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Episode No.
Date
Length
No. 631

Will 3 Summers of Lincoln Make it to Broadway?

It’s been in development for five years and has at least a year to go. On the eve of its out-of-town debut, the actor playing Lincoln quit. And the producers still need to raise another $15 million to bring the show to New York. There really is no business like show business. (Part three of a three-part series.)

4/25/25
46:19
EXTRA

Is It a Theater Piece or a Psychological Experiment? (Update)

In an episode from 2012, we looked at what Sleep No More and the Stanford Prison Experiment can tell us about who we really are.

4/22/25
37:13
No. 630

On Broadway, Nobody Knows Nothing

A hit like Hamilton can come from nowhere while a sure bet can lose $20 million in a flash. We speak with some of the biggest producers in the game — Sonia Friedman, Jeffrey Seller, Hal Luftig — and learn that there is only one guarantee: the theater owners always win. (Part two of a three-part series.)

4/18/25
61:30
No. 629

How Is Live Theater Still Alive?

It has become fiendishly expensive to produce, and has more competition than ever. And yet the believers still believe. Why? And does the world really want a new musical about … Abraham Lincoln?! (Part one of a three-part series.)

4/11/25
59:43
EXTRA

Policymaking Is Not a Science — Yet (Update)

Why do so many promising solutions in education, medicine, and criminal justice fail to scale up into great policy? And can a new breed of “implementation scientists” crack the code?

4/9/25
45:28
No. 628

Sludge, Part 2: Is Government the Problem, or the Solution?

There is no sludgier place in America than Washington, D.C. But there are signs of a change. We’ll hear about this progress — and ask where Elon Musk and DOGE fit in. (Part two of a two-part series.)

4/4/25
48:31
No. 627

Sludge, Part 1: The World Is Drowning in It

Insurance forms that make no sense. Subscriptions that can’t be cancelled. A never-ending blizzard of automated notifications. Where does all this sludge come from — and how much is it costing us? (Part one of a two-part series.)

3/28/25
54:34
PLUS

The Rat Man

A full-length conversation with Robert Sullivan, who wrote the best book on rats you’ll ever read. To get subscriber-only episodes, become a member at Apple Podcasts or at freakonomics.com/plus.

3/24/25
20:07
No. 359

Should America Be Run by … Trader Joe’s? (Update)

The quirky little grocery chain with California roots and German ownership has a lot to teach all of us about choice architecture, efficiency, frugality, collaboration, and team spirit.

3/21/25
48:01
No. 626

Ten Myths About the U.S. Tax System

Nearly everything that politicians say about taxes is at least half a lie. They are also dishonest when it comes to the national debt. Stephen Dubner finds one of the few people in Washington who is willing to tell the truth — and it’s even worse than you think.

3/14/25
63:55
No. 625

The Biden Policy That Trump Hasn’t Touched

Lina Khan, the youngest F.T.C. chair in history, reset U.S. antitrust policy by thwarting mega-mergers and other monopolistic behavior. This earned her enemies in some places, and big fans in others — including the Trump administration. Stephen Dubner speaks with Khan about her tactics, her track record, and her future.

3/7/25
69:19
EXTRA

The Downside of Disgust (Update)

It’s a powerful biological response that has preserved our species for millennia. But now it may be keeping us from pursuing strategies that would improve the environment, the economy, even our own health. So is it time to dial down our disgust reflex? You can help fix things — as Stephen Dubner does in this 2021 episode — by chowing down on some delicious insects.

3/4/25
44:28
No. 624

The Animal No One Loves, Until They Do

To most people, the rat is vile and villainous. But not to everyone! We hear from a scientist who befriended rats and another who worked with them in the lab — and from the animator who made one the hero of a Pixar blockbuster. (Part three of a three-part series, “Sympathy for the Rat.”)

2/28/25
45:19
PLUS

A Rat in the Kitchen? Adorable!

Hear how Jan Pinkava created Ratatouille. To get Plus episodes, become a member at Apple Podcasts or at freakonomics.com/plus.

2/24/25
19:17
No. 623

Can New York City Win Its War on Rats?

Even with a new rat czar, an arsenal of poisons, and a fleet of new garbage trucks, it won’t be easy — because, at root, the enemy is us. (Part two of a three-part series, “Sympathy for the Rat.”)

2/21/25
50:23
EXTRA

The Show That Never Happened

A brief meditation on loss, relativity, and the vagaries of show business.

2/19/25
13:49
No. 622

Why Does Everyone Hate Rats?

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 a scapegoat? And what does our rat hatred say about us? (Part one of a three-part series.)

2/14/25
41:23
No. 621

Is Professional Licensing a Racket?

Licensing began with medicine and law; now it extends to 20 percent of the U.S. workforce, including hair stylists and auctioneers. In a new book, the legal scholar Rebecca Allensworth calls licensing boards “a thicket of self-dealing and ineptitude” and says they keep bad workers in their jobs and good ones out — while failing to protect the public.

2/7/25
55:15
EXTRA

When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee? (Update)

In 2023, the N.F.L. players’ union conducted a workplace survey that revealed clogged showers, rats in the locker room — and some insights for those of us who don’t play football. Today we’re updating that episode, with extra commentary from Omnipresent Football Guy (and former Philadelphia Eagle) Jason Kelce.

2/4/25
68:38
No. 620

Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?

They used to be the N.F.L.’s biggest stars, with paychecks to match. Now their salaries are near the bottom, and their careers are shorter than ever. We speak with an analytics guru, an agent, some former running backs (including LeSean McCoy), and the economist Roland Fryer (a former Pop Warner running back himself) to understand why.

1/31/25
61:21
No. 619

How to Poison the A.I. Machine

When the computer scientist Ben Zhao learned that artists were having their work stolen by A.I. models, he invented a tool to thwart the machines. He also knows how to foil an eavesdropping Alexa and how to guard your online footprint. The big news, he says, is that the A.I. bubble is bursting.

1/24/25
52:05
EXTRA

Is San Francisco a Failed State? (And Other Questions You Shouldn’t Ask the Mayor)

Stephen Dubner, live on stage, mixes it up with outbound mayor London Breed, and asks economists whether A.I. can be “human-centered” and if Tang is a gateway drug.

1/21/25
59:01
PLUS

The Irritating World of Allergies

Medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail explains the rapid rise in allergies over the last few decades.
To get Plus episodes, become a member at Apple Podcasts or at freakonomics.com/plus.

1/20/25
20:58
No. 618

Are Realtors Having an Existential Crisis?

Their trade organization just lost a huge lawsuit. Their infamous commission model is under attack. And there are way too many of them. If they go the way of travel agents, will we miss them when they’re gone?

1/17/25
53:07
No. 617

Are You Really Allergic to Penicillin?

Like tens of millions of people, Stephen Dubner thought he had a penicillin allergy. Like the vast majority, he didn’t. This misdiagnosis costs billions of dollars and causes serious health problems, so why hasn’t it been fixed? And how about all the other things we think we’re allergic to?

1/10/25
63:50
EXTRA

Highway Signs and Prison Labor

Incarcerated people grow crops, fight wildfires, and manufacture everything from prescription glasses to highway signs — often for pennies an hour. Zachary Crockett takes the next exit, in this special episode of The Economics of Everyday Things.

1/6/25
38:36
No. 573

Can Academic Fraud Be Stopped? (Update)

Probably not — the incentives are too strong. But a few reformers are trying. We check in on their progress, in an update to an episode originally published last year. (Part 2 of 2)

1/1/25
68:57
No. 572

Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia? (Update)

Some of the biggest names in behavioral science stand accused of faking their results. Last year, an astonishing 10,000 research papers were retracted. In a series originally published in early 2024, we talk to whistleblowers, reformers, and a co-author who got caught up in the chaos. (Part 1 of 2)

12/25/24
75:08
EXTRA

Your Brain Doesn’t Work the Way You Think

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 I (Mostly) Admire.

12/22/24
47:53
No. 616

How to Make Something from Nothing

Adam Moss was the best magazine editor of his generation. When he retired, he took up painting. But he wasn’t very good, and that made him sad. So he wrote a book about how creative people work— and, in the process, he made himself happy again.

12/18/24
48:12
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