How can we distinguish between laziness and patience? Why do people do crossword puzzles? And how is Angie like a combination of a quantum computer and a Sherman tank? Take…
Districts across the country are facing shortages of school bus drivers. Can technology help? Zachary Crockett takes a seat in the back….
People who sleep better earn more money. Now all we have to do is teach everyone to sleep better.
…effect on our behavior. One of my favorite graphs in all of social science is the following plot from an inspiring paper by Eric Johnson and Daniel Goldstein. This graph…
Making money in the stock image business requires a sharp eye for trends, a very specific type of model, and a race against A.I. Zachary Crockett takes his shot….
How do TV producers decide how much money to give away? A little psychology and a lot of math. Zachary Crockett phones a friend….
…them into more crime and concentrate the financial burden on their families. Addendum: Daniel Freedman also made the case for a “pay-if-you-go” system in this Forbes column back in March.[%comments]…
The famously profane politician and operative is now U.S. ambassador to Japan, where he’s trying to rewrite the rules of diplomacy. But don’t worry: When it comes to China, he’s…
What makes normal people do terrible things? Are there really bad apples — or just bad barrels? And how should you deal with a nefarious next-door neighbor?…
…what others can’t? 11/7/18 56:41 How Spotify Saved the Music Industry (But Not Necessarily Musicians) Daniel Ek, a 23-year-old Swede who grew up on pirated music, made the record labels…
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 director of the Hayden Planetarium is one of the best science communicators of our time. He and Steve talk about his role in reclassifying Pluto, bad teachers, and why…
Germany is considering a new government-imposed minimum wage — a price floor in the labor market — to apply to postal carriers and related workers. One of the major proponents…
They’re not always the nicest places to go — but for their owners, portable toilets are a lucrative revenue stream. Zachary Crockett lifts the lid….
…world views to explain the rest. Before I turn to my own explanations, here are two that I got from people I admire. Nobel laureate and Princeton professor Daniel Kahneman…
Are things really as bad as they seem? Has Gen Z given up hope for the world? And why was the father of positive psychology a lifelong pessimist?…
Economist Michael D. Smith says universities are scrambling to protect a status quo that deserves to die. He tells Steve why the current system is unsustainable, and what’s at stake…
In this special episode of People I (Mostly) Admire, Steve Levitt talks to the best-selling author of Sapiens and Homo Deus about finding the profound in the obvious….
…research team includes Barb Mellers and Don Moore, with an advisory board of Daniel Kahneman, Robert Jervis, Scott Armstrong, Michael Mauboussin, Carl Spetzler and Justin Wolfers. The criteria for selection…
Those low-priced staples on grocery-store shelves — where do they come from? Zachary Crockett finds out at a national convention for private-label manufacturers….
It’s unreactive, lighter than air, and surprisingly important to the global economy. Zachary Crockett goes up an octave….
It is amazing how good we are — even the smartest, most rational people among us — at not recognizing our own biases. (Danny Kahneman memorably calls this being “blind…
Slate columnist Daniel Gross thinks he’s found the female embodiment of Paul Krugman in Japanese economist Noriko Hama. We’re waiting for Jonathan Mann to update his Paul Krugman song accordingly….
…the world are themselves so susceptible to bias within the ranks of their practitioners. Addendum: here’s a link to Daniel Klein‘s ongoing survey about policy views within academia (HT: JBriggerman)…
Celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli joins us to co-host an evening of delicious fact-finding: where a trillion oysters went, whether a soda tax can work, and how beer helped build an…
…Despite this, psychologist Daniel Gilbert (author of Stumbling on Happiness), thinks potential parents still need to consider their options carefully. “So you have to think about which kind of happiness…
Class today is about bequests — wealth left over to one’s heirs. There are many interesting economic questions about bequests, including whether they are planned (partly yes, but partly no,…
…guy, who’s been riding with a degenerative hip; see Daniel Coyle’s recent profile and, even better, read Coyle’s book Lance Armstrong’s War.) And other American riders have been finishing very…
Daniel Markovits and I have a new piece in Slate arguing that sellers could use a fairly simple escrow agreement to provide buyers with price protection: Why would sellers ever…
…Expert Political Judgment; his co-PIs are Barb Mellers and Don Moore, with an advisory board that includes Daniel Kahneman, Robert Jervis, Scott Armstrong, Michael Mauboussin, Carl Spetzler and Justin Wolfers….
