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…
Nobel Prize winner Joshua Angrist explains how the draft lottery, the Talmud, and West Point let economists ask — and answer — tough questions….
…what they sacrificed to get there. And if you can identify the sport most likely to get a kid into a top college — well then, touché! (Ep. 3 of…
Also: how does a comedian cope with tragedy? With Eugene Mirman….
Can you quantify emotional intelligence? Who should you hire — someone smart, or someone good with people? And how did Angie do on an online emotional intelligence test?…
We tend to look down on artists who can’t match their breakthrough success. Should we be celebrating them instead?…
Is it more important to help society or to help yourself? Does the self-improvement movement do any good for the world? And which podcast episode does Stephen cling to as…
Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt talk about their new book and field questions about prestige, university life, and (yum yum) bacon.
Also: Why is it smart to ignore what your podcast hosts look like?…
Also: Angela accidentally discovers the secret to a good night’s sleep….
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?
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?
How is “negative reinforcement” different from punishment? Could positive reinforcement encourage prosocial behavior on a national scale? And what’s the deal with Taiwan’s dog-poop lottery?…
It’s a remarkable ecosystem that allows each of us to exercise control over our lives. But how much control do we truly have? How many of our decisions are really…
What your disgust level says about your politics, how Napoleon influenced opera, why New York City’s subways may finally run on time, and more. Five compelling guests tell Stephen Dubner,…
…were impressively constant. That made the large drop in 2009 particularly impressive, both for its magnitude and its direction. That obviously got us all thinking about what happened in 2009…
…arise from teams like the Bobcats in 2009-10. Very awful teams – like the Bobcats in 2011-12 – tend not to become good very quickly. What tends to happen to…
There are a lot of upsides to urban density — but viral contagion is not one of them. Also: a nationwide lockdown will show if familiarity really breeds contempt. And:…
Also: Which professions have the happiest people?…
What’s it like to try and police millions of pieces of abusive content every day? Sudhir takes us inside Facebook, as he and his former colleagues recall how hard it…
What’s the difference between people who preserve special things and people who devour them right away? Why do we love to binge-watch? And did Adam really eat an apple?…
Also: What does your desired superpower say about you?…
What’s the difference between people who preserve special things and people who devour them right away? Why do we love to binge-watch? And did Adam really eat an apple?
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…
A single company, EssilorLuxottica, owns so much of the eyewear industry that it’s hard to escape their gravitational pull — or their “obscene” markups. Should regulators do something? Can Warby…
How do kids learn about money? What’s the big problem with education? And who made Raiders of the Lost Ark?…
