Steve and producer Morgan Levey look back at the first 100 episodes of the podcast, including surprising answers, spectacular explanations, and listeners who heard the show and changed their lives….
…increase proposals in the FY 2011 budget are unlikely to be enacted. Congress and the Administration should commit to producing a comprehensive package of proposals to be debated, and to…
…in-state tuition and fees at public four-year institutions average $8,244 in 2011-12, $631 (8.3 percent) higher than in 2010-11. Average total charges, including tuition and fees and room and board,…
…to the Miami Heat. March 5, 2011: Jersey Shore’s Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino gets booed offstage in his roast of Donald Trump. April 2, 2011: Charlie Sheen is booed in…
…of 2011, that means some 16,953 people died during the whole of 2011—a staggering toll that is far higher than the rate of combat-related deaths in Afghanistan. Some 15,273 people…
…2011, the same level as 2010. Meanwhile, earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration projected that overall motor vehicle fatalities declined 1.7 percent in 2011, reaching their lowest…
In 2010, CBS and Turner Broadcasting agreed to pay $10.8 billion to broadcast the NCAA men’s basketball tournament from 2011 to 2024. As a result of this contract, fans of…
As a former top adviser to presidents Clinton and Obama, he believes in the power of the federal government. But as former mayor of Chicago, he says that cities are…
How using peer pressure — and good, old-fashioned shame — can push people to do the right thing.
Half the world’s population uses social media — and a new study suggests that it causes anxiety and depression. Can anything be done, or is it too late?…
Should you become an artist or an accountant? Did Sylvia Plath have to be depressed to write The Bell Jar? And what can Napoleon Dynamite teach us about the creative…
Uri Simonsohn is a behavioral science professor who wants to improve standards in his field — so he’s made a sideline of investigating fraudulent academic research. He tells Steve Levitt,…
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…
He’s been an Arctic scientist, a sports journalist, and is now a best-selling author of science books. His latest, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, makes the argument…
Are you a problem solver or an opportunity seeker? Why is it so hard to find a good leader these days? And could you be Angela’s next boss?…
Two European economists have told me of their experiences interviewing for senior, tenured positions in the U.K. In both cases they, and the other two finalists, visited the campus at…
Read the Column » Why Phishing Works By Rachna Dhamija, J. D. Tygar and Marti Hearst Five Certainties in the Uncertain World of Identity Theft By the TowerGroup Victim’s Guide…
…to scope out private pools they can crash for impromptu parties. On a darker note, insurgents in Iraq used images from Google Maps to guide their attacks. And the terrorists…
…the question brings up two issues applicable to estimation in general. The first issue is rounding and accuracy. In a natural-history museum, a guide was showing the visitors an ancient…
…this emerging food fight is a popular pamphlet that the EWG has been publishing for years called the “Shoppers Guide to Pesticides.” In it, the EWG reports results of tests…
Chicago has given the world more than sausage, crooked politics and Da Bears.
The Encyclopedia of Ethical Failures catalogs the fiscal, sexual, and mental lapses of federal workers — all with an eye toward preventing the next big mistake….
Labor exploitation! Corporate profiteering! Government corruption! The 21st century can look a lot like the 18th. In the final episode of a series, we turn to “the father of economics”…
Flying in the U.S. is still exceptionally safe, but the system relies on outdated tech and is under tremendous strain. Six experts tell us how it got this way and…
Steve Levitt is obsessed with golf — and he’s pretty good at it too. As a thinly-veiled ploy to improve his own game, Steve talks to two titans of the…
He’s the award-winning author of hugely popular books like Guns, Germs, and Steel; Collapse; and Upheaval. But Jared actually started his varied career as an expert on gallbladders and birds….
What is the relationship between “catastrophizing” and anxiety? How did Angela react when her mother came close to drowning? And how can you gain perspective when the worst-case scenario is…
…the test-taker to do his or her very best? Then there are the questions of what to do with the results. I have actually sat through an extended discussion of…
Why do so many promising solutions in education, medicine, and criminal justice fail to scale up into great policy? And can a new breed of “implementation scientists” crack the code?…
