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Tell Me Something I Don't Know

 
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Tell Me Something I Don’t Know

Season 5, Episode 6

On this week’s episode of Freakonomics Radio, a live game show with host Stephen Dubner, and judges Malcolm Gladwell, Ana Gasteyer, and David Paterson.

Audience members are invited onstage to tell us something we didn’t know. We learn a bit, laugh a lot, and as a bonus, each of the judges tell us something about themselves we didn’t know. You’ll learn how Malcolm Gladwell got fired from an internship with a prominent judge; how Ana Gasteyer watched Star Wars with a prominent family; and why Governor Paterson was desperate for O.J. Simpson’s famous Bronco chase to be cut short.

11/26/15

Tell Me Something I Don’t Know (Replay)

Season 5, Episode 46 On this week’s episode of Freakonomics Radio, a live game show with host Stephen Dubner, and judges Malcolm Gladwell, Ana Gasteyer, and David Paterson. Audience members are invited onstage to tell us something we didn’t know. We learn a bit, laugh a lot, and as a bonus, each of the judges tell us something about themselves we didn’t . . .

9/2/16

It’s Alive! TMSIDK Episode 2

Did you know the army once tried to replace its mules with camels? Join author Simon Winchester, social-media scholar danah boyd and comedian Chris Gethard for more tales from the natural world, including marine animals that will either live forever or kill you (or both), as well as the wonders of poop soup.

11/13/16
53:22

Things That Go In Your Mouth: TMSIDK Episode 3

During the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ate a meal that cost less than eight cents. Join medical doctor Zeke Emanuel, former White House chef Sam Kass and author Gretchen Rubin for more facts about food, eating and a surprisingly versatile musical instrument.

11/20/16
53:22

Things That Come Out of Your Mouth: TMSIDK Episode 4

This episode, which we’re calling “Things That Come Out of Your Mouth,” includes stories of marine regurgitation and a group of opera singers that no longer exists. The panelists are novelest Frank Delaney, Columbia University linguist John McWhorter and Mehmet Oz, better known as Dr. Oz.

11/27/16
52:54

Passion Plays: TMSIDK Episode 5

This week’s panel: Grit­-y author and psychology professor Angela Duckworth, former White House economist Austan Goolsbee and comedian Keisha Zollar. Our theme: “Passion Plays.” All of the things we’re passionate about, good and bad, from sports to sounds to experimenting on students.

12/4/16
57:27

Fool Me Once: TMSIDK Episode 6

Hannibal Buress, Annie Duke and Fr. James Martin, S.J. are panelists. A comedian, a poker player and a priest walk into a bar… and have to deal with missing hands, missing bodies and missing scientific evidence. Fact-checker: Sean Rameswaram, podcast producer for WNYC Studios.

12/11/16
60:27

Perfection: TMSIDK Episode 7

Lizz Winstead, Mike Pesca and Melanie Whelan are panelists. The “Daily Show” creator, host of “The Gist” podcast, and CEO of Soul Cycle ponder the pursuit of perfection — in cityscapes and on farms, in how we keep time and how we remember. Our fact-checker is A.J. Jacobs, host of the “Twice Removed” podcast.

2/19/17
53:09

Athletes’ Feats: TMSIDK Episode 8

For our sports-themed episode, we left out all the tired cliches and instead jammed it full of odd trophies, hidden advantages, surprising innovations and… Trouble with a capital T.

2/26/17
57:34

Wordz: TMSIDK Episode 9

This episode of Tell Me Something I Don’t Know is all about the written — or spoken, or programmed, or texted — word. Let’s start with the letter “A”: abbreviations, absenteeism, AI, advertisements and …a rising tide.

3/5/17
54:22

Collections: TMSIDK Episode 10

We’ve gathered amazing and surprising facts from the world of Collections. We’re not talking baseball cards and Beanie Babies—we’ve got: glucose, gamma rays, brainwaves, fake art and some very blue Russian.

3/12/17
51:37

Under the Hood: TMSIDK Episode 11

This week, we go “Under the Hood,” unearthing the secrets behind concealed ovulation, kosher food, cheesy dreams, pneumatic felines and negotiating.

3/19/17
57:46

Stupid Stuff: TMSIDK Episode 12

This episode of Tell Me Something I Don’t Know is all about “Stupid Stuff” — things that seem stupid but aren’t and things don’t but are.

3/26/17
53:42

Oh, My God: TMSIDK Episode 14

John Fugelsang, Tami Sagher and Aman Ali are panelists. Who better to help us talk through religion than these three comedians? We look into unholy fruit, religion in banking and the politics of reincarnation. A.J. Jacobs is fact-checker.

4/9/17
57:41

Wannabes: TMSIDK Episode 15

Tim Harford, Carla Hayden and Rahmein Mostafavi are panelists. The “Undercover Economist,” the Librarian of Congress and the comedian join TMSIDK in Washington, D.C. — the city that wants to be a state — to learn about wannabes, from international spies to new human organs. Femi Oke is fact-checker.

4/16/17
59:16

Music: TMSIDK Episode 16

Danny Goldberg, Faith Salie and David Hajdu are panelists. The record executive, the comedian/journalist and the music critic face the music, including industrial instruments, female composers and the all-important bridge. Our real-time fact-checker is Dan Zanes, accompanied by his live band.

4/23/17
65:21

Sneak Peek of TMSIDK Season 3

Season 3 of Tell Me Something I Don’t Know is coming to your ears! Prepare yourself for 10 shiny new episodes — full of fresh knowledge — starting June 4.

5/28/17

Rivalry: TMSIDK Episode 17

We kick-off the third season of Tell Me Something I Don’t Know with a show on competition of all kinds: athletic, sexual, geopolitical, and the little-known battle between butter and margarine that landed in the Supreme Court.

6/4/17
58:51

Politickling: TMSIDK Episode 18

Major Garrett, Alexandra Petri and Robby Mook are panelists in Washington, D.C. The CBS Chief White House Correspondent, the Washington Post humor columnist and Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager step out of the swamp for some more light-hearted politics: from foreign cars to the last state in the union. Femi Oke is fact-checker.

6/11/17
56:45

Cities: TMSIDK Episode 19

Eugene Mirman, Ed Glaeser and Amy Glasmeier are panelists. The comedian, the Harvard economist and the MIT professor join us in one of America’s oldest urban centers for a show about cities, including ruins, sewage and ghost towns. Mike Maughan is our fact-checker.

6/18/17
60:44

Family Matters: TMSIDK Episode 20

Amy Chua, Liza Donnelly and Gary Gulman are panelists. The “Tiger Mom,” the New Yorker cartoonist and the comedian join our dysfunctional family for this show on parenting, cousins, genealogy and medical divorce. AJ Jacobs is fact-checker.

6/25/17
53:39

Getting There: TMSIDK Episode 21

Che “Rhymefest” Smith, Ginger Evans and Mary Catherine Curran are panelists. The rapper/political organizer, the commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Aviation and the comedian join us in the City of Big Shoulders for a show on transitions — from here to there, from low to high and from fish to humans. Jesse Dukes is fact-checker.

7/2/17
60:13

Urinetown: TMSIDK Episode 26

Tell Me Something I Don’t Know is on the weird side of the tracks in Philadelphia with everything you’ve ever wanted to know about graffiti, cockroaches, tattoos, pee, and more. James Altucher (host of The James Altucher Show) is our special guest co-host, with Mike Maughan (head of global insights at Qualtrics) as real-time fact-checker.

8/6/17
56:17

Womb to Tomb: TMSIDK Episode 27

Alexandra Petri (Washington Post columnist) is our special guest co-host, with AJ Jacobs (author of It’s All Relative) as real-time fact-checker. TMSIDK covers everything from birth to earth, including pregnancy tests, parenting, monogamy, aging better, and, finally, embalming.

9/17/17
52:52

You Say “eye-RACK,” I Say “ear-ROCK”: TMSIDK Episode 28

Hari Kondabolu (comedian and host of Politically ReActive) is our special guest co-host, with Sean Rameswaram (Radiolab Presents: More Perfect) as real-time fact-checker. Tell Me Something I Don’t Know reaches into our “grab bag” for fascinating facts on the downside of keeping secrets, the origin of fantasy sports, what pronunciations say about our politics, and more.

9/24/17
48:27

All About Bugs (of the Animal and Computer Varieties): TMSIDK Episode 32

Musical crickets, crop-saving wasps — and why you should pre-bug your software. John McWhorter is co-host; the live fact-checker is Bari Weiss.

10/22/17
58:19

Mind Games: TMSIDK Episode 34

How to make people like you, why you should lick rocks, and what an awkward person is really thinking. Angela Duckworth (Grit author) is co-host; Mike Maughan (Qualtrics) is live fact-checker.

11/5/17
48:59

Farming Without Sun or Soil and Eating Manna From Heaven: TMSIDK Episode 35

This week, we work on our survival skills: in the desert, on the tundra, and growing food in abandoned warehouses. Actress Sas Goldberg is co-host; A.J. Jacobs (author of It’s All Relative) is live fact-checker.

11/12/17
40:15

An Astronaut, a Catalan, and Two Linguists Walk Into a Bar…

Season 8, Episode 2 In this live episode of “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know,” we learn why New York has skinny skyscrapers, how to weaponize water, and what astronauts talk about in space. Joining Stephen J. Dubner as co-host is the linguist John McWhorter; Bari Weiss (The New York Times) is the real-time fact-checker. To find out more, check . . .

9/13/18

Freakonomics Radio Live: “We Thought of a Way to Manipulate Your Perception of Time.”

We learn how to be less impatient, how to tell fake news from real, and the simple trick that nurses used to make better predictions than doctors. Journalist Manoush Zomorodi co-hosts; our real-time fact-checker is the author and humorist A.J. Jacobs.

12/15/18
56:39

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