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Episode No.
Date
Length
No. 118

Parking Is Hell (Replay)

There ain’t no such thing as a free parking spot. Somebody has to pay for it — and that somebody is everybody.

8/21/14
39:32
No. 126

What Do Medieval Nuns and Bo Jackson Have in Common? (Replay)

A look at whether spite pays — and if it even exists.

8/14/14
39:06
No. 129

Should Tipping Be Banned? (Replay)

It’s awkward, random, confusing — and probably discriminatory too.

8/7/14
44:29
No. 122

How Much Does Your Name Matter? (Replay)

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?

7/31/14
51:24
No. 176

Does Religion Make You Happy?

It’s a hard question, but we do our best.

7/24/14
30:02
No. 175

Why You Should Bribe Your Kids

Educational messaging looks good on paper but kids don’t respond to it — and adults aren’t much better.

7/17/14
28:59
No. 174

What Do King Solomon and David Lee Roth Have in Common?

It isn’t easy to separate the guilty from the innocent, but a clever bit of game theory can help.

7/10/14
34:30
No. 173

A Better Way to Eat

Takeru Kobayashi revolutionized the sport of competitive eating. What can the rest of us learn from his breakthrough?

7/3/14
27:30
No. 172

How to Screen Job Applicants, Act Your Age, and Get Your Brain Off Autopilot

Dubner and Levitt answer reader questions in this first installment of the “Think Like a Freak” Book Club.

6/26/14
27:17
No. 171

There’s No Such Thing as a Free Appetizer

Is it really in a restaurant’s best interest to give customers free bread or chips before they even order?

6/19/14
37:49
No. 170

Why America Doesn’t Love Soccer (Yet)

Every four years, the U.S. takes a look at the World Cup and develops a slight crush. What would it take to really fall in love?

6/12/14
38:40
No. 169

Failure Is Your Friend

In which we argue that failure should not only be tolerated but celebrated.

6/5/14
32:29
No. 42

The Upside of Quitting (Replay)

You know the saying: a winner never quits and a quitter never wins. To which Freakonomics Radio says … Are you sure?

5/29/14
59:40
No. 168

Think Like a Child

When it comes to generating ideas and asking questions it can be really fruitful to have the mentality of an eight year old.

5/22/14
29:41
No. 167

The Three Hardest Words in the English Language

Why learning to say “I don’t know” is one of the best things you can do.

5/15/14
30:21
No. 166

How to Think Like a Freak — and Other FREAK-quently Asked Questions

Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt talk about their new book and field questions about prestige, university life, and (yum yum) bacon.

5/8/14
28:55
No. 165

The Perfect Crime

If you are driving and kill a pedestrian, there’s a good chance you’ll barely be punished. Why?

5/1/14
29:54
No. 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?

4/24/14
34:57
No. 163

What’s More Dangerous: Marijuana or Alcohol?

Imagine that both substances were undiscovered until today. How would we think about their relative risks?

4/17/14
28:47
No. 162

“If Mayors Ruled the World”

Unlike certain elected officials in Washington, mayors all over the country actually get stuff done. So maybe we should ask them to do more?

4/10/14
35:32
No. 161

How to Make People Quit Smoking

The war on cigarettes has been fairly successful in some places. But 1 billion humans still smoke — so what comes next?

4/3/14
37:30
No. 160

Why Everybody Who Doesn’t Hate Bitcoin Loves It

Thinking of Bitcoin as just a digital currency is like thinking about the Internet as just e-mail. Its potential is much more exciting than that.

3/27/14
38:45
No. 116

Women Are Not Men (Replay)

In many ways, the gender gap is closing. In others, not so much. And that’s not always a bad thing.

3/20/14
38:34
No. 159

“It’s Fun to Smoke Marijuana”

A psychology professor argues that the brain’s greatest attribute is knowing what other people are thinking. And that a Queen song, played backwards, can improve your mind-reading skills.

3/13/14
23:56
No. 158

Is Learning a Foreign Language Really Worth It?

Yes, it expands the mind but we usually don’t retain much — and then there’s the opportunity cost.

3/6/14
22:01
No. 157

Why Are Japanese Homes Disposable?

In most countries, houses get more valuable over time. In Japan, a new buyer will often bulldoze the home. We’ll tell you why.

2/27/14
27:07
No. 156

Why Marry? (Part 2)

The consequences of our low marriage rate — and if the old model is less attractive, how about a new one?

2/20/14
27:08
No. 155

Why Marry? (Part 1)

The myths of modern marriage.

2/13/14
22:46
No. 154

What You Don’t Know About Online Dating

Thick markets, thin markets, and the triumph of attributes over compatibility.

2/6/14
40:18
No. 153

Reasons to Not Be Ugly

The “beauty premium” is real, for everyone from babies to NFL quarterbacks.

1/30/14
29:37
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