‘The Today Show’
…school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Not the kind of question most economists would ask themselves, but Steven Levitt is no–is not most economists. He and his co-author,…
One of the most storied (and valuable) sports franchises in the world had fallen far. So they decided to do a full reboot — and it worked: this week, they…
They can’t vote or hire lobbyists. The policies we create to help them aren’t always so helpful. Consider the car seat: parents hate it, the safety data are unconvincing, and…
Dubner and his Freakonomics co-author Steve Levitt answer your questions about crime, traffic, real-estate agents, the Ph.D. glut, and how to not get eaten by a bear.
The pizza-and-gaming emporium prides itself on affordability, which means its arcade games are really cheap to play. Does that lead to kids hogging the best games — and parents starting…
There are all kinds of civics-class answers to that question. But how true are they? Could it be that we like to read about war, politics, and miscellaneous heartbreak simply…
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…
Nobel laureate, bestselling author, and groundbreaking psychologist Daniel Kahneman is also a friend and former business partner of Steve’s. In discussing Danny’s new book Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment,…
The San Francisco 49ers, one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world, also used to be one of the best. But they’ve been losing lately — a lot…
The prisoner’s dilemma is a classic game-theory problem. Robert, a political scientist at the University of Michigan, has spent his career studying it — and the ways humans can cooperate,…
Harvard economist Raj Chetty uses tax data to study inequality, kid success, and social mobility. He explains why you should be careful when choosing your grade school teachers — and…
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…
How many bottles of wine are regifted? What’s wrong with giving cash? And should Angela give her husband a subscription to the Sausage of the Month Club?
How can we distinguish between laziness and patience? Why do people do crossword puzzles? And how is Angie like a combination of a quantum computer and a Sherman tank? Take…
Is it enough to toss a soda can in the recycling? Why is Maria obsessed with Nobel Prize lectures? And wait — is that a news alert or a tiger?…
How many bottles of wine are regifted? What’s wrong with giving cash? And should Angela give her husband a subscription to the Sausage of the Month Club?…
…school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Not the kind of question most economists would ask themselves, but Steven Levitt is no–is not most economists. He and his co-author,…
…interview with him, and the large segment of folks who like him won’t find anything in the interview to change their mind, either. We’ll post a transcript of the full…
…Joshua Angrist. Addendum: For those who may be hearing impaired or otherwise unable to hear the audio, below is a transcript: Hi, I’m Stephen Dubner. In 1990, the U.S. Congress…
…“Transcript Analyzer” where you can play the same game on any word of your choosing. (I already checked: No-one said “sex”, even once; this was the Republican debate, after all.)…
…to deposit it directly in a municipal trash truck, which might be playing Beethoven to announce its arrival. (Transcript here; video here.) Now a reader named Nick Grisanti has written…
…hardcover. The book itself has some key additions: a 16-page color insert with illustrations, photos, etc. from the Illustrated Edition; an author Q&A (which you helped write); a transcript of…
…link above, or read a transcript here. This episode and four more hours will be airing on public radio stations across the country this summer at various times, so check…
…For now, you can listen or download via the link above, or read a transcript here. This episode and four more hours will be airing on public radio stations across…
…transcript here. We posed this question to some true American scions: Dick Yuengling of Yuengling beer — a fifth-generation CEO — would answer yes. Two of his daughters work at…
…of Scionology.” (You can download/subscribe at iTunes, get the RSS feed, or read the transcript here.) At this post’s publishing date, over 80% of those who voted chose that they…
Our latest Freakonomics Radio podcast, “The Suicide Paradox,” (You can download/subscribe at iTunes, get the RSS feed, or read the transcript here) investigates the mystery of suicide. Photo: The U.S….
In the last Freakonomics Radio episode “The Suicide Paradox” (you can download/subscribe at iTunes, get the RSS feed, or read the transcript here), we talked to a San Francisco cabbie…
…at iTunes, get the RSS feed, listen live via the media player above, or read the transcript here.) There are a host of professions built around predicting some future outcome:…
…at iTunes, get the RSS feed, or read the transcript here.) Tetlock is a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, well-known for his book Expert Political Judgment, in which he…
…(You can download/subscribe at iTunes, get the RSS feed, or read the transcript here.) But predictions about world politics and the economy are hard — there are so many moving…