How Restrictions Come Back to Haunt You
…the only publicly available restroom, the city opened public restrooms. But this created places where gay sex could proliferate. Both of these examples illustrate the law of unintended consequences: actions…
…the only publicly available restroom, the city opened public restrooms. But this created places where gay sex could proliferate. Both of these examples illustrate the law of unintended consequences: actions…
In my last post, I argued that (the truly excellent show) Friday Night Lights might unwittingly be exacerbating the mistaken idea that the vast majority of high-schoolers have sex. I…
Talithia Williams thinks you should rigorously track your body’s data. She and Steve Levitt trade birth stories and bemoan the state of STEM education….
…Sex and agreeableness were hypothesized to affect income, such that women and agreeable individuals were hypothesized to earn less than men and less agreeable individuals. Because agreeable men disconfirm (and…
Studies by men published in scientific journals are more likely to include glowing, hyperbolic terms. Bapu talks about this “groundbreaking” research (see what we did there?) in a wide-ranging discussion…
…A woman called a mami came in to tally which customers wanted sex and which just wanted to sing. The girls entered. There were seven of them, wearing shiny gold…
…non-traditional sex. Using nationally comprehensive vital statistics, this study found evidence that the era of modern sexuality originated in the mid to late 1950s. Measures of risky non-traditional sexual behavior…
What happens when machines become funnier, kinder, and more empathetic than humans? Do robot therapists save lives? And should Angela credit her virtual assistant as a co-author of her book?…
…is driven by salary and career options. The research was conducted by two economists at Pune University, Rohini Sahni and V. Kalyan Shankar, who surveyed 3,000 female sex workers and…
Educators and economists tell us all the reasons college enrollment has been dropping, especially for men, and how to stop the bleeding. (Part 3 of our series from 2022, “Freakonomics…
The online universe doesn’t have nearly as many rules, or rulemakers, as the real world. Discuss.
…in Mumbai or New Delhi. Q: Does Bollywood follow India’s very strict traditional views about sexuality, and particularly premarital sex? Have modernization and the influx of Western culture led to…
What happens when the most disturbing ideas are also the best?
Sex is a notorious depression balm — a recent study of Australian women provides evidence for this. But does pregnancy fill the same role? A research team from the University…
…shift far leftward if producers remained in L.A., since customers may not wish to view protected sex. Industry members lobbied strongly against the bill — perhaps because they feared the…
…being considered, I still haven’t heard any serious discussion of this sex-tax proposal. It should also be noted that one of the I.R.S.’s most miraculous enforcement ideas was originally rejected…
…safe outlet for deviance. Exposure to it correlates with lower levels of sexual repression, experts say. And people seeking treatment in clinics for sex offenders commonly say that it helps…
People who sleep better earn more money. Now all we have to do is teach everyone to sleep better.
Economists preach the gospel of “creative destruction,” whereby new industries — and jobs — replace the old ones. But has creative destruction become too destructive?
Palliative physician B.J. Miller asks: Is there a better way to think about dying? And can death be beautiful?…
Turkey sex and chicken wings, selling souls and swapping organs, the power of the president and the price of wine: these are a few of our favorite things
…help from my Kindle, I found three parallel descriptions that turn on making the randomization analogy. For example, listen to how they describe testing for sex discrimination on the job:…
…never find out what sex is. I was devastated by his meanness. I consider myself very lucky to have found a woman who will tolerate my red hair. Now, married…
Do you “fake it?” If so, you’re hardly alone. In this episode, you’ll hear how everyone from the president of the United States to a kosher-keeping bacon-lover lives in a…
Once upon a time, Bapu Jena was a graduate student at the University of Chicago. His most interesting teacher? The economist Steve Levitt. This week on Freakonomics, M.D., a replay…
The sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh spent years studying crack dealers, sex workers, and the offspring of billionaires. Then he wandered into an even stranger world: social media. He spent the past…
Palliative physician B.J. Miller asks: Is there a better way to think about dying? And can death be beautiful?…
Are those travelers on their laptops just showing off? Why does V8 taste better at 35,000 feet? And why won’t Angela chat with her seatmate?…
Economists preach the gospel of “creative destruction,” whereby new industries — and jobs — replace the old ones. But has creative destruction become too destructive?
…Dave McCall) Drive-in “sex boxes” in Zurich designed to make work less dangerous for sex workers. Consider the price of lobster: cheap at the bay this year, still expensive at…
