Our California Trip, Pt. I
…to be avoided. Levitt somehow found my mishap funny. He thinks my taste buds are too sensitive. I disagree. I think I’ve developed an excellent early-warning system. I think that…
Why do millions of people pay to have one of the world’s deadliest toxins injected into their faces? Zachary Crockett looks surprised….
How does a fresh tuna get from Japan to Nebraska before it goes bad? And how does its journey show up in the price of your spicy tuna rolls? Zachary…
Before beef ends up at your favorite steakhouse, it passes through the hands of a trained specialist with an encyclopedic knowledge of bovine anatomy. Zachary Crockett chews the fat….
New York City’s mayor calls them “public enemy number one.” History books say they caused the Black Death — although recent scientific evidence disputes that claim. So is the rat…
It takes a highly skilled stenographer — and some specialized equipment — to transcribe TV dialogue in real time at 300 words per minute. Will A.I. rewrite the script? Zachary…
It used to be that making documentary films meant taking a vow of poverty (and obscurity). The streaming revolution changed that. Award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler talks to Stephen Dubner about…
Where is “the cloud,” anyway? It’s in a bunch of nondescript warehouses all over the country. Zachary Crockett serves up the story….
Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. Javier Blas and…
Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. Javier Blas and…
Twenty years ago, before the Freakonomics book tour, Bill McGowan taught Steve Levitt to speak in public. In his new book he tries to teach everyone else….
`For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine. Whale meat was also on a few menus. But today, demand for…
…to be avoided. Levitt somehow found my mishap funny. He thinks my taste buds are too sensitive. I disagree. I think I’ve developed an excellent early-warning system. I think that…
…decide on the amount you would like to pledge for each protester (minimum 10 cents). When protesters show up on our sidewalks, Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania will count and record…
…Italian custom. I have only been swallowing raw eggs for a few months and overall am beginning to think they are more trouble than they are worth. The child in…
Our latest column in The New York Times Magazine is a pretty unusual one. In the past, we’ve written about child car seats, dog poop, the price of sex, the…
…“With biological children or children adopted from anywhere, there’s always a risk,” Jeannette Levitt said. “But you decide you’re gong to do it, and you’re going to love your children,…
…easily one of the funnest columns we’ve written. Child car seats and crack cocaine and NASCAR crashes may be sexier subjects, but to me the issues of talent vs. skill…
What child hasn’t played around with the spelling of his or her name — wondering, e.g., how it would sound if it were spelled backward? (I admit that I signed…
…daughter is gone but she’s not, or you think you think your daughter is alive but is not,” Tuttle said. “I can’t imagine how you would handle something like that.”…
…a child’s age for international play is January 1, we would expect that a disproportionate number of the players in the World Cup would be born in the early part…
…and crime was based on the following logic: 1) Unwanted children are at higher risk for crime 2) Legalized abortion reduced the number of unwanted children and therefore 3) Legalized…
…over. Kind of like duct-taping your refrigerator shut when you start a diet … … in other Times miscellany: a brief article the other day about the problem with business…
As a child, I first realized how dumb birds must be when I saw my first scarecrow. How could the birds’ behavior be so radically affected by something that is…
…parents are 36% more likely to have a baby daughter as their first child than a baby son — which suggests, evolutionarily speaking, that beauty is a trait more valuable…
…battle altogether. In the famous criminal case of the nanny Louise Woodward (who was accused of killing the child she took care of in Boston), defense attorney Barry Scheck tried…
…analysis. The researchers are trying to find a “natural experiment” that shifts around TV watching, but otherwise has no impact on whether a child is diagnosed as autistic. Rainfall is…
…keep their kids in school, like this one: Oregon schools offer free cars to entice kids to class Monday, September 18, 2006 Associated Press – Idaho News PHOENIX, Ore. —…
In Freakonomics, we make the argument that a child’s first name doesn’t affect his or her life outcome. I am guessing that most inanimate objects, too, are relatively unaffected by…
…saw a young couple, the dad carrying a small child, making its way out of the theater. It was none other than Glover himself. My first thought was: Why on…
When I was a child and didn’t eat my dinner, my mother (like all mothers of her generation) would remind me that there were starving children in Africa. However, she…