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Episode 2

The Garbage Can Model of Decision Making

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…


UCLA's Crime Fighting Mathematicians

…they ranked the responsible gang first about 50 percent of the time. To develop their technique, the mathematicians studied a combination of solved and unsolved gang crimes throughout East L.A….



The Gang Test

Social psychologist Malcolm Klein devised a test for Los Angeles that he says predicts how likely a child is to join a gang, reports the Wall Street Journal. The test,…



What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire?

Sudhir Venkatesh has become pretty well known in these parts as an authority on the inner workings of criminal street gangs. His new book is out tomorrow; but today, here’s…





What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Eight

Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia sociologist and author of “Gang Leader for a Day,” is back once again for an eighth report after watching “The Wire” with a group of gangland acquaintances….




Episode 3

“Someone Needs to Save the World from Silicon Valley”

…platforms for like-minded people, a publicly owned social network, self-policing by user groups, or activist campaigns to pressure Twitter and Facebook to improve, Sudhir explores what’s next for social media…

What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Six

Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia sociologist and author of “Gang Leader for a Day,” is back for a sixth report after watching “The Wire” with a group of gangland acquaintances. His past…



Freakonomics in the Times Magazine: Up in Smoke

Gang’s Finances By Steven D. Levitt, Sudhir Venkatesh The Notorious 100:1 Crack: Powder Disparity-Powder Disparity: The Data Tell Us that It Is Time to Restore the Balance By Alfred Blumstein…



What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Nine

Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia sociologist and author of “Gang Leader for a Day,” is back once again with his chronicle of watching “The Wire” with a group of gangland acquaintances. His…



A day in the life of Freakonomics email

…how Sudhir, thoughtful and insightful as always, replied: Why did i use “nigger,” not “nigga”? That is an interesting question. In the late 1980s, the lexical differences between the two…



Colbert Digs Venkatesh

Levitt had some advice last week for our friend Sudhir Venkatesh, who went on The Colbert Report to talk about his book, Gang Leader for a Day. Sudhir sure seemed…



Episode 351

Here’s Why You’re Not an Elite Athlete

There are a lot of factors that go into greatness, many of which are not obvious. A variety of Olympic and professional athletes tell us how they made it and…

Episode 5

Can Outside Pressure Change Silicon Valley?

How has activism evolved in our digital society? In this episode, Sudhir talks to Jade Magnus Ogunnaike about the intersection of big tech and civil rights. She is a senior…

O’Reilly Transcript

…drug gang is built very much like an American corporation. The people at the top have a lot of money, but the people at the bottom are making roughly minimum…




Interesting Article on Los Angeles Gangs

…of the piece, however. Landesman argues that the gang problem is worse than it has ever been, and that gang violence hasn’t dropped the way other crimes have. A quick…



It’s Hard Out Here for a Sociologist

Sudhir Venkatesh’s book Gang Leader for a Day has been optioned for a film to be directed by Craig Brewer, who wrote and directed Hustle & Flow. Who should play…



What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Seven

Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia sociologist and author of “Gang Leader for a Day,” is back once again for a seventh report after watching “The Wire” with a group of gangland acquaintances….



Episode 328

Extra: Mark Zuckerberg Full Interview

Stephen Dubner’s conversation with the Facebook founder and C.E.O., recorded for the Freakonomics Radio series “The Secret Life of a C.E.O.”…


Episode 458

How to Manage Your Goal Hierarchy

In this special crossover episode, People I (Mostly) Admire host Steve Levitt admits to No Stupid Questions co-host Angela Duckworth that he knows almost nothing about psychology. But once Angela…

Episode 365

Not Just Another Labor Force

If you think talent and hard work give top athletes all the leverage to succeed, think again. As employees in the Sports-Industrial Complex, they’ve got a tight earnings window, a…

Tattoo Taboo

…right, the prohibition is akin to the “no gang colors” restrictions which can be found stateside. But unlike gang colors, a tattoo is harder to remove. And the no tattoo…



Episode 219

Preventing Crime for Pennies on the Dollar

Conventional programs tend to be expensive, onerous, and ineffective. Could something as simple (and cheap) as cognitive behavioral therapy do the trick?


Episode 164

Which Came First, the Chicken or the Avocado?

When it comes to exercising outrage, people tend to be very selective. Could it be that humans are our least favorite animal?