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Episode 123

Walt Hickey Wants to Track Your Eyeballs

Journalist Walt Hickey uses data to understand how culture works. He and Steve talk about why China hasn’t produced any hit movies yet and how he got his own avatar…

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Episode 41

Why Are We So Attracted to Fame?

Also: do we subconsciously lie about our major influences?

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Episode 47

Is Laziness Real?

Also: why do we dislike being alone in public?

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Episode 57

Which Incentives Are Best at Boosting Vaccination, and Why?

Also: What does your desired superpower say about you?…

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Episode 410

What Does Covid-19 Mean for Cities (and Marriages)?

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:…

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Episode 83

Can You Change Your Mind Without Losing Face?

What is the cost of admitting you’re wrong? How can intellectual humility make you more open minded? And will Stephen finally persuade Angela that rum-raisin is the best flavor of…

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Episode 24

Amaryllis Fox: “What Does This New Version of Mutually Assured Destruction Look Like?”

She spent nearly a decade as an undercover C.I.A. operative working to prevent terrorism. More recently, she hosted The Business of Drugs on Netflix. Amaryllis Fox — now Kennedy —…

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Episode 152

Hunting for the Origins of Life

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…

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Episode 22

Why Do We Buy Things We Never Use? (Replay)

Also: why do we hoard? (Rebroadcast From Ep. 28)…

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Episode 68

Why Do We Want What We Can’t Have?

Also: why are humans still so tribal?…

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Episode 72

If Everyone Hates Meetings, Why Do We Have So Many of Them?

Also: Why do so many people feel lost in their 20s?…

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Episode 128

Are Our Tools Becoming Part of Us?

Google researcher Blaise Agüera y Arcas spends his work days developing artificial intelligence models and his free time conducting surveys for fun. He tells Steve how he designed an algorithm…

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Episode 220

Is Your Attention Span Shrinking?

Does a surplus of information create a shortage of attention? Are today’s young people really unable to focus? And do goldfish need better PR?…

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Episode 156

How Do You Connect With Someone You Just Met?

How vulnerable should you get with your coworkers? What’s the benefit of telling strangers about your relationship with your mother? And why did Mike’s childhood home burn down — twice?

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Episode 105

Should You Give Kids an Allowance or Make Them Get Jobs?

How do kids learn about money? What’s the big problem with education? And who made Raiders of the Lost Ark?…

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Episode 36

Which Matters More, a First or Last Impression?

Also: does wisdom really come with age?…

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Episode 79

Solar Geoengineering Would Be Radical. It Might Also Be Necessary.

David Keith has spent his career studying ways to reflect sunlight away from the earth. It could reduce the risks of climate change — but it won’t save us.

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Episode 34

Are Humans Smarter or Stupider Than We Used to Be?

Also: How can you become a more curious person?…

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Episode 74

Does Reverse Psychology Really Work?

Also: Does knowing your family history affect your identity?…

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EXTRA

Jeremy Lin Full Interview

A conversation with veteran N.B.A. point guard Jeremy Lin, recorded for the Freakonomics Radio series “The Hidden Side of Sports.”…

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Episode 522

Is Google Getting Worse?

It used to feel like magic. Now it can feel like a set of cheap tricks. Is the problem with Google — or with us?…

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Episode 30

Why Do We Seek Comfort in the Familiar? (Replay)

Also: is a little knowledge truly a dangerous thing?

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Episode 601

Multitasking Doesn’t Work. So Why Do We Keep Trying?

Only a tiny number of “supertaskers” are capable of doing two things at once. The rest of us are just making ourselves miserable, and less productive. How can we put…

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Episode 529

Can Our Surroundings Make Us Smarter?

In a special episode of No Stupid Questions, Stephen Dubner and Angela Duckworth discuss classroom design, open offices, and cognitive drift….

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Episode 21

Pete Docter: “What If Monsters Really Do Exist?”

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…

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Episode 153

We’re Not Getting Sicker — We’re Overdiagnosed

Suzanne O’Sullivan is a neurologist who sees many patients with psychosomatic disorders. Their symptoms may be psychological in origin, but their pain is real and physical — and the way…

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Episode 162

Will We Solve the Climate Problem?

Kate Marvel spends her days playing with climate models, which she says are “like a very expensive version of The Sims.” As a physicist she gets tired of being asked…

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Episode 43

What Do We Really Learn From Failure?

Also: What is teasing supposed to accomplish?

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Episode 151

Neurobiologist, Philosopher, and Addict

Owen Flanagan’s newest book details his 20-year dependence on alcohol and pills — and outlines his research on what addiction can tell us about the nature of consciousness….

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Episode 113

How Can You Improve Your Mental Endurance?

Why do some activities tire your brain more than others? How exhausting is poverty? And could most of the world’s problems be solved with a sandwich?…