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.)

 

SOURCES:Benjamin Handel, professor of economics at UC Berkeley.Neale Mahoney, professor of economics at Stanford University.Richard Thaler, professor of economics at The University of Chicago.

 

RESOURCES:"Selling Subscriptions," by Liran Einav, Ben Klopack, and Neale Mahoney (Stanford University, 2023)."The ?Enshittification? of TikTok," by Cory Doctorow (WIRED, 2023)."Dominated Options in Health Insurance Plans," by Chenyuan Liu and Justin Sydnor (American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2022).Nudge (The Final Edition), by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein (2021)."Frictions or Mental Gaps: What?s Behind the Information We (Don?t) Use and When Do We Care?" by Benjamin Handel and Joshua Schwartzstein (Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2018)."Adverse Selection and Switching Costs in Health Insurance Markets: When Nudging Hurts," by Benjamin Handel (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011).

 

EXTRAS:"People Aren?t Dumb. The World Is Hard. (Update)" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."All You Need is Nudge," by Freakonomics Radio (2021)."How to Fix the Hot Mess of U.S. Healthcare," by Freakonomics Radio (2021)."Should We Really Behave Like Economists Say We Do?" by Freakonomics Radio (2015).

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.

 

SOURCES:Kirk DesErmia, facilities manager in Seward, Alaska.Mark Gardiner, journalist and author.Sheena Iyengar, professor of business at Columbia Business School.Michael Roberto, professor of management at Bryant University.

 

RESOURCES:?Trader Joe?s,? David Ager and Michael Roberto (Harvard Business School Case, 2014).?What Brands Are Actually Behind Trader Joe?s Snacks?,? Vince Dixon (Eater, 2017).Build a Brand Like Trader Joe?s by Mark Gardiner (2012).?When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?,? Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2000).Unlocking Creativity, by Michael Roberto (2019).

 

EXTRAS:?How Can This Possibly Be True?,? by Freakonomics Radio (2016).?How to Save $1 Billion Without Even Trying,? by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

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.

 

SOURCES:Jessica Riedl, senior fellow in budget, tax, and economic policy at the Manhattan Institute.

 

RESOURCES:"The House Wants to Pass Trump?s Agenda in One Big Bill. Here?s What?s in It." by Margot Sanger-Katz and Alicia Parlapiano (New York Times, 2025)."Correcting the Top 10 Tax Myths," by Jessica Riedl (Manhattan Institute, 2024)."Spending, Taxes, and Deficits: A Book of Charts," by Jessica Riedl (Manhattan Institute, 2024)."Why Did Americans Stop Caring About the National Debt?" by Jessica Riedl (Reason, 2024)."A Comprehensive Federal Budget Plan to Avert a Debt Crisis," by Jessica Riedl (Manhattan Institute, 2024)."When Does Federal Debt Reach Unsustainable Levels?" by Jagadeesh Gokhale, Kent Smetters, and Mariko Paulson (The Wharton School of Business, 2023)."The Limits of Taxing the Rich," by Jessica Riedl (Manhattan Institute, 2023).

 

EXTRAS:"Farewell to a Generational Talent," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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.

 

SOURCES:Lina Khan, former commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission and professor of law at Columbia Law School.

 

RESOURCES:"Merger Guidelines" (U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, 2023)."The Rise of Market Power and the Macroeconomic Implications," by Jan De Loecker, Jan Eeckhout, and Gabriel Unger (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2019)."US Antitrust Law and Policy in Historical Perspective," by Laura Phillips Sawyer (Harvard Business School, 2019).The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age, by Tim Wu (2018)."Amazon?s Antitrust Paradox," by Lina Khan (Yale Law Journal, 2017)."A Tempest In a Coffee Shop," by Tanya Mohn (New York Times, 2004).

 

EXTRAS:"The Economics of Eyeglasses," by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Should You Trust Private Equity to Take Care of Your Dog?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Is the U.S. Really Less Corrupt Than China ? and How About Russia? (Update)" by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

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.

 

SOURCES:Paul Rozin, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.Val Curtis, late disgustologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.Sandro Ambuehl, economist at the University of Zurich.Emily Kimmins, R&D lead for the sensory and consumer-science team for Kraft Heinz.Iliana Sermeno, former chef at The Black Ant.

 

RESOURCES:?Stink Bugs Could Add Cilantro Flavor to Red Wine,? by Alex Berezow (Live Science, 2017).?Edible insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security,? by the F.A.O. (United Nations, 2013).?I Hate to Break it to You, but You Already Eat Bugs,? by Kyle Hill (Scientific American, 2013).?Five Banned Foods and One That Maybe Should Be,? by Leah Binkovitz (Smithsonian Magazine, 2012).?Effects of Different Types of Antismoking Ads on Reducing Disparities in Smoking Cessation Among Socioeconomic Subgroups,? by Sarah J. Durkin, Lois Biener, and Melanie A. Wakefield (American Journal of Public Health, 2009).?Flesh Trade,? by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt (The New York Times, 2006).?Feeding Poultry Litter to Beef Cattle,? by Jay Daniel and K.C. Olson (University of Missouri, 2005).

 

EXTRAS:"Why Does Everyone Hate Rats?" by Freakonomics Radio (2025).

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.?)

 

SOURCES:Bethany Brookshire, author of Pests: How Humans Create Animal VillainsJan Pinkava, creator and co-writer of "Ratatouille," and director of the Animation Institute at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg.Julia Zichello, evolutionary biologist at Hunter College.

 

RESOURCES:"Weekend Column: Rat?s End, or, How a Rat Dies," by Julia Zichello (West Side Rag, 2024).Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire (2022)."Rats: the history of an incendiary cartoon trope," by Archie Bland (The Guardian, 2015)."Catching the Rat: Understanding Multiple and Contradictory Human-Rat Relations as Situated Practices," by Koen Beumer (Society & Animals, 2014)."Effects of Chronic Methylphenidate on Dopamine/Serotonin Interactions in the Mesolimbic DA System of the Mouse," by Bethany Brookshire (Wake Forest University, 2010)."A New Deal For Mice," by C.C. Little (Scientific American, 1935).

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.?)

 

SOURCES:Kathy Corradi, director of rodent mitigation for New York City.Robert Corrigan, urban rodentologist and pest consultant for New York City.Ed Glaeser, professor of economics at Harvard University.Robert Sullivan, author of Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City?s Most Unwanted Inhabitant.Jessica Tisch, New York City police commissioner.

 

RESOURCES:"Increasing rat numbers in cities are linked to climate warming, urbanization, and human population," by Jonathan Richardson, Elizabeth McCoy, Nicholas Parlavecchio, Ryan Szykowny, Eli Beech-Brown, Jan Buijs, Jacqueline Buckley, Robert Corrigan, Federico Costa, Ray Delaney, Rachel Denny, Leah Helms, Wade Lee, Maureen Murray, Claudia Riegel, Fabio Souza, John Ulrich, Adena Why, and Yasushi Kiyokawa (Science Advances, 2025)."The Next Frontier in New York's War on Rats: Birth Control," by Emma Fitzsimmons (New York Times, 2024)."The Absurd Problem of New York City Trash," by Emily Badger and Larry Buchanan (New York Times, 2024)."Mourning Flaco, the Owl Who Escaped," by Naaman Zhou (The New Yorker, 2024).Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants, by Robert Sullivan (2005).

 

EXTRAS:"The Downside of Disgust," by Freakonomics Radio (2021)

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

RESOURCES:Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry, documentary (2021)Genius & Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947, by Norman Lebrecht (2019)The War Room, documentary (1993)

 

EXTRAS:?Is San Francisco a Failed State? (And Other Questions You Shouldn?t Ask the Mayor)? by Freakonomics Radio (2025)?Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent,? by Freakonomics Radio (2023)

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.)

 

SOURCES:Bethany Brookshire, author of Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains.Kathy Corradi, director of rodent mitigation for New York City.Ed Glaeser, professor of economics at Harvard University.Nils Stenseth, professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Oslo.

 

RESOURCES:"On Patrol With the Rat Czar," by Mark Chiusano (Intelligencer, 2024)."How Rats Took Over North America," by Allison Parshall (Scientific American, 2024)."Where Are the Rats in New York City," by Matt Yan (New York Times, 2024)."Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains" by Bethany Brookshire (2023)."Human ectoparasites and the spread of plague in Europe during the Second Pandemic," by Nils Stenseth, Katharine Dean, Fabienne Krauer, Lars Walløe, Ole Christian Lingjærde, Barbara Bramanti, and Boris Schmid (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018).

 

EXTRAS:"Freakonomics Radio Live: 'Jesus Could Have Been a Pigeon.'" by Freakonomics Radio (2018).

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.

 

SOURCES:Rebecca Allensworth, professor of law at Vanderbilt University.

 

RESOURCES:"The Licensing Racket: How We Decide Who Is Allowed to Work, and Why It Goes Wrong" by Rebecca Allensworth (2025)."Licensed to Pill," by Rebecca Allensworth (The New York Review of Books, 2020)."Licensing Occupations: Ensuring Quality or Restricting Competition?" by Morris Kleiner (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2006)."How Much of Barrier to Entry is Occupational Licensing?" by Peter Blair and Bobby Chung (British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2019).

 

EXTRAS:"Is Ozempic as Magical as It Sounds?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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. 

 

SOURCES:Tom Garfinkel, vice chairman, C.E.O., and president of the Miami Dolphins.Jim Ivler, certified contract advisor for players in the National Football League.Jason Kelce, host of New Heights podcast and former center for the Philadelphia Eagles.Jalen Reeves-Maybin, linebacker for the Detroit Lions and president of the National Football League Players Association.Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan.J.C. Tretter, former president of the National Football League Players Association and former offensive lineman.Mark Wilf, owner and president of the Minnesota Vikings.

 

RESOURCES:?N.F.L. Player Team Report Cards,? by the National Football League Players Association (2024)."NFLPA team report cards: Dolphins rank No. 1; Jaguars jump from 28th to fifth; Commanders earn worst grade," by Jonathan Jones (CBS Sports, 2024).Kelce, documentary (2023).?The N.F.L. Cast Him Out; He Says That Only Makes Him More Powerful,? by Alex Prewitt (Sports Illustrated, 2022).New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, (produced by Wave Sports + Entertainment).

 

EXTRAS:"Why Don?t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?" by Freakonomics Radio (2025)?How Does Playing Football Affect Your Health?? by Freakonomics, M.D. (2023).?Why Does the Most Monotonous Job in the World Pay $1 Million?? by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

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.

 

SOURCES:Brian Burke, sports data scientist at ESPNRoland Fryer, professor of economics at Harvard UniversityLeSean McCoy, former running back in the N.F.L. and co-host for Fox's daily studio show, "The Facility"Robert Smith, former running back for the Minnesota Vikings and N.F.L. analystRobert Turbin, former running back, N.F.L. analyst for CBS Sports HQ, and college football announcerJeffery Whitney, founder and president at The Sports & Entertainment Group

 

RESOURCES:"The Economics of Running Backs," by Roland Fryer (Wall Street Journal, 2024)"Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper," by Stephen Dubner (2007)"The Rest of the Iceberg: An Insider?s View on the World of Sports and Celebrity," by Robert Smith (2004)

 

EXTRAS:"Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America," by Freakonomics Radio (2022)"Why Does the Most Monotonous Job in the World Pay $1 Million?" by Freakonomics Radio (2022)

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.

 

SOURCES:Erik Brynjolfsson, professor of economics at Stanford UniversityBen Zhao, professor of computer science at the University of Chicago

 

RESOURCES:"The AI lab waging a guerrilla war over exploitative AI," by Melissa Heikkilä (MIT Technology Review, 2024)"Glaze: Protecting Artists from Style Mimicry by Text-to-Image Models," by Shawn Shan, Jenna Cryan, Emily Wenger, Haitao Zheng, Rana Hanocka, and Ben Y. Zhao (Cornell University, 2023)"Nightshade: Prompt-Specific Poisoning Attacks on Text-to-Image Generative Models," by Shawn Shan, Wenxin Ding, Josephine Passananti, Stanley Wu, Haitao Zheng, and Ben Y. Zhao (Cornell University, 2023)"A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence: What It Is, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going," by Michael Woodridge (2021)

 

EXTRAS:"Nuclear Power Isn?t Perfect. Is It Good Enough?" by Freakonomics Radio (2022)

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.

 

SOURCES:London Breed, former mayor of San Francisco.Erik Brynjolfsson, professor of economics at Stanford UniversityKoleman Strumpf, professor of economics at Wake Forest University

 

RESOURCES:"SF crime rate at lowest point in more than 20 years, mayor says," by George Kelly (The San Francisco Standard, 2025)"How the Trump Whale and Prediction Markets Beat the Pollsters in 2024," by Niall Ferguson and Manny Rincon-Cruz (Wall Street Journal, 2024)"Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Discovery, and Product Innovation," by Aidan Toner-Rodgers (MIT Department of Economics, 2024)

 

EXTRAS:"Why Are Cities (Still) So Expensive?" by Freakonomics Radio (2020)

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?

 

SOURCES:Sonia Gilbukh, assistant professor of real estate at CUNY Baruch College.Kevin Sears, 2025 president of the National Association of Realtors.Chad Syverson, professor of economics at the University of Chicago.Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

 

RESOURCES:"Heterogeneous Real Estate Agents and the Housing Cycle," by Sonia Gilbukh and Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham (NBER Working Paper, 2024)."Real Estate Commissions and Homebuying," by Borys Grochulski and Zhu Wang (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Working Paper, 2024)."The Relationship Between Home Prices and Real Estate Commission Rates: Implications for Consumers and Public Policy," by Stephen Brobeck (Consumer Federation of America, 2022)."The Relationship of Residential Real Estate Commission Rate to Industry Structure and Culture," by Stephen Brobeck (Consumer Federation of America, 2021)."Competition in the Real Estate Brokerage Industry: A Critical Review," by Panle Jia Barwick and Maisy Wong (Economic Studies at Brookings, 2019)."Hidden Real Estate Commissions: Consumer Costs and Improved Transparency," by Stephen Brobeck (Consumer Federation of America, 2019)."Market Distortions when Agents are Better Informed: The Value of Information in Real Estate Transactions," by Steven D. Levitt and Chad Syverson (NBER Working Paper, 2005).The Residential Real Estate Brokerage Industry, staff report by the Los Angeles Regional Office of the Federal Trade Commission (1983).

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?

 

SOURCES:Kimberly Blumenthal, allergist-immunologist and researcher at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.Theresa MacPhail, associate professor of science and technology studies at Stevens Institute of Technology.Thomas Platts-Mills, professor of medicine at the University of Virginia.Elena Resnick, allergist and immunologist at Mount Sinai Hospital.

 

RESOURCES:Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World, by Theresa MacPhail (2023)."Evaluation and Management of Penicillin Allergy: A Review," by Erica S. Shenoy, Eric Macy, and Theresa Rowe (JAMA, 2019)."The Allergy Epidemics: 1870?2010," by Thomas Platts-Mills (The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2016)."Randomized Trial of Peanut Consumption in Infants at Risk for Peanut Allergy," by George Du Toit, Graham Roberts, et al. (The New England Journal of Medicine, 2015).

 

EXTRAS:Freakonomics, M.D.

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.

 

SOURCES:Laura Appleman, professor of law at Willamette University.Christopher Barnes, inmate at the Franklin Correctional Center.Lee Blackman, general manager at Correction Enterprises.Gene Hawkins, senior principal engineer at Kittelson and professor emeritus of civil engineering at Texas A&M University.Renee Roach, state signing and delineation engineer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.Brian Scott, ex-inmate, former worker at the Correction Enterprises printing plant.Louis Southall, warden of Franklin Correctional Center.

 

RESOURCES:?Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, 11th Edition,? by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (2023).?Prisoners in the U.S. Are Part of a Hidden Workforce Linked to Hundreds of Popular Food Brands,? by Robin McDowell and Margie Mason (AP News, 2024).?Ex-Prisoners Face Headwinds as Job Seekers, Even as Openings Abound,? by Talmon Joseph Smith (The New York Times, 2023).?Bloody Lucre: Carceral Labor and Prison Profit,? by Laura Appleman (Wisconsin Law Review, 2022).?The Road to Clarity,? by Joshua Yaffa (The New York Times Magazine, 2007).Correction Enterprises.

 

EXTRAS:?Do People Pay Attention to Signs?? by No Stupid Questions (2022).The Economics of Everyday Things.

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)

 

SOURCES:Max Bazerman, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School.Leif Nelson, professor of business administration at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business.Brian Nosek, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and executive director at the Center for Open Science.Ivan Oransky, distinguished journalist-in-residence at New York University, editor-in-chief of The Transmitter, and co-founder of Retraction Watch.Joseph Simmons, professor of applied statistics and operations, information, and decisions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.Uri Simonsohn, professor of behavioral science at Esade Business School.Simine Vazire, professor of psychology at the University of Melbourne and editor-in-chief of Psychological Science.

 

RESOURCES:"How a Scientific Dispute Spiralled Into a Defamation Lawsuit," by Gideon Lewis-Kraus (The New Yorker, 2024)."The Harvard Professor and the Bloggers," by Noam Scheiber (The New York Times, 2023)."They Studied Dishonesty. Was Their Work a Lie?" by Gideon Lewis-Kraus (The New Yorker, 2023)."Evolving Patterns of Extremely Productive Publishing Behavior Across Science," by John P.A. Ioannidis, Thomas A. Collins, and Jeroen Baas (bioRxiv, 2023)."Hindawi Reveals Process for Retracting More Than 8,000 Paper Mill Articles," (Retraction Watch, 2023)."Exclusive: Russian Site Says It Has Brokered Authorships for More Than 10,000 Researchers," (Retraction Watch, 2019)."How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey Data," by Daniele Fanelli (PLOS One, 2009).Lifecycle Journal.

 

EXTRAS:"Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia? (Update)" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Freakonomics Goes to College, Part 1," by Freakonomics Radio (2012).

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)

 

SOURCES:Max Bazerman, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School.Leif Nelson, professor of business administration at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business.Brian Nosek, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and executive director at the Center for Open Science.Joseph Simmons, professor of applied statistics and operations, information, and decisions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.Uri Simonsohn, professor of behavioral science at Esade Business School.Simine Vazire, professor of psychology at the University of Melbourne and editor-in-chief of Psychological Science.

 

RESOURCES:"More Than 10,000 Research Papers Were Retracted in 2023 ? a New Record," by Richard Van Noorden (Nature, 2023)."Data Falsificada (Part 1): 'Clusterfake,'" by Joseph Simmons, Leif Nelson, and Uri Simonsohn (Data Colada, 2023)."Fabricated Data in Research About Honesty. You Can't Make This Stuff Up. Or, Can You?" by Nick Fountain, Jeff Guo, Keith Romer, and Emma Peaslee (Planet Money, 2023).Complicit: How We Enable the Unethical and How to Stop, by Max Bazerman (2022)."Evidence of Fraud in an Influential Field Experiment About Dishonesty," by Joseph Simmons, Leif Nelson, and Uri Simonsohn (Data Colada, 2021)."False-Positive Psychology: Undisclosed Flexibility in Data Collection and Analysis Allows Presenting Anything as Significant," by Joseph Simmons, Leif Nelson, and Uri Simonsohn (Psychological Science, 2011).

 

EXTRAS:"Why Do We Cheat, and Why Shouldn?t We?" by No Stupid Questions (2023)."Is Everybody Cheating These Days?" by No Stupid Questions (2021).

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.

 

SOURCES:David Eagleman, professor of cognitive neuroscience at Stanford University and C.E.O. of Neosensory.

 

RESOURCES:Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain, by David Eagleman (2020)."Why Do We Dream? A New Theory on How It Protects Our Brains," by David Eagleman and Don Vaughn (TIME, 2020)."Prevalence of Learned Grapheme-Color Pairings in a Large Online Sample of Synesthetes," by Nathan Witthoft, Jonathan Winawer, and David Eagleman (PLoS One, 2015).Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, by David Eagleman (2009).The vOICe app.Neosensory.

 

EXTRAS:"Feeling Sound and Hearing Color," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024)."What?s Impacting American Workers?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024)."This Is Your Brain on Podcasts," by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

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.

 

SOURCE:Adam Moss, magazine editor and author.

 

RESOURCES:The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing, by Adam Moss (2024)."Goodbye, New York. Adam Moss Is Leaving the Magazine He Has Edited for 15 Years," by Michael M. Grynbaum (The New York Times, 2019).Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, by Samin Nosrat (2017).

 

EXTRAS:"David Simon Is On Strike. Here?s Why," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023)."Samin Nosrat Always Wanted to Be Famous," by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."What?s Wrong with Being a One-Hit Wonder?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

In a wide-ranging conversation with Ezekiel Emanuel, the policymaking physician and medical gadfly, we discuss the massive effects of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. We also talk about the state of cancer care, mysteries in the gut microbiome, flaws in the U.S. healthcare system ? and what a second Trump term means for healthcare policy.

 

SOURCES:Ezekiel Emanuel, vice provost for Global Initiatives, co-director of the Health Transformation Institute, and professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

 

RESOURCES:"Obesity Drugs Would Be Covered by Medicare and Medicaid Under Biden Proposal," by Margot Sanger-Katz (The New York Times, 2024)."International Coverage of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: A Review and Ethical Analysis of Discordant Approaches," by Johan L. Dellgren, and Govind Persad, and Ezekiel J. Emanuel (The Lancet, 2024).The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma, by Mustafa Suleyman (2023)."The Significance of Blockbusters in the Pharmaceutical Industry," by Alexander Schuhmacher, Markus Hinder, Nikolaj Boger, Dominik Hartl, and Oliver Gassmann (Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2022).Reinventing American Health Care: How the Affordable Care Act Will Improve Our Terribly Complex, Blatantly Unjust, Outrageously Expensive, Grossly Inefficient, Error Prone System, by Ezekiel J. Emanuel (2014)."Why I Hope to Die at 75," by Ezekiel J. Emanuel (The Atlantic, 2014)."Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceuticals," by Ziad F. Gellad and Kenneth W. Lyles (The American Journal of Medicine, 2014).Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family, by Ezekiel J. Emanuel (2013)."Bounds in Competing Risks Models and the War on Cancer," by Bo E. Honoré and Adriana Lleras-Muney (Econometrica, 2006).

 

EXTRAS:"How to Fix Medical Research," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024)."The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm Emanuel," by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent," by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Who Pays for Multimillion-Dollar Miracle Cures?" by Freakonomics, M.D. (2023)."Who Gets the Ventilator?" by Freakonomics Radio (2020).

Last week, we heard a former U.S. ambassador describe Russia?s escalating conflict with the U.S. Today, we revisit a 2019 episode about an overlooked front in the Cold War ? a ?farms race? that, decades later, still influences what Americans eat.

 

SOURCES:Anne Effland, former Senior Economist for the Office of Chief Economist in the U.S.D.A.Shane Hamilton, historian at the University of York.Peter Timmer, economist and former professor at Harvard University.Audra Wolfe, writer, editor, and historian.

 

RESOURCES:Freedom?s Laboratory: The Cold War Struggle for the Soul of Science, by Audra Wolfe (2018).Supermarket USA: Food and Power in The Cold War Farms Race, by Shane Hamilton (2018).?Association of Higher Consumption of Foods Derived From Subsidized Commodities With Adverse Cardiometabolic Risk Among US Adults,? by Karen R. Siegel, Kai McKeever Bullard, K. M. Narayan, et al. (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2016).The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War, by Robert J. Gordon (2016).?How the Mechanical Tomato Harvester Prompted the Food Movement,? by Ildi Carlisle-Cummins (UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences Newsletter, 2015).

 

EXTRAS:"Is the U.S. Sleeping on Threats from Russia and China?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

John J. Sullivan, a former State Department official and U.S. ambassador, says yes: ?Our politicians aren?t leading ? Republicans or Democrats.? He gives a firsthand account of a fateful Biden-Putin encounter, talks about his new book Midnight in Moscow, and predicts what a second Trump term means for Russia, Ukraine, China ? and the U.S.

 

SOURCES:John Sullivan, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. 

 

RESOURCES:Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Lines of Russia's War Against the West, by John Sullivan (2024)."The ?Deathonomics? Powering Russia?s War Machine," by Georgi Kantchev and Matthew Luxmoore (The Wall Street Journal, 2024).War, by Bob Woodward (2024)."On the Record: The U.S. Administration?s Actions on Russia," by Alina Polyakova and Filippos Letsas (Brookings, 2019)."Why Economic Sanctions Still Do Not Work," by Robert A. Pape (International Security, 1998).

 

EXTRAS:"The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm Emanuel," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

Macy?s wants to recapture its glorious past. The author of the Wimpy Kid books wants to rebuild his dilapidated hometown. We just want to listen in. (Part two of a two-part series.)

 

SOURCES:Mark Cohen, former professor and director of retail studies at Columbia Business School.Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of Macy?s Studios.Jeff Kinney, author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.Tony Spring, chairman and C.E.O. of Macy?s Inc.

 

RESOURCES:"Macy?s Discovers Employee Hid Millions in Delivery Expenses," by Jordyn Holman and Danielle Kaye (The New York Times, 2024)."NBC Ready to Pay Triple to Gobble Up Thanksgiving Parade Broadcast Rights," by Joe Flint (The Wall Street Journal, 2024)."How Macy?s Set Out to Conquer the Department Store Business ? and Lost," by Daphne Howland (Retail Dive, 2022).An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.

 

EXTRA:"Can the Macy's Parade Save Macy's?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

The 166-year-old chain, which is fighting extinction, calls the parade its ?gift to the nation.? With 30 million TV viewers, it?s also a big moneymaker. At least we think it is ? Macy?s is famously tight-lipped about parade economics. We try to loosen them up. (Part one of a two-part series.)

Please take our audience survey at freakonomics.com/survey.

 

SOURCES:John Cheney, carpenter at Macy?s Studios.Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of Macy?s Studios.Jeff Kinney, author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.Kevin Lynch, vice president of global helium at Messer.Jen Neal, executive vice president of live events and specials for NBCUniversal EntertainmentTony Spring, chairman and C.E.O. of Macy's Inc.Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation; incoming commissioner of the New York City Police Department.Dawn Tolson, executive director of Citywide Event Coordination and Management and the Street Activity Permit Office for the City of New York.

 

RESOURCES:Macy's: The Store. The Star. The Story., by Robert M. Grippo (2009).History of Macy's of New York, 1853-1919: Chapters in the Evolution of the Department Store, by Ralph M. Hower (1943).Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

 

EXTRA:The Economics of Everyday Things. 

It?s true that robots (and other smart technologies) will kill many jobs. It may also be true that newer collaborative robots (?cobots?) will totally reinvigorate how work gets done. That, at least, is what the economists are telling us. Should we believe them?

 

SOURCES:David Autor, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.James Rosenman, C.E.O. of Andrus on Hudson senior care community.Karen Eggleston, economist at Stanford University.Yong Suk Lee, professor of technology, economy, and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame.

 

RESOURCES:"Robots and Labor in Nursing Homes," by Yong Suk Lee, Toshiaki Iizuka, and Karen Eggleston (NBER Working Paper, 2024)."Global Robotics Race: Korea, Singapore and Germany in the Lead," by International Federation of Robotics (2024)."Unmet Need for Equipment to Help With Bathing and Toileting Among Older US Adults," by Kenneth Lam, Ying Shi, John Boscardin, and Kenneth E. Covinsky (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2021)."Robots and Labor in the Service Sector: Evidence from Nursing Homes," by Karen Eggleston, Yong Suk Lee, and Toshiaki Iizuka (NBER Working Papers, 2021).The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines, by David Autor, David Mindell, Elisabeth Reynolds, and the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future (2020)."Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets," by Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo (University of Chicago Press, 2020)."The Slowdown in Productivity Growth and Policies That Can Restore It," by Emily Moss, Ryan Nunn, and Jay Shambaugh (The Hamilton Project, 2020)."The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade," by David H. Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon H. Hanson (NBER Working Papers, 2016)."Deregulation at Heart of Japan's New Robotics Revolution," by Sophie Knight and Kaori Kaneko (Reuters, 2014).

 

EXTRAS:"What Do People Do All Day?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Did China Eat America?s Jobs?" by Freakonomics Radio (2017).

After a dramatic election, Donald Trump has returned from exile. We hear what to expect at home and abroad ? and what to do if you didn?t vote for Trump.

 

SOURCE:

Fareed Zakaria, journalist and author.

 

RESOURCES:

"The Most Dangerous Moment Since the Cold War," by Fareed Zakaria (The Washington Post, 2024)."America?s Failed Approach to Iran Can?t Really Be Called a Strategy," by Fareed Zakaria (The Washington Post, 2024).Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present, by Fareed Zakaria (2024).

 

EXTRAS:

"Are We Living Through the Most Revolutionary Period in History?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

Some people want the new cannabis economy to look like the craft-beer movement. Others are hoping to build the Amazon of pot. And one expert would prefer a government-run monopoly. We listen in as they fight it out. (Part four of a four-part series.)

 

SOURCES:Jon Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.Adam Goers, senior vice president of The Cannabist Company and chairperson of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform.Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.Jared Polis, governor of Colorado.Ryan Stoa, associate professor of law at Louisiana State University.

 

RESOURCES:"Prevalence of and Trends in Current Cannabis Use Among U.S. Youth and Adults, 2013?2022," by Delvon T. Mattingly, Maggie K. Richardson, and Joy L. Hart (Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 2024)."Colorado?s Weed Market Is Coming Down Hard and It?s Making Other States Nervous," by Mona Zhang (Politico, 2024)."Reducing Alcohol Consumption, the Nordic Way: Alcohol Monopolies, Marketing Bans and Higher Taxation," by the World Health Organization (2023)."Economic Benefits and Social Costs of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana," by Jason P. Brown, Elior Cohen, and Alison Felix (Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Research Working Paper, 2023)."Competition in the Markets for Beer, Wine, and Spirits," by the United States Department of the Treasury (2022)."Alcohol Monopolies," by Robin Room (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, 2021)."Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America," by Derek Thompson (The Atlantic, 2018)."Marijuana Discontinuation, Anxiety Symptoms, and Relapse to Marijuana," by Marcel O. Bonn-Miller and Rudolf H. Moos (Addictive Behaviors, 2009).

 

EXTRAS:"Is America Switching from Booze to Weed?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Why Do Your Eyeglasses Cost $1,000?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Should You Trust Private Equity to Take Care of Your Dog?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Is Dialysis a Test Case of Medicare for All?" by Freakonomics Radio (2021).

Chris Weld worked for years in emergency rooms, then ditched that career and bought an old farm in Massachusetts. He set up a distillery and started making prize-winning spirits. When cannabis was legalized, he jumped into that too ? and the first few years were lucrative. But now? It turns out that growing, processing, and selling weed is more complicated than it looks. He gave us the grand tour.  (Part three of a four-part series.)

 

SOURCES:Chris Bennett, operations manager at Berkshire Mountain Distillers.Luca Boldrini, head of cultivation at The Pass.Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.Chris Weld, founder and owner of Berkshire Mountain Distillers.

 

RESOURCES:"As America?s Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the Harms," by Megan Twohey, Danielle Ivory, and Carson Kessler (The New York Times, 2024)."Evaluation of Dispensaries? Cannabis Flowers for Accuracy of Labeling of Cannabinoids Content," by Mona M. Geweda, Chandrani G. Majumdar, Mahmoud A. ElSohly, et al. (Journal of Cannabis Research, 2024)."The Complicated, Risky ? but Potentially Lucrative ? Business of Selling Cannabis," by James R. Hagerty (The Wall Street Journal, 2023)."Marijuana Content Labels Can?t Be Trusted," by Shira Schoenberg (CommonWealth Beacon, 2022)."Growing Cannabis Indoors Produces a Lot of Greenhouse Gases ? Just How Much Depends on Where It?s Grown," by Jason Quinn and Hailey Summers (The Conversation, 2021)."Blood and Urinary Metal Levels Among Exclusive Marijuana Users in NHANES (2005-2018)," by Katlyn E. McGraw, Anne E, Nigra, Tiffany R. Sanchez, et al. (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2018)."The Carbon Footprint of Indoor Cannabis Production," by Evan Mills (Energy Policy, 2012).

 

EXTRAS:"Cannabis Is Booming, So Why Isn?t Anyone Getting Rich?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

With abortion on the Nov. 5 ballot, we look back at Steve Levitt?s controversial research about an unintended consequence of Roe v. Wade.

 

SOURCES:John Donohue, professor of law at Stanford Law School.Steve Levitt, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago and host of People I (Mostly) Admire.Jessica Wolpaw Reyes, professor of economics at Amherst College.

 

RESOURCES:?The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime Over the Last Two Decades,? by John J. Donohue and Steven D. Levitt (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 2019).?The Demise of the Death Penalty in Connecticut,? by John J. Donohue (Stanford Law School Legal Aggregate, 2016).?Environmental Policy as Social Policy? The Impact of Childhood Lead Exposure on Crime,? by Jessica Wolpaw Reyes (The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2007).?The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime,? by John J. Donohue and Steven D. Levitt (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2001).?State Abortion Rates: The Impact of Policies, Providers, Politics, Demographics, and Economic Environment,? by Rebecca M. Blank, Christine C. George, and Rebecca A. London (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 1994).

 

EXTRAS:"John Donohue: 'I?m Frequently Called a Treasonous Enemy of the Constitution,'" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).

There are a lot of reasons, including heavy regulations, high taxes, and competition from illegal weed shops. Most operators are losing money and waiting for Washington to get out of the way. In the meantime, it?s not that easy being green. (Part two of a four-part series.)

 

SOURCES:Jon Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.Adam Goers, senior vice president of The Cannabist Company and chairperson of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform.Precious Osagie-Erese, founder and C.E.O. of Precious Canna Co.Nikesh Patel, C.E.O. of Mammoth Distribution.Nikesh Patel, director of the San Francisco Office of Cannabis.Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist.

 

RESOURCES:"Most Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana for Medical, Recreational Use," (Pew Research Center, 2024)."Whitney Economics U.S. Legal Cannabis Forecast - 2024 - 2035," by Beau Whitney (Whitney Economics, 2024)."Beer Sellers Use a Loophole to Break Into Weed Drinks Market," by Redd Brown (Bloomberg, 2024)."Cannabis Producer Seeks Boston Beer Merger," by Lauren Thomas (The Wall Street Journal, 2024)."California's 'Apple Store of Weed' Declares Bankruptcy With $410M in Debt," by Lester Black (SFGate, 2024)."Is the State Democratic Chair Influencing Who Can Sell Legal Weed in this N.J. City?" by Jelani Gibson (NJ.com, 2023)."When Prohibition Works: Comparing Fireworks and Cannabis Regulations, Markets, and Harms," by Jonathan P. Caulkins and Kristina Vaia Reimer (International Journal of Drug Policy, 2023)."Did Minnesota Accidentally Legalize Weed?" by Paul Demko (Politico, 2022).

 

EXTRAS:"Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."The Economics of Sports Gambling," by Freakonomics Radio (2019).

We have always been a nation of drinkers ? but now there are more daily users of cannabis than alcohol. Considering alcohol?s harms, maybe that?s a good thing. But some people worry that the legalization of cannabis has outpaced the research. (Part one of a four-part series.)

 

SOURCES:Jon Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.Michael Siegel, professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University.Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist.Ryan Stoa, associate professor of law at Louisiana State University.

 

RESOURCES:"Cannabis Tops Alcohol as Americans? Daily Drug of Choice," by Christina Caron (The New York Times, 2024)."Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use ? United States, 2016?2021," by Marissa B. Esser, Adam Sherk, Yong Liu, and Timothy S. Naimi (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2024)."Nixon Started the War on Drugs. Privately, He Said Pot Was ?Not Particularly Dangerous,'" by Ernesto Londoño (The New York Times, 2024)."A Brief Global History of the War on Cannabis," by Ryan Stoa (The MIT Press Reader, 2020).Craft Weed: Family Farming and the Future of the Marijuana Industry, by Ryan Stoa (2018)."How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat," by Anahad O?Connor (The New York Times, 2016)."The Perils of Ignoring History: Big Tobacco Played Dirty and Millions Died. How Similar Is Big Food?" by Kelly D. Brownell and Kenneth E. Warner (The Milbank Quarterly, 2009).A History Of The World In Six Glasses, by Tom Standage (2005)."Cancer and Coronary Artery Disease Among Seventh-Day Adventists," by E. L. Wynder, F. R. Lemon, and I. J. Bross (Cancer, 1959).

 

EXTRAS:"Why Is the Opioid Epidemic Still Raging?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Daron Acemoglu on Economics, Politics, and Power," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024)."Let?s Be Blunt: Marijuana Is a Boon for Older Workers," by Freakonomics Radio (2021)."What?s More Dangerous: Marijuana or Alcohol?" by Freakonomics Radio (2014).

Are betting markets more accurate than polls? What kind of chaos would a second Trump term bring? And is U.S. democracy really in danger, or just ?sputtering on?? (Part two of a two-part series.)

 

SOURCES:Eric Posner, professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School.Koleman Strumpf, professor of economics at Wake Forest University.

 

RESOURCES:"A Trump Dictatorship Won?t Happen," by Eric Posner (Project Syndicate, 2023).The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump, by Eric Posner (2020)."The Long History of Political Betting Markets: An International Perspective," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman Strumpf (The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Gambling, 2013)."Manipulating Political Stock Markets: A Field Experiment and a Century of Observational Data," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf (Working Paper, 2007)."Historical Presidential Betting Markets," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf (Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2004).

 

EXTRAS:"Has the U.S. Presidency Become a Dictatorship? (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).?Does the President Matter as Much as You Think?? by Freakonomics Radio (2020)."How Much Does the President Really Matter?" by Freakonomics Radio (2010).

Sure, we all pay lip service to the Madisonian system of checks and balances. But presidents have been steadily expanding the reach of the job. With an election around the corner, we updated our 2016 conversation with the legal scholar Eric Posner ? who has some good news and some not-so-good news about the power of the presidency. (Part one of a two-part series.)

 

SOURCE:Eric Posner, professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School.  

 

RESOURCES:"Presidential Leadership and the Separation of Powers," by Eric Posner (Daedalus, 2016).The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic, by Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule (2010).

 

EXTRA:"Does the President Matter as Much as You Think?" by Freakonomics Radio (2020).

Sixty percent of the jobs that Americans do today didn?t exist in 1940. What happens as our labor becomes more technical and less physical? And what kinds of jobs will exist in the future? 

 

SOURCES:David Autor, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Paula Barmaimon, manager of coverage and audience analytics at The New York Times.Ellen Griesedieck, artist and president of the American Mural Project.Adina Lichtman, co-host of the Our Friends Are Smart party.Avi Popack, co-host of the Our Friends Are Smart party.Huck Scarry, author and illustrator.James Suzman, anthropologist and author.Ben Varon, rabbi and chaplain at NYU Langone Hospital?Brooklyn .

 

RESOURCES:"New Frontiers: The Origins and Content of New Work, 1940?2018," by David Autor, Caroline Chin, Anna Salomons, and Bryan Seegmiller (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2024).Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots, by James Suzman (2020).Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, by Studs Terkel (1974).What Do People Do All Day?, by Richard Scarry (1968)."Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren," by John Maynard Keynes (1930).American Mural Project.

 

EXTRAS:"Will the Democrats 'Make America Great Again'?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."How to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot Apocalypse," by Freakonomics Radio (2021)."Did China Eat America?s Jobs?" by Freakonomics Radio (2017).People I (Mostly) Admire.

His research on police brutality and school incentives won him acclaim, but also enemies. He was suspended for two years by Harvard, during which time he took a hard look at corporate diversity programs. As a follow-up to our recent series on the Rooney Rule, we revisit our 2022 conversation with the controversial economist.

 

SOURCE:Roland Fryer, professor of economics at Harvard University.

 

RESOURCES:"How to Make Up the Covid Learning Loss," by Roland Fryer (Wall Street Journal, 2022)."Roland Fryer on Better Alternatives to Defunding the Police," by Roland Fryer (The Economist, 2020)."Harvard Suspends Roland Fryer, Star Economist, After Sexual Harassment Claims," by Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley (The New York Times, 2019)."Why Diversity Programs Fail: And What Works Better," by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev (Harvard Business Review, 2016)."An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force," by Roland G. Fryer, Jr (NBER Working Paper, 2016)."Getting Beneath the Veil of Effective Schools: Evidence from New York City," by Will Dobbie and Roland G. Fryer (American Economics Journal, 2013)."Financial Incentives and Student Achievement: Evidence From Randomized Trials," by Roland G. Fryer (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2011)."Toward a Unified Theory of Black America," by Stephen J. Dubner (The New York Times, 2005).Equal Opportunity Ventures.Intus Care.Reconstruction.Sigma Squared.

 

EXTRAS:"Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."The True Story of the Gender Pay Gap," by Freakonomics Radio (2016)."Does ?Early Education? Come Way Too Late?" by Freakonomics Radio (2015).

What happened when the Rooney Rule made its way from pro football to corporate America? Some progress, some backsliding, and a lot of controversy. (Second in a two-part series.)

 

SOURCES:Tynesia Boyea-Robinson, president and C.E.O. of CapEQ.N. Jeremi Duru, professor of law at American University.Herm Edwards, former N.F.L. player and head coach.Christopher Rider, professor of entrepreneurial studies at the University of Michigan.Jim Rooney, author and co-partner of Rooney Consulting.Scott Shephard, general counsel at the National Center for Public Policy Research.

 

RESOURCES:The Social Impact Advantage: Win Customers and Talent By Harnessing Your Business For Good, by Tynesia Boyea-Robinson (2022).A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney?s Story from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule, by Jim Rooney (2019)."If There?s Only One Woman in Your Candidate Pool, There?s Statistically No Chance She?ll Be Hired," by Stefanie K. Johnson, David R. Hekman and Elsa T. Chan (Harvard Business Review, 2016)."Racial Disparity in Leadership: Performance-Reward Bias in Promotions of National Football League Coaches," by Christopher I. Rider, James Wade, Anand Swaminathan, and Andreas Schwab (SSRN, 2016).Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL, by N. Jeremi Duru (2010).

 

EXTRAS:"Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring? (Part 1)," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).?When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee?? by Freakonomics Radio (2023).?How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy? (Replay),? by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

The biggest sports league in history had a problem: While most of its players were Black, almost none of its head coaches were. So the N.F.L. launched a hiring policy called the Rooney Rule. In the first episode of a two-part series, we look at how the rule succeeded ? until it failed.

 

SOURCES:N. Jeremi Duru, professor of law at American University.Herm Edwards, former N.F.L. player and head coach.Jim Rooney, author and co-partner of Rooney Consulting.

 

RESOURCES:A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney's Story from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule, by Jim Rooney (2019)."For ASU's Herm Edwards, Sports Bubble Helped to Overcome Racism Growing Up," by Jeff Metcalfe (The Arizona Republic, 2018).Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL, by N. Jeremi Duru (2010)."Differences in the Success of NFL Coaches by Race, 1990-2002: Evidence of Last Hire, First Fire," by Janice Madden (Journal of Sports Economics, 2004).

 

EXTRAS:"When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy? (Replay)," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

We revisit an episode from 2016 that asks: Has our culture?s obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact that things also need to be taken care of? 

 

SOURCES:Martin Casado, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.Ruth Schwartz Cowan, professor emerita of history and sociology of science at University of Pennsylvania.Edward Glaeser, professor of economics at Harvard University.Chris Lacinak, founder and president of AVPreserve.Andrew Russell, provost of SUNY Polytechnic Institute.Lawrence Summers, professor and president emeritus of Harvard University; former Secretary of the Treasury and former director of the National Economic Council.Lee Vinsel, professor of science, technology, and society at Virginia Tech.

 

RESOURCES:?Hail the Maintainers," by Andrew Russell and Lee Vinsel (Aeon, 2016).?A Lesson on Infrastructure From the Anderson Bridge Fiasco,? by Lawrence Summers and Rachel Lipson (The Boston Globe, 2016).Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier, by Edward Glaeser (2008).More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave, by Ruth Schwartz Cowan (1983).

 

EXTRAS:"Freakonomics Radio Takes to the Skies," series by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Edward Glaeser Explains Why Some Cities Thrive While Others Fade Away," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021)."Why Larry Summers Is the Economist Everyone Hates to Love," by Freakonomics Radio (2017).

Young people have been reporting a sharp rise in anxiety and depression. This maps neatly onto the global rise of the smartphone. Some researchers are convinced that one is causing the other. But how strong is the evidence?

 

SOURCES:David Blanchflower, professor of economics at Dartmouth College.Lauren Oyler, novelist and cultural critic.Andrew Przybylski, professor of human behavior and technology at the University of Oxford.

 

RESOURCES:"The Declining Mental Health Of The Young And The Global Disappearance Of The Hump Shape In Age In Unhappiness," by David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, and Xiaowei Xu (NBER Working Paper, 2024)."Further Evidence on the Global Decline in the Mental Health of the Young," by David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, Anthony Lepinteur, and Alan Piper (NBER Working Paper, 2024).No Judgment: Essays, by Lauren Oyler (2024)."To What Extent are Trends in Teen Mental Health Driven by Changes in Reporting?" by Adriana Corredor-Waldron and Janet Currie (Journal of Human Resources, 2024).The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt (2024)."Global Well-Being and Mental Health in the Internet Age," by Matti Vuorre and Andrew K. Przybylski (Clinical Psychological Science, 2023)."Are Mental Health Awareness Efforts Contributing to the Rise in Reported Mental Health Problems? A Call to Test the Prevalence Inflation Hypothesis," by Lucy Foulkes and Jack L. Andrews (New Ideas in Psychology, 2023)."The Association Between Adolescent Well-Being and Digital Technology Use," by Amy Orben and Andrew K. Przybylski (Nature Human Behaviour, 2019).iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy ? and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood ? and What That Means for the Rest of Us, by Jean M. Twenge (2017).

 

EXTRAS:"Are You Caught in a Social Media Trap?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Are We Getting Lonelier?" by No Stupid Questions (2023)."Is Facebook Bad for Your Mental Health?" by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022)."Why Is U.S. Media So Negative? (Replay)," by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

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 the ? hang on a second, I've just got to get this.

Come see Stephen Dubner live! 

?A Questionable Evening: A strategic interrogation from two people who ask questions for a living,? featuring Stephen Dubner and PJ Vogt from Search Engine.

Thursday, Sept. 26th, at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY. 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-questionable-evening-evening-with-stephen-dubner-and-pj-vogt-tickets-1002544747327

 

SOURCES:Olivia Grace, senior product manager at Slack.Gloria Mark, professor of computer science at the University of California, Irvine.David Strayer, professor of cognition and neural science at the University of Utah.

 

RESOURCES:"Immersion in Nature Enhances Neural Indices of Executive Attention," by Amy S. McDonnell and David L. Strayer (Nature: Scientific Reports, 2024)."Contribution to the Study on the ?Right to Disconnect? From Work. Are France and Spain Examples for Other Countries and E.U. Law?" by Loïc Lerouge and Francisco Trujillo Pons (European Labour Law Journal, 2022)."Task Errors by Emergency Physicians Are Associated With Interruptions, Multitasking, Fatigue and Working Memory Capacity: A Prospective, Direct Observation Study," by Johanna I. Westbrook, Magdalena Z. Raban, Scott R. Walter, and Heather Douglas (BMJ Quality & Safety, 2018)."Supertaskers: Profiles in Extraordinary Multitasking Ability," by Jason M. Watson and David L. Strayer (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2010)."The Effects of Video Game Playing on Attention, Memory, and Executive Control," by Walter R. Boot, Arthur F. Kramer, Daniel J. Simons, Monica Fabiani, and Gabriele Gratton (Acta Psychologica, 2008)."'Constant, Constant, Multi-Tasking Craziness': Managing Multiple Working Spheres," by Victor M. González and Gloria Mark (Proceedings of the 2004 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI, 2004).

 

EXTRAS:"Why Is the U.S. So Good at Killing Pedestrians?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Why Did You Marry That Person?" by Freakonomics Radio (2022)."How Much Should We Be Able to Customize Our World?" by No Stupid Questions (2021).

Educators and economists tell us all the reasons college enrollment has been dropping, especially for men, and how to stop the bleeding. (Part 3 of our series from 2022, ?Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.?)

 

SOURCES:Zachary Bleemer, assistant professor of economics at Princeton University and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.D'Wayne Edwards, founder and President of Pensole Lewis College.Catharine Hill, former president of Vassar College; trustee at Yale University; and managing director at Ithaka S+R.Pano Kanelos, founding president of the University of Austin.Amalia Miller, professor of economics at the University of Virginia.Donald Ruff, president and C.E.O. of the Eagle Academy Foundation.Morton Schapiro, professor of economics and former president of Northwestern University.Ruth Simmons, former president of Smith College, Brown University, and Prairie View A&M University.Miguel Urquiola, professor of economics at Columbia University.

 

RESOURCES:"What Gay Men?s Stunning Success Might Teach Us About the Academic Gender Gap," by Joel Mittleman (The Washington Post, 2022)."We Can't Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We're Starting a New One," by Pano Kanelos (Common Sense, 2021)."Academic Freedom in Crisis: Punishment, Political Discrimination, and Self-Censorship," by Eric Kaufmann (Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, 2021).?A Generation of American Men Give Up on College: ?I Just Feel Lost?,? by Douglas Belkin (The Wall Street Journal, 2021)."Community Colleges and Upward Mobility," by Jack Mountjoy (NBER Working Paper, 2021)."Elite Schools and Opting In: Effects of College Selectivity on Career and Family Outcomes," by Suqin Ge, Elliott Isaac, and Amalia Miller (NBER Working Paper, 2019)."Leaving Boys Behind: Gender Disparities in High Academic Achievement," by Nicole M. Fortin, Philip Oreopoulos, and Shelley Phipps (NBER Working Paper, 2013).

 

EXTRAS:"Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School," series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).?'If We?re All in It for Ourselves, Who Are We?'? by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

Stephen Dubner appears as a guest on Fail Better, a new podcast hosted by David Duchovny. The two of them trade stories about failure, and ponder the lessons that success could never teach.

 

SOURCES:David Duchovny, actor, director, writer, and musician.

 

RESOURCES:"Martin Seligman and the Rise of Positive Psychology," by Peter Gibbon (Humanities, 2020)."Rick Reilly: ?Donald Trump Will Cheat You on the Golf Course and Then Buy You Lunch,'" by Donald McRae (The Guardian, 2019)."How The X-Files Invented Modern Television," by Emily St. James (Vox, 2018)."Happiness & the Gorilla," by Scott Galloway (No Mercy/No Malice, 2018).

 

EXTRAS:Fail Better with David Duchovny, podcast by Lemonada Media (2024)."How to Succeed at Failing," series by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Annie Duke Thinks You Should Quit," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022)."The Upside of Quitting," by Freakonomics Radio (2011).

America?s top colleges are facing record demand. So why don?t they increase supply? (Part 2 of our series from 2022, ?Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.?)

 

SOURCES:Peter Blair, professor of education at Harvard University and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.Zachary Bleemer, assistant professor of economics at Princeton University and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.Amalia Miller, professor of economics at the University of Virginia.Morton Schapiro, professor of economics and former president of Northwestern University.Miguel Urquiola, professor of economics at Columbia University.

 

RESOURCES:?Elite Schools and Opting In: Effects of College Selectivity on Career and Family Outcomes,? by Suqin Ge, Elliott Isaac, and Amalia Miller (Journal of Labor Economics, 2022).?Why Don?t Elite Colleges Expand Supply?? by Peter Q. Blair & Kent Smetters (NBER Working Paper, 2021).?Lori Loughlin Pleads Guilty via Zoom in College Admissions Case,? by Kate Taylor (The New York Times, 2020).Markets, Minds, and Money: Why America Leads the World in University Research, by Miguel Urquiola (2020).?To Cheat and Lie in L.A.: How the College-Admissions Scandal Ensnared the Richest Families in Southern California,? by Evgenia Peretz (Vanity Fair, 2019).The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money, by Bryan Caplan (2018).?The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone,? by Bryan Caplan (The Atlantic, 2018).?Are Tenure Track Professors Better Teachers?? by David N. Figlio, Morton O. Schapiro, and Kevin B. Soter (NBER Working Paper, 2013).?Estimating the Payoff to Attending a More Selective College: An Application of Selection on Observables and Unobservables,? by Stacy Berg Dale and Alan Krueger (NBER Working Paper, 1999)."Report on the University?s Role in Political and Social Action," by the Kalven Committee (1967).

 

EXTRAS:"What Exactly Is College For? (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

We think of them as intellectual enclaves and the surest route to a better life. But U.S. colleges also operate like firms, trying to differentiate their products to win market share and prestige points. In the first episode of a special series originally published in 2022, we ask what our chaotic system gets right ? and wrong. (Part 1 of ?Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.?)

 

SOURCES:Peter Blair, faculty research Fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research and professor of education at Harvard University.Catharine Hill, former president of Vassar College; trustee at Yale University; and managing director at Ithaka S+R.Morton Schapiro, professor of economics and former president of Northwestern University.Ruth Simmons, former president of Smith College, Brown University, and Prairie View A&M University.Miguel Urquiola, professor of economics at Columbia University.

 

RESOURCES:"Progressivity of Pricing at U.S. Public Universities," by Emily E. Cook and Sarah Turner (NBER Working Paper, 2022)."Community Colleges and Upward Mobility," by Jack Mountjoy (NBER Working Paper, 2021)."How HBCUs Can Accelerate Black Economic Mobility," (McKinsey & Company, 2021).Markets, Minds, and Money: Why America Leads the World in University Research, by Miguel Urquiola (2021)."Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility," by Raj Chetty, John N. Friedman, Emmanuel Saez, Nicholas Turner, and Danny Yagan (NBER Working Paper, 2017).

 

EXTRAS:"'If We?re All in It for Ourselves, Who Are We?'" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."'A Low Moment in Higher Education,'" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."The $1.5 Trillion Question: How to Fix Student-Loan Debt?" by Freakonomics Radio (2019)."Why Larry Summers Is the Economist Everyone Hates to Love," by Freakonomics Radio (2017).

There are a lot of factors that go into greatness, many of which are not obvious. As the Olympics come to a close, we revisit a 2018 episode in which top athletes from a variety of sports tell us how they made it, and what they sacrificed.

 

SOURCES:Lance Armstrong, former professional cyclist.David Canton, director of African American studies and professor of history at the University of Florida.David Epstein, science journalist and author.Domonique Foxworth, former professional football player.Justin Humphries, former professional baseball player.Andre Ingram, professional basketball player.Shawn Johnson, former professional gymnast and Olympian.Steve Levitt, professor of economics at the University of Chicago.Simone Manuel, professional swimmer and Olympian.Brandon McCarthy, former professional baseball player.Mike McGlinchey, offensive tackle for the Denver Broncos.Daryl Morey, president of basketball operations of the Philadelphia 76ers.Lauren Murphy, professional mixed martial artist.Kim Ng, advisor with Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball, former general manager of the Miami Marlins.JJ Redick, head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.Mikaela Shiffrin, professional alpine ski racer and Olympian.Mark Teixeira, former professional baseball player.Sudhir Venkatesh, professor of sociology at Columbia University.Kerri Walsh-Jennings, professional beach volleyball player and Olympian.

 

RESOURCES:"Compromising Talent: Issues in Identifying and Selecting Talent in Sport," by Joseph Baker, Jörg Schorer, and Nick Wattie (Quest, 2017)."Practice and Play in the Development of German Top-Level Professional Football Players," by Manuel Hornig, Friedhelm Aust, and Arne Güllich (European Journal of Sport Science, 2016).The Sports Gene, by David Epstein (2013)."The Effect of Deliberate Play on Tactical Performance in Basketball," by Pablo Greco, Daniel Memmert, and Juan Carlos Pérez Morales (Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2010).

 

EXTRAS:"The Hidden Side of Sports," series by Freakonomics Radio (2018).?How to Become Great at Just About Anything? Freakonomics Radio (2016).

Tania Tetlow, a former federal prosecutor and now the president of Fordham University, thinks the modern campus could use a dose of old-fashioned values.

 

SOURCE:Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham University.

 

RESOURCES:"Not a Priest, Not a Man, but Ready to Run Fordham," by David Waldstein (The New York Times, 2024)."Tech Glitch Upends Financial Aid for About a Million Students," by Oyin Adedoyin and Melissa Korn (The Wall Street Journal, 2024)."Where Protesters on U.S. Campuses Have Been Arrested or Detained," by The New York Times (The New York Times, 2024)."15 Arrested as NYPD Clears Protester Encampment at Fordham's Lincoln Center Campus," (NBC News, 2024)."Inside the Week That Shook Columbia University," by Nicholas Fandos and Sharon Otterman (The New York Times, 2024)."Address of his Holiness Pope Francis to the Members of the Blanquerna ? Universitat Ramón Llull Foundation, Barcelona," by Pope Francis (The Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 2024)."Why Don?t Elite Colleges Expand Supply?" by Peter Q. Blair and Kent Smetters (NBER Working Paper, 2021).

 

EXTRAS:"Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

It?s not oil or water or plutonium ? it?s human hours. We've got an idea for putting them to use, and for building a more human-centered economy. But we need your help.

 

SOURCES:Nathan Dietz, research director at the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland.Al Roth, professor of economics at Stanford University.Krista Wyatt, C.E.O. of Timebanks.org.Andrew Yang, co-chair of the Forward Party and former U.S. presidential candidate.

 

RESOURCES:"The Employment Effects of a Guaranteed Income: Experimental Evidence from Two U.S. States," by Eva Vivalt, Elizabeth Rhodes, Alexander W. Bartik, David E. Broockman, and Sarah Miller (NBER Working Paper, 2024)."Where Are America's Volunteers," by Nathan Dietz and Robert T. Grimm Jr. (Do Good Institute, 2018)."Believe in People," talk by Edgar Cahn at TEDxAshokaU (2010).The Pencil, by Allan Ahlberg (2008).No More Throw-Away People: The Co-Production Imperative, by Edgar S. Cahn (2000).Time Dollars: The New Currency That Enables Americans to Turn Their Hidden Resource-Time-Into Personal Security and Community Renewal, by Edgar S. Cahn and Jonathan Rowe (1992).

 

EXTRAS:"Why Don?t We Have Better Candidates for President?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).?Andrew Yang Is Not Giving Up on Politics ? or the U.S. ? Yet,? by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).?The Future of New York City Is in Question. Could Andrew Yang Be the Answer?? by Freakonomics Radio (2021).?Why Is This Man Running for President? (Update),? by Freakonomics Radio (2019)."Make Me a Match," by Freakonomics Radio (2015).

A new proposal from the Biden administration calls for a nationwide cap on rent increases. Economists think that?s a terrible idea. We revisit a 2019 episode to hear why.

 

SOURCES:Tommy Andersson, professor of economics at Lund University.Vicki Been, professor of law at New York University and former deputy mayor for housing and economic development in New York City.Rebecca Diamond, professor of economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business.David Eisenbach, history lecturer at the Manhattan School of Music and Columbia University.Ed Glaeser, professor of economics at Harvard University.

 

RESOURCES:"The State of the Nation's Housing 2024," by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2024).?The Effects of Rent Control Expansion on Tenants, Landlords, and Inequality: Evidence from San Francisco,? by Rebecca Diamond, Tim McQuade, and Franklin Qian (American Economic Review, 2019).?Housing Market Spillovers: Evidence from the End of Rent Control in Cambridge, Massachusetts,? by David H. Autor, Christopher J. Palmer, and Parang A. Pathak (Journal of Political Economy, 2014).?An Econometric Analysis of Rent Control,? by Edgar O. Olsen (Journal of Political Economy, 1972).Roofs or Ceilings?: The Current Housing Problem, by Milton Friedman and George J. Stigler (1946).