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The Happiness Wars Continue

…life satisfaction concept and a much larger sample, the differences are now recognised as vast, as shown in the chapter here by Ed Diener, Daniel Kahneman, and colleagues. As I…



Calling All Predictors to a New Forecasting Tournament

…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. It involves a multi-disciplinary effort…





A Piece of Spam That Economists Will Love

…journal Econometrica while learning about the now-famous decision-making research of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, I was pretty tickled to see this subject line, and applaud the high standards of…



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Episode 100

Chicago’s Renegade Sheriff Wants to Fix Law Enforcement

Tom Dart is transforming Cook County’s jail, reforming evictions, and, with Steve Levitt, trying a new approach to electronic monitoring….

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Episode 417

Reasons to Be Cheerful (Replay)

Humans have a built-in “negativity bias,” which means we give bad news much more power than good. Would the Covid-19 crisis be an opportune time to reverse this tendency?

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Episode 11

Are Ambitious People Inherently Selfish?

Also: why do we habituate to life’s greatest pleasures?

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Episode 52

Max Tegmark on Why Superhuman Artificial Intelligence Won’t be Our Slave (Part 2)

He’s an M.I.T. cosmologist, physicist, and machine-learning expert, and once upon a time, almost an economist. Max and Steve continue their conversation about the existential threats facing humanity, and what…

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Episode 409

The Side Effects of Social Distancing

In just a few weeks, the novel coronavirus has undone a century’s worth of our economic and social habits. What consequences will this have on our future — and is…

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Episode 114

Is Perfectionism Ruining Your Life?

Psychologist Thomas Curran argues that perfectionism isn’t about high standards — it’s about never being enough. He explains how the drive to be perfect is harming education, the economy, and…

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Episode 37

How Do You Know if People Don’t Like You?

Also: do self-help books really help?…

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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 84

Why Do We Find So Much Meaning in Meaningless Coincidences?

Why are humans so fascinated by coincidences? What do Carl Jung and an album by The Police have in common? And what did Stephen win in a bar mitzvah limbo…

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Episode 42

How Does When You Are Born Affect Who You Are?

Also: how did Angela do with her no-sugar challenge?…

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Episode 128

Are Our Tools Becoming Part of Us?

Google researcher Blaise Agüera y Arcas spends his work days developing artificial intelligence models and his free time conducting surveys for fun. He tells Steve how he designed an algorithm…

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Episode 305

The Demonization of Gluten

Celiac disease is thought to affect roughly one percent of the population. The good news: it can be treated by quitting gluten. The bad news: many celiac patients haven’t been…

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Episode 27

How Should You Ask for Forgiveness?

Also: Why is behavior change so darn hard?…

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Episode 28

Why Do We Hoard?

Also: Do you spend more time thinking about the past, the present, or the future?

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Episode 77

How Can You Avoid Boredom?

Also: are we getting any better at assessing COVID risk?

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Episode 62

How Can You Escape a Drama Triangle?

Also: how do awards affect motivation?…

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Episode 330

Extra: Ray Dalio Full Interview

Stephen Dubner’s conversation with the founder and longtime C.E.O. of Bridgewater Associates, recorded for the Freakonomics Radio series “The Secret Life of a C.E.O.”…

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Episode 33

Travis Tygart Is Coming for Cheaters — Just Ask Lance Armstrong

He’s the C.E.O. of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which, under his charge, exposed the most celebrated American cyclist as a cheater. And Steve’s been studying cheaters for the…

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Episode 329

The Invisible Paw

Humans, it has long been thought, are the only animal to engage in economic activity. But what if we’ve had it exactly backward?…

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Episode 93

Annie Duke Thinks You Should Quit

Former professional poker player Annie Duke has a new book on Steve’s favorite subject: quitting. They talk about why quitting is so hard, how to do it sooner, and why…

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Episode 88

Ken Burns on Heroism, Horror, and History

The documentary filmmaker, known for The Civil War, Jazz, and Baseball, turns his attention to the Holocaust, and asks what we can learn from the evils of the past….

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Episode 133

Pay Attention! (Your Body Will Thank You)

Ellen Langer is a psychologist at Harvard who studies the mind-body connection. She’s published some of the most remarkable scientific findings Steve has ever encountered. Can we really improve our…

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Episode 10

The Mystery of the Man with Confusion and Back Pain

Hear diagnostician Gurpreet Dhaliwal try to solve the case of a patient who came to the emergency room with an unusual combination of symptoms. Plus, we discuss how difficult it…

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Episode 473

These Jobs Were Not Posted on ZipRecruiter

In a conversation fresh from the Freakonomics Radio Network’s podcast laboratory, Michèle Flournoy (one of the highest-ranking women in Defense Department history) speaks with Cecil Haney (one of the U.S….