Search the Site

Search Results for: David Berri

Another Salvo in the Tenure Debate

…who lost their jobs before tenure, likely for exercising their academic freedom: – David Noble (now deceased), who was denied tenure in the Science, Technology, and Society department at MIT….



What Do NBA Referees and MBA Teachers Have in Common?

Over at Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen draws an intriguing parallel between accusations made by disgraced NBA ex-referee Tim Donaghy, and models of collusion. While David Stern has denied explicit collusion…



Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 522

Is Google Getting Worse? (Update)

It used to feel like magic. Now it can feel like a set of cheap tricks. Is the problem with Google — or with us? And is Google Search finally…

FREAK Shots: Stating the Obvious

…originally posted near a battlefield trench: Photo: Brenda Rathier Here’s another obvious one from blog reader David Gusaas: Photo: David Gusaas What other painfully obvious signs have you come across?…



Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 10

The Mystery of the Man with Confusion and Back Pain

Hear diagnostician Gurpreet Dhaliwal try to solve the case of a patient who came to the emergency room with an unusual combination of symptoms. Plus, we discuss how difficult it…

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 76

Hotel Art

A watercolor of a harbor? A black-and-white photo of a pile of rocks? Some hotels are trying to do better. Zachary Crockett unpacks….

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 48

Boo…Who?

Is booing an act of verbal vandalism—or the last true expression of democracy?

High-Speed Rail and CO2

…than a down payment, given the very large sums needed to build HSR (University of Minnesota transportation scholar David Levinson estimates that the proposed California segment alone will cost $80…



Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 53

What’s the Secret to Making a Great Prediction?

Also: How do you recover from a bad day?…

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 439

Please Get Your Noise Out of My Ears (Update)

The pandemic provided city dwellers with a break from the din of the modern world. Now the noise is coming back. What does that mean for our productivity, health, and…

It’s All Semantics

…paper by a Stanford linguist named David Beaver (that’s not an aptonym, is it?) called “Have You Noticed That Your Belly Button Lint Colour Is Related to the Colour of…



Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 166

How to Think Like a Freak — and Other FREAK-quently Asked Questions

Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt talk about their new book and field questions about prestige, university life, and (yum yum) bacon.

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 475

Why Does the Richest Country in the World Have So Many Poor Kids?

Among O.E.C.D. nations, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of child poverty. How can that be? To find out, Stephen Dubner speaks with a Republican senator, a Democratic…

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 173

A Better Way to Eat (Replay)

Takeru Kobayashi revolutionized the sport of competitive eating. What can the rest of us learn from his breakthrough?

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 55

This Vaccine Lottery Seemed Like a Great Idea. Why Didn’t it Work?

Behavioral economists say “regret lotteries” are powerful motivational tools. When Philadelphia tried one in 2021, the results were disappointing. Bapu looks at how incentives can backfire — and what we…

How Does It Feel to Get Booed?

(Photo: Kisha Bari) If you remember our podcast “Boo…Who?” (which was included in the hour-long special “Show and Yell“), you’ll know we love the topic of booing. David Herman, our…



Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 226

Food + Science = Victory! (Replay)

A kitchen wizard and a nutrition detective talk about the perfect hamburger, getting the most out of garlic, and why you should use vodka in just about everything.

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 102

What’s So Bad About Nepotism?

How does the profitability of family firms stack up against the rest? Has nepotism become more taboo over time? And why are 90 percent of adoptees in Japan not children…

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 200

When Willpower Isn’t Enough (Replay)

Sure, we all want to make good personal decisions, but it doesn’t always work out. That’s where “temptation bundling” comes in.

Crowdsourcing Economics

An interesting approach to economics, from UC Berkeley economists William Fuchs, Brett Green, and David Levine: crowdfunding. But first, some background, because this is fascinating stuff. The typical household in…



Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 57

Which Incentives Are Best at Boosting Vaccination, and Why?

Also: What does your desired superpower say about you?…


Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 126

Why Do People Love Horror Movies?

When are negative emotions enjoyable? Are we all a little masochistic? And do pigs like hot sauce?

Economists on Health Care

The latest issue of The Economists’ Voice is a special issue on health care reform. David Cutler explains the economics of health reform, while Mark Duggan and Robert Kocher weigh…



Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 533

Will the Democrats “Make America Great Again”?

For decades, the U.S. let globalization run its course and hoped China would be an ally. Now the Biden administration is spending billions to bring high-tech manufacturing back home. Is…

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 434

Is New York City Over?

The pandemic has hit America’s biggest city particularly hard. Amidst a deep fiscal hole, rising homicides, and a flight to the suburbs, some people think the city is heading back…

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 41

Is Rainy Day Joint Pain All in Your Head?

You’ve heard that the weather can make your joints hurt. Maybe you’ve even felt it yourself. But, is it true? Bapu Jena looks at why we think we know certain…

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 40

Harold Pollack on Why Managing Your Money Is as Easy as Taking Out the Garbage

He argues that personal finance is so simple all you need to know can fit on an index card. How will he deal with Steve’s suggestion that Harold’s nine rules…

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 489

Is “Toxic Positivity” a Thing?

In this special episode of No Stupid Questions, Stephen Dubner and Angela Duckworth discuss the consequences of seeing every glass as at least half-full….

Episode image
Follow this show
Episode 433

How Are Psychedelics and Other Party Drugs Changing Psychiatry?

Three leading researchers from the Mount Sinai Health System discuss how ketamine, cannabis and ecstasy are being used (or studied) to treat everything from severe depression to addiction to PTSD….