…essence, about creating a multi-faceted culture-one that, broadly conceived, not only greets corporate attempts to dominate our personal food choices with steely skepticism (“I don’t trust wrappers . .”), and…
Also: how does a comedian cope with tragedy? With Eugene Mirman….
Tax deadlines can stress us out. But do they also influence our conscious — and subconscious — behavior? Bapu Jena looks at why, with our health, timing is often everything….
…or the allocation of productive labor in an organization, when we decide how to spend our time, our personal preferences matter. Our preferences do interact with monetary incentives, but those…
Could a lack of sleep help explain why some people get much sicker than others?
Bill Frist was a transplant surgeon before serving in the Senate, where he drove controversial legislation on embryonic stem cells and end-of-life care. Did he change politics? Or did politics…
He’s a former World Bank economist who became a prolific journalist and the author of one of Steve Levitt’s favorite books, The Undercover Economist. Tim Harford lives in England, where…
As sexy as the digital revolution may be, it can’t compare to the Second Industrial Revolution (electricity! the gas engine! antibiotics!), which created the biggest standard-of-living boost in U.S. history….
Should a nurse or doctor who gets sick treating Covid-19 patients have priority access to a potentially life-saving healthcare device? Americans aren’t used to rationing in medicine, but it’s time…
A lot of full-time jobs in the modern economy simply don’t pay a living wage. And even those jobs may be obliterated by new technologies. What’s to be done so…
Driving a car can be depersonalizing. That’s why drivers use bumper stickers, bobble-heads, fish brake lights, racing stripes, etc. to show others on the road their personalities, explains Tom Vanderbilt…
They’re not always the nicest places to go — but for their owners, portable toilets are a lucrative revenue stream. Zachary Crockett lifts the lid….
…at the Jefferson residence. Both John Adams and Alexander Hamilton—political rivals of Jefferson’s at the time—rejected Callender’s charges, because they knew Jefferson’s character and had bitter personal experiences with Callender’s…
Beyond the immediate casualties, school shootings have costs — for survivors, and for the rest of us….
…Murphy was wearing a suit and no baseball cap … both a first for me. 2) President Bush was very charming. He had something personal and often funny to say…
…accomplishments to personal quirks. I am eager to hear your suggestions on both: The people you’d want to hear from; and What kind of questions you’d like to hear them…
When Freakonomics co-authors Steve Levitt and Stephen Dubner first met, one of them hated the other. Two decades later, Levitt grills Dubner about asking questions, growing the pie, and what…
…is, to some extent, a matter of personal interpretation and expectation. Some folks are more resilient than others. Nonetheless, all of us have limits to what we can withstand in…
Personal unhappiness may boost spending. New Web site lets users create their own carbon tax. (Earlier) Artificial sweeteners may cause more weight gain than sugar. (Earlier) Does all corporate culture…
…beliefs through our personal and political ideologies. In other words, we allow our biases to influence what we think about theoretically non-ideological issues, but we aren’t aware of that influence….
…coach. I spend my personal life as a mother, wife, sister, daughter, and friend. In all these roles I: (1) have many opportunities to improve and (2) try to express…
…more money in the pockets of those who adopt healthier personal behaviors. These include offering premium reductions to those who lose weight, stop smoking, use health clubs, and take courses…
…your marriage, your close relationships, your family? That’s the criteria we use for our personal lives, as well as for society. I mean, to what extent does the Flat Earth…
…accountant was very helpful and took it as personal challenge, thankfully charging me very little of what he could of, considering the hours and hours we both put in to…
…ask him anything you like, except for personal phone numbers. (See here, here, and here for earlier reader-generated Q&A’s.) Ford is one of the largest modeling agencies in the world,…
…the Mona Lisa for nearly 400 years? And why did music critics dismiss the early Madonna as an attention seeker with limited talent? Whatever their personal preferences, how could they…
Texas raises most of its tax revenue from the sales tax. We are one of only seven states without a personal income tax. Even with the exclusion of groceries from…
A look at whether spite pays — and if it even exists.
…several times a day — and why aversion to it (on a personal and global level) isn’t doing us any good. George holds a master’s degree in international relations from…
