million. Our modern sensibilities tell us she doesn’t have a case. But should she?
The process is famously secretive (and conducted in Swedish!) but we pry the lid off at least a little bit.
Doctors, chefs, and other experts are much more likely than the rest of us to buy store-brand products. What do they know that we don’t?
We seem to have decided that ethnic food tastes better when it’s served by people of that ethnicity (or at least something close). Does this make sense — and is it legal?
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 being busy and being productive.
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 those infamous YouTube brawls?
Season 6, Episode 35 This week on Freakonomics Radio: Uber is disrupting profitable sectors by using one of the world’s most dangerous machines. Plus, Stephen J. Dubner learns that data from Uber’s users is helping answer one of the most elusive questions in economics. To find out more, check out the podcasts from which this hour was drawn: “Why Uber Is an Economist’s Dream” . . .
Season 6, Episode 40 This week on Freakonomics Radio: most of us feel we face more obstacles than everyone else — which breeds resentment. We also undervalue the tailwinds that help us — which leaves us ungrateful and unhappy. Stephen J. Dubner asks, “How can we avoid this trap?” To find out more, check out the podcasts from which this hour . . .
Season 7, Episode 15 This week on Freakonomics Radio: most of us feel we face more obstacles than everyone else — which breeds resentment. We also undervalue the tailwinds that help us — which leaves us ungrateful and unhappy. Stephen J. Dubner asks, “How can we avoid this trap?” To find out more, check out the podcasts from which this hour . . .
A kid’s name can tell us something about his parents — their race, social standing, even their politics. But is your name really your destiny?
Research shows that having a distinctively black name doesn’t affect your economic future. But what is the day-to-day reality of living with such a name? Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck, a newly-minted Ph.D., is well-qualified to answer this question. Her verdict: the data don’t tell the whole story.
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