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?
People who sleep better earn more money. Now all we have to do is teach everyone to sleep better.
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/…
…David Card, University of California, Berkeley Judith Chevalier, Yale School of Management N. Gregory Mankiw, Harvard University Jeffrey Wooldridge, Michigan State University For Executive Committee: Dora Costa, University of California,…
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?…
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…
He turned a small Hollywood talent agency into a massive sports-and-entertainment empire. In a freewheeling conversation, he explains how he did it and why it nearly killed him….
The Ford Motor Company is ditching its legacy sedans, doubling down on trucks, and trying to steer its stock price out of a long skid. But C.E.O. Jim Hackett has…
What’s the difference between dispositional optimism and agentic hope? Are there benefits to taking a long shot, even if it turns out to be an air ball? And how is…
Among O.E.C.D. nations, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of child poverty. Until recently, it looked as if Washington was about to change that. But then … Washington…
(Photo: Erik Daniel Drost) One of our very first Freakonomics Radio podcasts focused on brain trauma among NFL players. Writing for Vice, David Bienenstock argues that NFL players might benefit…
(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…
Sure, we all want to make good personal decisions, but it doesn’t always work out. That’s where “temptation bundling” comes in.
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…
…has just written a related book called Simpler: The Future of Government . In the podcast, you’ll hear from the Nudge Unit’s director, David Halpern, a noted social scientist himself…
…with author David Levy, I finally understand the answer to both of these questions. The book that tells the full story is here. See also his visit with Stephen Colbert….
…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…
…described in the Journal article strikes me as less troubling than what the author David Vise reportedly did back in 2002, buying up thousands of copies of his own book….
…Is the Developed World Obese?” by Sara Bleich, David Cutler, Christopher Murray, and Alyce Adams. They conclude that “rising obesity is primarily the result of consuming more calories” (as against…
…be some teaching openings. Otherwise, newly minted economists may wish to consider the career path of David Teece. Teece is a 58-year-old Berkeley professor who, noting that the legal system…
…has been overly skeptical deserves — well, an Oscar. P.S.: David Remnick wrote a very interesting essay on Gore in this week’s New Yorker (and his long Gore profile from…
…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…
In the first chapter of our new book, Think Like a Freak , we recount an ill-fated interaction that Dubner and I had with David Cameron shortly before he was…
…is a massive “GeoWeb” of user-generated maps likened to Wikipedia — though, like their encyclopedic predecessor, they run the risk of total inaccuracy. In Slate, writer David Shenk revisits his…
(Photo: Tactical Technology Collective) According to a BBC News report: Most households in the U.K. will have pornography blocked by their internet provider unless they choose to receive it, David…
David Shenk, author of a bunch of really interesting non-fiction books including this one on chess, and this one on Alzheimer’s disease, has begun working on a book about talent….
…David Laibson and Richard Thaler. Now for the dialysis patient. Let’s say she’s on a waiting list for a new kidney. But there is a good chance she’ll die before…
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…
…by David Reilly, a lot of the rules of accounting are about to change. This would obviously affect corporate accountants much more than average Steves, but I think I’ll let…
…taken note of it are David Warsh and Tim Harford. Gordon argues that we have essentially experienced three different Industrial Revolutions over the past couple centuries. The first (1750-1830) gave…
