Freakonomics Response #1
It would seem that one sensible purpose of this blog would be to respond to Freakonomics questions and comments that come up in reviews, blogs, reader e-mails, etc. Consider this…
Also: does multitasking actually increase productivity?…
Boys and men are trending downward in education, employment, and mental health. Richard Reeves, author of the book Of Boys and Men, has some solutions that don’t come at the…
No — but he does have a knack for stumbling into the perfect moment, including the recent FTX debacle….
Also: should you feel guilty if you don’t read books?…
Getting solid answers in medicine can be hard — especially when the normal tools are off-limits. Dr. Bapu Jena discusses a research method that’s helping to solve some of science’s…
Societies where people trust one another are healthier and wealthier. In the U.S. (and the U.K. and elsewhere), social trust has been falling for decades — in part because our…
Medical tests can save lives. So how do doctors decide who gets tested, and when?…
Sure, you were “in love.” But economists — using evidence from Bridgerton to Tinder — point to what’s called “assortative mating.” And it has some unpleasant consequences for society….
What risks are worth taking? When should you ignore feedback and go with your gut? And what did Stephen learn on a fishing trip with the town barber?…
Playing notes on her piano, she demonstrates for Steve why whole numbers sound pleasing, why octaves are mathematically imperfect, and how math underlies musical composition. Sarah, a professor at the…
…can we learn about smelling by following them? Alexandra Horowitz talks to a detection-dog handler and a food critic about olfaction, then puts some Freakonomics hosts’ noses to the test….
Lewis got incredible access to Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire behind the spectacular FTX fraud. His book is a bestseller, but some critics say he went too easy on S.B.F. Lewis…
It’s hard to know whether the benefits of hiring a celebrity are worth the risk. We dig into one gruesome story of an endorsement gone wrong, and find a surprising…
In the final episode of our whale series, we learn about fecal plumes, shipping noise, and why Moby-Dick is still worth reading. (Part 3 of “Everything You Never Knew About…
It would seem that one sensible purpose of this blog would be to respond to Freakonomics questions and comments that come up in reviews, blogs, reader e-mails, etc. Consider this…
When we began our Freakonomics Radio podcast back in early 2010, it was something between a lark and an experiment. But we have produced 75 episodes by now, so it…
Read the Column » The July 10, 2005, Freakonomics column, “The Seat-Belt Solution: How Much Good Do Car Seats Do?” is about the efficacy of child car seats versus plain…
Here’s a chance to win everlasting national fame, and, more importantly, a coveted piece of Freakonomics schwag. What’s better, all you have to do for it is complain — which,…
Photo: iStockphoto Alright Freakonomics readers, basketball fans in particular, it’s contest time! This year’s NCAA Tournament, now down to the Round of 16, aka the Sweet 16, includes a statistical…
Pretty regularly, we hear from readers who tell us they’ve come across a free (i.e, pirated) downloadable version of Freakonomics, either in PDF or audio form. This guy wrote to…
Read the Column » The April 2, 2006, Freakonomics column is about tax cheating. Click here to read the column. This blog post supplies additional research material. There is obviously…
(Photo: Mark Heard) A few months back, Levitt and I were asked help put together a TV cop show based on the concepts of Freakonomics. The gist: a big-city police…
…Nothing. Klein wrote to tell Dubner and Levitt that the novel was (at least partly) inspired by Freakonomics. Quoting from his email: At the center of its plot is a…
A few days ago, we blogged about a college kid who got kicked out of class for citing Freakonomics. Now comes even worse news — from a reader who claims…
The following is a cross-post from our Football Freakonomics project at NFL.com. Check out the interactive graphic and, at the end of this post, the video. Aaron Rodgers. (Photo: Elvis…
It’s time again to record another FAQ podcast (that’s “FREAK-quently Asked Questions”), and we need your help! Every once in a while, we solicit questions from Freakonomics readers and answer…
Former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley, who was fired earlier this month. (Photo: The following is a cross-post from NFL.com, where we’ve recently launched a Football Freakonomics Project….
Well, probably not. But at least one person has lost her job — albeit not an actual full-time, paying job — in a fracas over Freakonomics and other books. A…
We launched the Football Freakonomics series in the spring with an episode called “The Quarterback Quandary.” It examined the difficulty of drafting QB’s since they tend to be a) vital…
Four Vince Lombardi trophies belonging to the Dallas Cowboys. (Photo: Brandi Korte) The following is a cross-post from NFL.com, where we’ve recently launched a Football Freakonomics Project. Today’s question on…