A Super Bowl Preview from the Freako Family
…Steelers fan, I do live in New York and the Giants have long been my second-favorite team. Also, I would like to see them win without Tiki Barber, whose me-first-ism…
A conversation with 2008 Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson, recorded for the Freakonomics Radio series “The Hidden Side of Sports.”…
“What breed is she?” Every owner of a mixed-breed dog is eventually asked this when out on a walk. But how much do dogs’ breeds — and genes — really…
Ken Goldberg is at the forefront of robotics — which means he tries to teach machines to do things humans find trivial….
Stephen Dubner’s conversation with David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, one of the most storied private-equity firms in history. We spoke with Rubenstein for the Freakonomics Radio series “The…
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…
In this special episode of People I (Mostly) Admire, Steve Levitt speaks with the palliative physician B.J. Miller about modern medicine’s goal of “protecting a pulse at all costs.” Is…
…Steelers fan, I do live in New York and the Giants have long been my second-favorite team. Also, I would like to see them win without Tiki Barber, whose me-first-ism…
We often look to other countries for smart policies on education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. But can a smart policy be simply transplanted into a country as culturally unusual (and as…
Why have fertility rates dropped so dramatically? Do fathers or mothers get more happiness from parenting? And how does birth order affect a child’s future?…
What’s the difference between anger and indignation? What’s Angela’s problem with turkey sandwiches? And why wasn’t a No Stupid Questions listener angry at the men who assaulted him? Take the…
A kid’s name can tell us something about his parents — their race, social standing, even their politics. But is your name really your destiny?
He’s the chief creative officer of Pixar, and the Academy Award-winning director of Soul, Inside Out, Up, and Monsters, Inc. Pete Docter and Steve talk about Pixar’s scrappy beginnings, why…
A conversation with the iconic singer-songwriter, recorded for the Freakonomics Radio series “How to Be Creative.” …
Not so long ago, G.E. was the most valuable company in the world, a conglomerate that included everything from light bulbs and jet engines to financial services and The Apprentice….
Thinking of Bitcoin as just a digital currency is like thinking about the Internet as just email. Its potential is much more exciting than that.
Can denial be a healthy way of dealing with the death of a loved one? What do the five stages of grief misrepresent about mourning? And why does Angie cover…
Is it worse to regret something you’ve done, or something you haven’t done? What’s the upside of rejection? And which great American short-story writer convinced Angela to quit driving?…
The mathematician and author sees mathematical patterns everywhere — from DNA to fireflies to social connections….
It used to feel like magic. Now it can feel like a set of cheap tricks. Is the problem with Google — or with us? And is Google Search finally…
Thick markets, thin markets, and the triumph of attributes over compatibility.
We seem to have decided that ethnic food tastes better when it’s served by people of that ethnicity (or at least something close). Does this make sense — and is…
Obi Felten used to launch projects for X, Google’s innovation lab, but she’s now tackling mental health. She explains why Steve’s dream job was soul-destroying for her, and how peer…
Also: Why is it so great to be part of a team, even when you lose?…
…are their lives like? Alexandra Horowitz talks to filmmaker Elizabeth Lo about her documentary Stray, which follows street dogs in Istanbul, and a behavioral scientist who studies a community of…
…0.141 8.97 Ben Wallace 2009-10 0.267 11.00 Tayshaun Prince 2009-10 0.150 5.19 Jonas Jerebko 2009-10 0.147 6.83 Jason Maxiell 2009-10 0.121 3.89 Greg Monroe 2010-11 0.192 8.89 Ben Wallace 2010-11…
Chemist Jack Szostak wants to understand how the first life forms came into being on Earth. He and Steve discuss the danger of “mirror bacteria,” the origin of biology in…
Jane McGonigal designed a game to help herself recover from a traumatic brain injury — and she thinks playing games can help us all lead our best lives….
As beloved and familiar as they are, we rarely stop to consider life from the dog’s point of view. That stops now. In this latest installment of the Freakonomics Radio…
David Eagleman upends myths and describes the vast possibilities of a brainscape that even neuroscientists are only beginning to understand. Steve Levitt interviews him in this special episode of People…
