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A new blog that is way better than ours

…to talk at length with people like Steve Pinker, Mitch Kapor, and even Thomas Dolby. What is best about the conference is that people really have fun. When I attended…



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Episode 34

Are Humans Smarter or Stupider Than We Used to Be?

Also: How can you become a more curious person?…

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Episode 121

How Good Are Your Snap Judgments?

How much can you tell about someone from the first few seconds of a Zoom call? What did Stephen think of Angie when he first met her? And: a special…

Fathers and Sons

…is unfortunately best known as the older brother of Tobias Wolff, whose own memoir, This Boy’s Life, was also pretty great. Steve Levitt’s father Michael is also worth writing about…



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Episode 218

The Harvard President Will See You Now (Replay)

How a pain-in-the-neck girl from rural Virginia came to run the most powerful university in the world.

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Episode 168

Think Like a Child (Replay)

When it comes to generating ideas and asking questions it can be really fruitful to have the mentality of an 8-year-old.


It's No Major Major Major Major, But …

…steps further south, the sign becomes complete. Still, I can’t help but think that this design wouldn’t have gone over so well with someone as exacting as, say, Steve Jobs:…



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Episode 379

How to Change Your Mind (Update)

There are a lot of barriers to changing your mind: ego, overconfidence, inertia — and cost. Politicians who flip-flop get mocked; family and friends who cross tribal borders are shunned….

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon: Economists’ Version

…Stiglitz-Atkinson–Leigh-Wolfers, or Stiglitz-Blinder–Reis-Wolfers. Steve Levitt is also a three: Stiglitz-Sachs–Poterba-Levitt, and so Steve endows both Stephen Dubner and Sudhir Venkatesh with a four. Dan Hamermesh has written so many papers…



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Episode 438

How to Succeed by Being Authentic (Hint: Carefully)

John Mackey, the C.E.O. of Whole Foods, has learned the perils of speaking his mind. But he still says what he thinks about everything from “conscious leadership” to the behavioral…

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Episode 163

Does Your DNA Determine Your Weight?

How much control do you really have over your body? Could understanding genetics help combat fat-shaming? And why is Mike’s life coach so happy all the time?…

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Episode 204

Nate Silver Says: “Everyone Is Kind of Weird”

America’s favorite statistical guru answers our FREAK-quently Asked Questions, and more.


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Episode 40

Have We All Lost Our Ability to Compromise?

Also: is it better to be right or “not wrong”?…

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Episode 91

Do You Savor or Gobble? (Replay)

What’s the difference between people who preserve special things and people who devour them right away? Why do we love to binge-watch? And did Adam really eat an apple?

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Episode 135

What Should You Do on Your Birthday?

Birthdays! Why do Americans prefer Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July to theirs? Why do they make Stephen think of molasses and chicken feed? And is “Happy Birthday” the worst…

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Episode 91

Do You Savor or Gobble?

What’s the difference between people who preserve special things and people who devour them right away? Why do we love to binge-watch? And did Adam really eat an apple?…


Do Street Names Matter?

…than did Black women with more traditional names. Sylvia and Steve Crossland, two real estate agents in Austin, Texas, have posed the same question regarding street names on their blog….



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Episode 13

Carnival Games (Replay)

Does anyone ever win the giant teddy bear? Zachary Crockett steps right up….

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Episode 339

The Future of Freakonomics Radio

After eight years and more than 300 episodes, it was time to either 1) quit, or 2) make the show bigger and better. We voted for number 2. Here’s a…



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Episode 219

Preventing Crime for Pennies on the Dollar

Conventional programs tend to be expensive, onerous, and ineffective. Could something as simple (and cheap) as cognitive behavioral therapy do the trick?

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Episode 101

Are You Really “Addicted” to Diet Coke?

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?…

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EXTRA

Mark Cuban Full Interview

A conversation with the Shark Tank star, entrepreneur, and Dallas Mavericks owner recorded for the Freakonomics Radio series “The Hidden Side of Sports.”…

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Episode 152

Everybody Gossips (and That’s a Good Thing)

The benefits of rumor-mongering.

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Episode 5

Susan Wojcicki: “Hey, Let’s Go Buy YouTube!”

She was the sixteenth employee at Google — a company once based in her garage — and now she’s the C.E.O. of its best-known subsidiary, YouTube. But despite being one…