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Date
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No. 0

The Stupidest Thing You Can Do With Your Money (Replay)

Season 7, Episode 32 This week on Freakonomics Radio: it’s hard enough to save for a house, tuition, or retirement. Stephen J. Dubner asks, “So why are we willing to pay big fees for subpar investment returns?” Enter the low-cost index fund. The revolution will not be monetized. To find out more, check out the podcast from which this hour was . . .

4/12/18
No. 0

Letting Go

Season 7, Episode 31 ​If you’re a C.E.O., there are a lot of ways to leave your job, from abrupt firing to carefully planned succession (which may still go spectacularly wrong). In this final episode of our “Secret Life of a C.E.O.” series, we hear those stories and many more. Also: what happens when you no longer have a corner . . .

4/5/18
No. 0

It’s Your Problem Now

Season 7, Episode 29 No, it’s not your fault the economy crashed. Or that consumer preferences changed. Or that new technologies have blown apart your business model. But if you’re the C.E.O., it is your problem. So what are you going to do about it? First-hand stories of disaster (and triumph) from Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Ballmer, Satya Nadella, Jack Welch, . . .

3/22/18
No. 0

How to Become a C.E.O.

Season 7, Episode 28 Mark Zuckerberg’s dentist dad was an early adopter of digital x-rays. Jack Welch blew the roof off a factory. Carol Bartz was a Wisconsin farm girl who got into computers. No two C.E.O.’s have the same origin story — so we tell them all! How the leaders of Facebook, G.E., Yahoo!, PepsiCo, Microsoft, Virgin, the Carlyle . . .

3/15/18
No. 0

What Does a C.E.O. Actually Do?

Season 7, Episode 27 They’re paid a fortune — but for what, exactly? What makes a good C.E.O. — and how can you even tell? Is “leadership science” a real thing — or just airport-bookstore mumbo jumbo? We put these questions to Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, Indra Nooyi, Satya Nadella, Jack Welch, Ray Dalio, Carol Bartz, David Rubenstein, and Ellen . . .

3/8/18
No. 0

There’s A War On Sugar. Is It Justified?

Season 7, Episode 26 This week on Freakonomics Radio: Some people argue that sugar should be regulated, like alcohol and tobacco, on the grounds that it’s addictive and toxic. How much sense does that make? We hear from a regulatory advocate, an evidence-based skeptic, a former F.D.A. commissioner — and the organizers of Milktoberfest. To find out more, check out . . .

3/1/18
No. 0

How to Be a Modern Democrat — and Win

Season 7, Episode 25 This week on Freakonomics Radio: Gina Raimondo, the governor of tiny Rhode Island, has taken on unions, boosted big business, and made friends with Republicans. She is also one of just 15 Democratic governors in the country. Would there be more of them if there were more like her? To find out more, check out the . . .

2/22/18
No. 0

Not Your Grandmother’s I.M.F.

Season 7, Episode 24 This week on Freakonomics Radio: The International Monetary Fund has long been the “lender of last resort” for economies in crisis. Christine Lagarde, who runs the institution, would like to prevent those crises from ever happening. She tells us her plans. To find out more, check out the podcasts from which this hour was drawn: “Not . . .

2/15/18
No. 0

What Can Uber Teach Us About the Gender Pay Gap?

Season 7, Episode 23 This week on Freakonomics Radio: The gig economy offers the ultimate flexibility to set your own hours. That’s why economists thought it would help eliminate the gender pay gap. A new study, using data from over a million Uber drivers, finds the story isn’t so simple. To find out more, check out the podcasts from which this . . .

2/8/18
No. 0

An Egghead’s Guide to the Superbowl (Replay)

Season 7, Episode 22 This week on Freakonomics Radio: Stephen J. Dubner celebrates the Super Bowl, America’s favorite secular holiday. We assembled a panel of smart dudes — a two-time Super Bowl champ; a couple of N.F.L. linemen, including one who’s now getting a math Ph.D. at M.I.T.; and our resident economist — to tell you what to watch for, whether . . .

2/1/18
No. 0

Are We Running Out of Ideas?

Season 7, Episode 21 Economists have a hard time explaining why productivity growth has been shrinking. This week on Freakonomics Radio, Stephen J. Dubner examines one theory: that true innovation has gotten much harder – and much more expensive. So what should we do next? Also, Freakonomics co-author Steve Levitt answers your questions about highway-merging, crime, real-estate agents, and being . . .

1/25/18
No. 0

Evolution, Accelerated (Replay)

Season 7, Episode 20 This week on Freakonomics Radio: Stephen J. Dubner explores a breakthrough in genetic technology that has given humans more power than ever to change nature. So what happens next? Plus: some of the hoops we jump through to get ahead are poorly designed for girls and women. Behavioral economics could help change that. To find out more, . . .

1/18/18
No. 0

Why Is the Live-Event Ticket Market So Screwed Up?

Season 7, Episode 19 This week on Freakonomics Radio: The public has almost no chance to buy good tickets to the best events. Ticket brokers, meanwhile, make huge profits on the secondary markets. Here’s the story of how this market got so dysfunctional, how it can be fixed – and why it probably won’t be. To find out more, check out . . .

1/11/18
No. 0

How to Launch a Behavior-Change Revolution

Season 7, Episode 18 This week on Freakonomics Radio: Academic studies are nice, and so are Nobel Prizes. But to truly prove the value of a new idea, you have to unleash it to the masses. That’s what a dream team of social scientists is doing — and we sat in as they drew up their game plan. Also, Steve Levitt . . .

1/4/18
No. 0

Could Solving This One Problem Solve All the Others? (Replay)

Season 7, Episode 17 This week on Freakonomics Radio: the biggest problem with humanity is humans themselves. Too often, we make choices — what we eat, how we spend our money and time — that undermine our well-being. Stephen J. Dubner asks, “How can we stop?” And this radio hour has two answers: think small, and make behavior change stick. To find out . . .

12/28/17
No. 0

Why Are We Still Using Cash? (Replay)

Season 7, Episode 16 This week on Freakonomics Radio: cash facilitates crime, bribery and tax evasion – and yet some governments (including ours) are printing more cash than ever. Other countries, meanwhile, are ditching cash entirely. Plus: why thinking of Bitcoin as just a digital currency is like thinking about the Internet as just email. To find out more, check out the . . .

12/21/17
No. 0

Why Is My Life So Hard? (Replay)

Season 7, Episode 15 This week on Freakonomics Radio: most of us feel we face more obstacles than everyone else — which breeds resentment. We also undervalue the tailwinds that help us — which leaves us ungrateful and unhappy. Stephen J. Dubner asks, “How can we avoid this trap?” To find out more, check out the podcasts from which this hour . . .

12/14/17
No. 0

The Demonization of Gluten

Celiac disease is thought to affect roughly one percent of the population. The good news: it can be treated by quitting gluten. The bad news: many celiac patients haven’t been diagnosed. The weird news: millions of people without celiac disease have quit gluten – which may be a big mistake.

12/7/17
No. 13

What Are You Waiting For?

Standing in line represents a particularly sloppy — and frustrating — way for supply and demand to meet. Why haven’t we found a better way to get what we want? Is it possible that we secretly enjoy waiting in line? And might it even be (gulp) good for us?

11/30/17
No. 0

Should We Really Behave Like Economists Say We Do? (Replay)

Season 7, Episode 12  You have perhaps come across the phrase homo economicus, which describes a model for human behavior as seen through the lens of economics. In this hour, you’ll hear Freakonomics Radio producer Greg Rosalsky embark on a long and tortuous process to live his life like this strange creature. Is this even possible? If so, is it . . .

11/23/17
No. 0

Why Doesn’t Everyone Get the Flu Vaccine?

Season 7, Episode 11 This week on Freakonomics Radio: what if there were a small step you could take that would prevent you from getting sick, stop you from missing work, and help ensure you won’t play a part in killing babies, the sick, and the elderly? That actually exists: it’s called the flu shot. But a lot of people don’t . . .

11/16/17
No. 0

What Would Be the Best Universal Language? (Earth 2.0 Series)

Season 7, Episode 10 This week on Freakonomics Radio: What would be the best universal language? Stephen J. Dubner explores votes for English, Indonesian, and … Esperanto! The search for a common language goes back millennia, but so much still gets lost in translation. Will technology finally solve that? To find out more, check out the podcasts from which this hour . . .

11/9/17
No. 0

Why Don’t We All Speak the Same Language? (Earth 2.0 Series)

Season 7, Episode 9 This week on Freakonomics Radio: there are 7,000 languages spoken on Earth. What are the costs — and benefits — of our modern-day Tower of Babel? Plus: the search for a common language goes back millennia, but so much still gets lost in translation. Stephen J. Dubner asks, “Will technology finally solve that?” To find out more, . . .

11/2/17
No. 0

What Are the Secrets of the German Economy — and Should We Steal Them?

Season 7, Episode 8 This week on Freakonomics Radio: smart government policies, good industrial relations, and high-end products have helped German manufacturing beat back the threats of globalization. But how did “the sick man of Europe” turn into the economic stud we see today? To find out more, check out the podcast from which this hour was drawn: “What Are the . . .

10/26/17
No. 0

Why Larry Summers Is the Economist Everyone Hates to Love

Season 7, Episode 7 This week on Freakonomics Radio: he’s been U.S. Treasury Secretary, a chief economist for the Obama White House and the World Bank, and president of Harvard. He’s one of the most brilliant economists of his generation (and perhaps the most irascible). And he thinks the Trump Administration is wrong on just about everything. To find out . . .

10/19/17
No. 0

When the White House Got Into the Nudge Business

Season 7, Episode 6 This week on Freakonomics Radio: a tiny behavioral-sciences startup in the Obama White House tried to improve the way federal agencies did their work. Considering the size (and habits) of most federal agencies, it wasn’t so simple. Plus: a terrorism summit. Stephen Dubner reviews what we do and don’t know about terrorism; what’s working to prevent it and . . .

10/12/17
No. 0

The Fracking Boom, a Baby Boom, and the Retreat From Marriage

Season 7, Episode 5 This week on Freakonomics Radio: over 40 percent of U.S. births are to unmarried mothers, and the numbers are especially high among the less-educated. Why? One argument is that the decline in good manufacturing jobs led to a decline in “marriageable” men. Surely the fracking boom reversed that trend, right? Stephen J. Dubner investigates. To find out more, check . . .

10/5/17
No. 0

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Money (But Were Afraid to Ask)

Season 7, Episode 4 The bad news: roughly 70 percent of Americans are financially illiterate. The good news: all the important stuff can fit on one index card. This week on Freakonomics Radio: how to become your own financial superhero. Plus: Stephen J. Dubner brings you the tale of the $15 tomato. To find out more, check out the podcasts from . . .

9/28/17
No. 0

The Stupidest Thing You Can Do With Your Money

Season 7, Episode 3 This week on Freakonomics Radio: it’s hard enough to save for a house, tuition, or retirement. Stephen J. Dubner asks, “So why are we willing to pay big fees for subpar investment returns?” Enter the low-cost index fund. The revolution will not be monetized. To find out more, check out the podcast from which this hour was . . .

9/21/17
No. 0

“How Much Brain Damage Do I Have?”

Season 7, Episode 2 This week on Freakonomics Radio: John Urschel was the only player in the N.F.L. also getting a math Ph.D. at M.I.T. But after a new study came out linking football to brain damage, he abruptly retired. Stephen J. Dubner brings you the inside story — and a look at how we make decisions in the face of risk . . .

9/14/17
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