It facilitates crime, bribery, and tax evasion – and yet some governments (including ours) are printing more cash than ever. Other countries, meanwhile, are ditching cash entirely. And if Star…
Our Self-Improvement Month concludes with a man whose entire life and career are one big pile of self-improvement. Nutrition? Check. Bizarre physical activities? Check. Working less and earning more? Check….
Games are as old as civilization itself, and some people think they have huge social value regardless of whether you win or lose. Tom Whipple is not one of those…
What’s it like to wake up one day and realize Dad is a multi-billionaire? That’s what happened to Warren Buffett’s son, Peter — who then started to think about whether…
A psychology professor argues that the brain’s greatest attribute is knowing what other people are thinking. And that a Queen song, played backwards, can improve your mind-reading skills.
He’s one of the world’s leading competitors, having won four U.S. memory tournaments and holding the record for most names memorized in 15 minutes (235!). But Nelson Dellis claims he…
The World Trade Organization is the referee for 164 trading partners, each with their own political and economic agendas. Lately, those agendas have gotten more complicated — especially with President…
As Kevin Kelly tells it, the hippie revolution and the computer revolution are nearly one and the same.
Also: is a little knowledge truly a dangerous thing?
The more successful an artist is, the more likely their work will later be resold at auction for a huge markup — and they receive nothing. Should that change? Also:…
Steve loved Michael Lewis’s latest, The Premonition, but has one critique: Why aren’t there even more villains? Also, why the author of best-sellers Moneyball and The Big Short can barely…
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…
One creature’s trash is another’s cash. Zachary Crockett flushes out the numbers with a man who found profit in pee….
How do you turn an empty house into a buyer’s dream home? Zachary Crockett pulls back the curtain….
For all the speculation about the future, A.I. tools can be useful right now. Adam Davidson discovers what they can help us do, how we can get the most from…
Is graffiti public art, or public nuisance? It depends who you ask. Zachary Crockett tags in where it all started….
In a special episode of The Economics of Everyday Things, host Zachary Crockett explains what millennials do to show they care, how corrugated cardboard keeps your food warm, and why…
Why do we mirror other people’s accents? Does DJ Khaled get tired of winning? And also: life is good — so why aren’t you happy?…
If you can make it through three years of law school, you too might end up on a billboard. Zachary Crockett makes the case.
Should you shout your sins from the rooftops? How many skeletons are in the average person’s closet? And what has Angela been hiding?…
Justin Trudeau, facing record-low approval numbers, is doubling down on his progressive agenda. But he is so upbeat (and Canada-polite) that it’s easy to miss just how radical his vision…
Conrad Wolfram wants to transform the way we teach math — by taking advantage of computers. The creator of Computer-Based Maths convinced the Estonian government to give his radical curriculum…
The author of the classic The Selfish Gene is still changing the way we think about evolution….
Sarah Hart investigates the mathematical structures underlying musical compositions and literature. Using examples from Monteverdi to Lewis Carroll, Sarah explains to Steve how math affects how we hear music and…
When a Fortune 500 company needs a new leader, it turns to a well-connected headhunter who assesses candidates with psychological tests and mock TV interviews. Zachary Crockett activates his network….
Everyone loves to complain about it — but preparing a meal that tastes good at 35,000 feet is harder than you might think. Zachary Crockett will have the fish….
Americans take more than 20 billion elevator rides every year — and keeping them safe is an expensive proposition. Zachary Crockett makes small talk….
We send 10 billion of them every day. Where do they come from? Zachary Crockett hearts this topic….
How do you turn an empty house into a buyer’s dream home? Zachary Crockett pulls back the curtain….
It’s fun to obsess over pop stars and racecar drivers — but is fandom making our politics even more toxic?…
