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Freakonomics

Freakonomics Radio explores the hidden side of everything with stories about cheating schoolteachers, shadow economies, and smart people who make stupid mistakes. Prepare to be enlightened, engaged, perhaps enraged and definitely surprised by this podcast, hosted by Stephen J. Dubner, one of the co-authors of the “Freakonomics” series of books and blog.

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Latest Episodes

  • Boo…Who?

    Released 11.08.11

    Is booing an act of verbal vandalism—or the last true expression of democracy?

  • Wildfires, Cops, and Keggers

    Released 11.01.11

    On Election Day, most people focus on the obvious winners and losers -- that is, the candidates. But we went looking for some of the strange side effects that elections produce.

  • Misadventures in Baby-Making

    Released 10.25.11

    We are constantly wowed by new technologies and policies meant to make childbirth better. But beware the unintended consequences.

  • Those Cheating Teachers!

    Released 10.18.11

    High-stakes testing has produced some rotten apples. But they can be caught.

  • Where Have All the Hitchhikers Gone?

    Released 10.09.11

    Did we needlessly scare ourselves into ditching a good thing? And, with millions of cars driving around with no passengers, should we be rooting for a renaissance?

  • The Decline and Fall of Violence

    Released 10.04.11

    The world is a more peaceful place today that at any time in history -- by a long, long shot.

  • The Upside of Quitting

    Released 09.28.11

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

  • The Folly of Prediction

    Released 09.14.11

    Human beings love to predict the future, but we're quite terrible at it. So how about punishing all those bad predictions?

  • The Suicide Paradox

    Released 08.31.11

    There are more than twice as many suicides as murders in the U.S., but suicide attracts far less scrutiny.

  • The Economist’s Guide to Parenting

    Released 08.16.11

    Think you know how much parents matter? Think again. Economists crunch the numbers to learn the ROI on child-rearing.

  • The Church of "Scionology"

    Released 08.03.11

    We worship the tradition of handing off a family business to the next generation. But is that really such a good idea?

  • Mouse in the Salad

    Released 07.20.11

    In restaurants and in life, bad things happen. But what happens next is just as important.

  • Hey Baby, Is That a Prius You're Driving?

    Released 07.06.11

    "Conspicuous conservation" is about showing off your environmental bona fides. In other words, if you lean green, there's extra value in being seen leaning green.

  • Live From St. Paul!

    Released 06.22.11

    Freakonomics Radio hits the road, and plays some Quiz Bowl

  • Things Our Fathers Gave Us

    Released 06.08.11

    What did Levitt and Dubner learn as kids from their dads?

  • To Catch a Fugitive

    Released 05.25.11

    Who is likelier to get to the fugitive first? When a fugitive is on the run, it’s not only the police he has to worry about.

  • Growing Up Buffett

    Released 05.11.11

    What’s it like to wake up one day and realize Dad is a multi-billionaire? That's what happened to Warren Buffett’s son Peter -- who then started to think about whether or not to join the family business.

  • Gambling With Your Life

    Released 04.27.11

    Does Las Vegas increase your risk of suicide? A researcher embeds himself in the city where Americans are most likely to kill themselves.

  • Does College Still Matter? And Other Freaky Questions Answered ...

    Released 04.13.11

    In our second round of FREAK-quently Asked Questions, Steve Levitt answers some queries from listeners and readers.

  • Smarter Kids at 10 Bucks a Pop

    Released 04.06.11

    It won’t work for everyone, but there’s a cheap, quick, and simple way to lift some students’ grades.

  • Why Can’t We Predict Earthquakes?

    Released 03.30.11

    We talk to a U.S. Geological Survey physicist about the science -- and folly -- of predicting earthquakes.

  • Death by Fire? Probably Not

    Released 03.23.11

    Fire deaths in the U.S. have fallen 90 percent over the past 100 years, a great and greatly underappreciated gain.

  • The Health of Nations

    Released 03.16.11

    For decades, GDP has been the yardstick for measuring living standards around the world. Martha Nussbaum would rather use something that actually works.

  • Is Twitter a Two-Way Street?

    Released 03.09.11

    To get a lot of followers on Twitter, do you need to follow a lot of other Tweeps? And if not, why not?

  • The Power of Poop

    Released 03.02.11

    Since the beginning of civilization, we’ve thought that human waste was worthless and dangerous. What if we were wrong?

  • Millionaires vs. Billionaires

    Released 02.23.11

    Five things you don’t know about the NFL labor standoff

  • Why Cities Rock

    Released 02.16.11

    Could it be that cities are "our greatest invention" -- that, despite a reputation as black-soot-spewing engines of doom, they in fact make us richer, smarter, happier and (believe it!) greener?

  • Bring on the Pain!

    Released 02.09.11

    It's not about how much something hurts -- it's how you remember the pain. This week, lessons on pain from the New York City subway, the professional hockey rink, and a landmark study of colonoscopy patients.

  • Waiter, There’s a Physicist in My Soup! (Part 2)

    Released 02.02.11

    What do a computer hacker, an Indiana farm boy, and Napoleon Bonaparte have in common? The past, present, and future of food science.

  • Waiter, There’s a Physicist in My Soup! (Part 1)

    Released 01.26.11

    The "molecular gastronomy" movement -- which gets a bump in visibility next month with the publication of the mammoth cookbook "Modernist Cuisine" -- is all about bringing more science into the kitchen.

  • Freakonomics FAQ, No. 1

    Released 01.19.11

    Levitt and Dubner field questions from the public and hold forth on everything from dating strategies and rock-and-roll accordion music to whether different nations have different economic identities.

  • Trashed

    Released 01.12.11

    How economics -- and emotion -- have turned our garbage into such a mess

  • Exit Interview: Schools Chancellor, NYC

    Released 01.05.11

    Having already amassed an eventful resume -- the Clinton White House, the Department of Justice, and Bertelsmann -- Joel I.

  • You Say Repugnant, I Say … Let's Do It!

    Released 12.29.10

    What happens when the most disturbing ideas are also the best?

  • Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better?

    Released 12.15.10

    They should! It's a cardinal rule: more expensive items are supposed to be qualitatively better than their cheaper versions.

  • The "No-Lose Lottery," Part 2

    Released 12.01.10

    It’s the banking tool that got millions of people around the world to stop wasting money on the lottery.

  • Is America Ready for a "No-Lose Lottery"?

    Released 11.17.10

    For the most part, Americans don't like the simple, boring act of putting money in a savings account.

  • How Much Does the President of the U.S. Really Matter?

    Released 11.03.10

    The U.S. president is often called the "leader of free world." But if you ask an economist or a Constitutional scholar how much the occupant of the Oval Office matters, they won't say much.

  • The NFL's Best Real Estate Isn't For Sale. Yet.

    Released 10.28.10

    The NFL is very good at making money. So why on earth doesn't it sell ad space on the one piece of real estate that football fans can’t help but see: the players themselves?

  • Reading, Rockets, and 'Rithmetic

    Released 10.20.10

    Government and the private sector often feel far apart. One is filled with compliance-driven bureaucracy.

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