Gossip and the Founding Fathers
(Photo: david__jones) In light of our recent podcast “Everybody Gossips (and That’s a Good Thing),” we heard from David Head, an assistant professor of history at Spring Hill College in…
(Photo: david__jones) In light of our recent podcast “Everybody Gossips (and That’s a Good Thing),” we heard from David Head, an assistant professor of history at Spring Hill College in…
G.M. produces more than 20 times as many cars as Tesla, but Tesla is worth nearly 10 times as much. Mary Barra, the C.E.O. of G.M., is trying to fix…
Patients in the U.S. healthcare system often feel they’re treated with a lack of empathy. Doctors and nurses have tragically high levels of burnout. Could fixing the first problem solve…
The U.S. is an outlier when it comes to policing, as evidenced by more than 1,000 fatal shootings by police each year. But we’re an outlier in other ways too:…
Is pride an emotion? Where’s the line between self-esteem and hubris? And what does Stephen have against peacocks? Take the Seven Deadly Sins survey: freakonomics.com/nsq-sins/…
In her new book The Two-Parent Privilege, the economist Melissa Kearney says it’s time for liberals to face the facts: U.S. marriage rates have plummeted but the babies keep coming,…
The gist: we spend billions on end-of-life healthcare that doesn’t do much good. So what if a patient could forego the standard treatment and get a cash rebate instead?
Why are these ominous British posters (photographed by David Byrne) informing you of your rights? Photo: David Byrne A stylistic riff on the “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters from…
…the programme during such difficult economic times,” reports The Guardian, “but [David] Cameron is said to want to place the eventual results at the heart of future government policy-making.” “David…
…ethnic food,” what is your stance on authenticity? Does it exist? Does it matter? What’s your take about David Thompson’s or Andy Ricker’s Thai food? Or what about Jose Andres…
…let’s not forget, a rock-paper-scissors champion, too. Duke offers a simple but compelling argument (attributed to David Sklansky and Duke’s brother Howard Lederer) for poker as a game of skill…
Can a little dishonesty be a good thing? How many fibs does Angela tell every day? And why does Stephen have a forehead?…
Why does treating a venomous snake bite cost as much as a house? Zachary Crockett slithers over to North Carolina to find out….
Does the future of food lie in its past — or inside a tank of liquid nitrogen? Also: how anti-social can you be on a social network? This is a…
Where’s the line between an addiction and a bad habit? Why do definitions of mental illnesses change over time? And what’s the most addictive thing in the world?…
Public bathrooms are noisy, poorly designed, and often nonexistent. What to do?
We spend billions on end-of-life healthcare that doesn’t do much good. So what if a patient could forego the standard treatment and get a cash rebate instead?
Every language has its taboo words (which many people use all the time). But the list of forbidden words is always changing — and those changes tell us some surprising…
Harvard economist Raj Chetty uses tax data to study inequality, kid success, and social mobility. He explains why you should be careful when choosing your grade school teachers — and…
The left and the right blame each other for pretty much everything, including slanted media coverage. Can they both be right?
…women. Our panelists are: David Hajdu, music critic and writer, who has suffered an occupational hazard. Faith Salie, comedian/journalist and writer, who has a 2-1 record as a wedding singer….
Do you think public bathrooms are too small, smartphones are too big, and public transit just wasn’t made for you? Then you’re probably a woman. In her book Invisible Women:…
…cites one of the elections that we wrote about in Freakonomics: Also in 1989, Democrat David Dinkins, an African American, won victory over Republican Rudy Giuliani in the race for…
It used to feel like magic. Now it can feel like a set of cheap tricks. Is the problem with Google — or with us?…
An update of our 2020 series, in which we spoke with physicians, researchers, and addicts about the root causes of the crisis — and the tension between abstinence and harm…
Once considered noble and heroic, pigeons are now viewed as an urban nuisance — one that costs cities millions of dollars a year. Zachary Crockett tosses some crumbs….
