We spend billions on end-of-life healthcare that doesn’t do much good. So what if a patient could forego the standard treatment and get a cash rebate instead?
You know the saying: A winner never quits and a quitter never wins. To which Freakonomics Radio says … Are you sure?…
Human beings love to predict the future, but we’re quite terrible at it. So how about punishing all those bad predictions?
What happens to your reputation when you’re no longer around to defend it?
How American food so got bad — and why it’s getting so much better.
In a world where nearly everything is for sale, is it always okay to buy what isn’t yours?
What do you do when smart people keep making stupid mistakes? And: are we a nation of financial illiterates? This is a “mashupdate” of “Is America Ready for a “No-Lose…
You know the saying: a winner never quits and a quitter never wins. To which Freakonomics Radio says … Are you sure?…
Education is the surest solution to a lot of problems. Except when it’s not.
Who is likelier to get to the fugitive first? When a fugitive is on the run, it’s not only the police he has to worry about. A bounty hunter could…
What does it mean to pursue something that everyone else thinks is nuts? And what does it take to succeed?
Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, EatWith, and other companies in the “sharing economy” are practically daring government regulators to shut them down. The regulators are happy to comply.
Educational messaging looks good on paper but kids don’t respond to it — and adults aren’t much better.
It isn’t easy to separate the guilty from the innocent, but a clever bit of game theory can help.
Every four years, the U.S. takes a look at the World Cup and develops a slight crush. What would it take to really fall in love?
Dubner and Levitt talk about fixing the post office, putting cameras in the classroom, and wearing hats.
We spend billions on our pets, and one of the fastest-growing costs is pet “aftercare.” But are those cremated remains you got back really from your pet?…
Unlike certain elected officials in Washington, mayors all over the country actually get stuff done. So maybe we should ask them to do more?
Chicago has given the world more than sausage, crooked politics and Da Bears.
The Encyclopedia of Ethical Failures catalogs the fiscal, sexual, and mental lapses of federal workers — all with an eye toward preventing the next big mistake….
It’s awkward, random, confusing — and probably discriminatory too.
Dubner and Levitt talk about circadian rhythms, gay marriage, autism, and whether “pay what you want” is everything it’s cracked up to be.
The African-born economist has written four bestselling books, including Dead Aid, which Bill Gates described as “promoting evil.” In her new book about corporate boards, Dambisa uses her experience with…
A lot of the conventional wisdom in medicine is nothing more than hunch or wishful thinking. A new breed of data detectives is hoping to change that.
We spend billions on our pets, and one of the fastest-growing costs is pet “aftercare.” But are those cremated remains you got back really from your pet?…
Also: is it better to “go with the wind” or to “be the wind”?
He’s a professor of computation and behavioral science at the University of Chicago, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, and author. Steve and Sendhil laugh their way through a conversation about the…
