Freakonomics Radio

By Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Society & Culture

What's Freakonomics Radio about?

Discover the hidden side of everything with Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of the Freakonomics books. Each week, Freakonomics Radio tells you things you always thought you knew (but didn’t) and things you never thought you wanted to know (but do) — from the economics of sleep to how to become great at just about anything. Dubner speaks with Nobel laureates and provocateurs, intellectuals and entrepreneurs, and various other underachievers.

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537. “Insurance Is Sexy.” D...

03.23.2023

In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, the economist Amy Finkelstein explains why insurance markets are broken and how to fix them. Also: why can’t you buy divorce insurance?

Freakonomics Radio episodes:

03.23.2023 537. “Insurance Is Sexy.” Discuss. In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, the economist Amy Finkelstein explains why insurance markets are broken and how to fix them. Also: why can’t you buy divorce insurance?
03.16.2023 Why Are There So Many Bad Bosses? (Ep. 495 Replay) People who are good at their jobs routinely get promoted into bigger jobs they’re bad at. We explain why firms keep producing incompetent managers — and why that’s unlikely to change.
03.09.2023 536. Is Your Plane Ticket Too Expensive — or Too Cheap? Most travelers want the cheapest flight they can find. Airlines, meanwhile, need to manage volatile fuel costs, a pricey workforce, and complex logistics. So how do they make money — and how did America’s grubbiest airport suddenly turn into a ...
03.02.2023 535. Why Is Flying Safer Than Driving? Thanks to decades of work by airlines and regulators, plane crashes are nearly a thing of the past. Can we do the same for cars? (Part 2 of “Freakonomics Radio Takes to the Skies.”)
02.23.2023 534. Air Travel Is a Miracle. Why Do We Hate It? It’s an unnatural activity that has become normal. You’re stuck in a metal tube with hundreds of strangers (and strange smells), defying gravity and racing through the sky. But oh, the places you’ll go! We visit the world’s busiest airport ...
02.16.2023 Why Does the Most Monotonous Job in the World Pay $1 Million? (Ep. 493 Update) Adam Smith famously argued that specialization is the key to prosperity. In the N.F.L., the long snapper is proof of that argument. Here’s everything there is to know about a job that didn’t used to exist.
02.13.2023 The Economics of Everyday Things: Used Hotel Soaps Hotel guests adore those cute little soaps, but is it just a one-night stand? In our fourth episode of "The Economics of Everyday Things," Zachary Crockett discovers what happens to those soaps when we love ’em and leave ’em.
02.09.2023 533. Will the Democrats “Make America Great Again”? For decades, the U.S. let globalization run its course and hoped China would be an ally. Now the Biden administration is spending billions to bring high-tech manufacturing back home. Is this the beginning of a new industrial policy — or ...
02.06.2023 The Economics of Everyday Things: “My Sharona” Can a hit single from four decades ago still pay the bills? Zachary Crockett f-f-f-finds out in the third episode of our newest podcast, "The Economics of Everyday Things."
02.02.2023 Is Economic Growth the Wrong Goal? (Ep. 429 Update) The economist Kate Raworth says the aggressive pursuit of G.D.P. is trashing the planet and shortchanging too many people. She has proposed an alternative — and the city of Amsterdam is giving it a try. How's it going?
01.30.2023 The Economics of Everyday Things: Girl Scout Cookies How does America's cutest sales force get billions of Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs into our hands every year? Zachary Crockett finds out in the second episode of our newest podcast, "The Economics of Everyday Things."
01.26.2023 532. Do You Know Who Owns Your Vet? When small businesses get bought by big investors, the name may stay the same — but customers and employees can feel the difference. (Part 2 of 2.)
01.23.2023 Introducing “The Economics of Everyday Things” A new podcast hosted by Zachary Crockett. In the first episode: Gas stations. When gas prices skyrocket, do station owners get a windfall? And where do their profits really come from?
01.19.2023 531. Should You Trust Private Equity to Take Care of Your Dog? Big investors are buying up local veterinary practices (and pretty much everything else). What does this mean for scruffy little Max* — and for the U.S. economy? (Part 1 of 2.) *The most popular dog name in the U.S. in ...
01.16.2023 Extra: Samin Nosrat Always Wanted to Be Famous And with her book "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat," she succeeded. Now she's not so sure how to feel about all the attention.
01.12.2023 530. What's Wrong with Being a One-Hit Wonder? We tend to look down on artists who can't match their breakthrough success. Should we be celebrating them instead?
01.05.2023 529. Can Our Surroundings Make Us Smarter? In a special episode of No Stupid Questions, Stephen Dubner and Angela Duckworth discuss classroom design, open offices, and cognitive drift.
12.29.2022 528. Yuval Noah Harari Thinks Life is Meaningless and Amazing In this special episode of People I (Mostly) Admire, Steve Levitt talks to the best-selling author of "Sapiens" and "Homo Deus" about finding the profound in the obvious.
12.22.2022 527. Can Adam Smith Fix Our Economy? Labor exploitation! Corporate profiteering! Government corruption! The 21st century can look a lot like the 18th. In the final episode of a series, we turn to “the father of economics” for solutions. (Part 3 of “In Search of the Real ...
12.15.2022 526. Was Adam Smith Really a Right-Winger? Economists and politicians have turned him into a mascot for free-market ideology. Some on the left say the right has badly misread him. Prepare for a very Smithy tug of war. (Part 2 of “In Search of the Real Adam ...
12.12.2022 Freakonomics Radio Needs Your Help A sneak peek at an upcoming series — and a call for would-be radio reporters.
12.08.2022 525. In Search of the Real Adam Smith How did an affable 18th-century “moral philosopher” become the patron saint of cutthroat capitalism? Does “the invisible hand” mean what everyone thinks it does? We travel to Smith’s hometown in Scotland to uncover the man behind the myth. (Part 1 ...
12.01.2022 524. How Important Is Breastfeeding, Really? In this special episode of Freakonomics, M.D., host Bapu Jena looks at a clever new study that could help answer one of parenting’s most contentious questions.
11.24.2022 523. Did Michael Lewis Just Get Lucky with “Moneyball”? No — but he does have a knack for stumbling into the perfect moment, including the recent FTX debacle. In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, we revisit the book that launched the analytics revolution.
11.17.2022 522. Is Google Getting Worse? It used to feel like magic. Now it can feel like a set of cheap tricks. Is the problem with Google — or with us?
11.10.2022 The Most Interesting Fruit in the World (Ep. 375 Update) The banana, once a luxury good, rose to become America’s favorite fruit. Now a deadly fungus threatens to wipe it out. Can it be saved?
11.03.2022 521. I’m Your Biggest Fan! It’s fun to obsess over pop stars and racecar drivers — but is fandom making our politics even more toxic?
10.27.2022 520. The Unintended Consequences of Working from Home The last two years have radically changed the way we work — producing winners, losers, and a lot of surprises.
10.20.2022 519. Has Globalization Failed? It was supposed to boost prosperity and democracy at the same time. What really happened? According to the legal scholar Anthea Roberts, it depends which story you believe.
10.13.2022 518. Are Personal Finance Gurus Giving You Bad Advice? One Yale economist certainly thinks so. But even if he’s right, are economists any better?
10.06.2022 517. Are M.B.A.s to Blame for Wage Stagnation? New research finds that bosses who went to business school pay their workers less. So what are M.B.A. programs teaching — and should they stop?
09.29.2022 Please Get Your Noise Out of My Ears (Ep. 439 Update) The pandemic provided city dwellers with a break from the din of the modern world. Now the noise is coming back. What does that mean for our productivity, health, and basic sanity?
09.22.2022 516. Nuclear Power Isn’t Perfect. Is It Good Enough? Liberals endorse harm reduction when it comes to the opioid epidemic. Are they ready to take the same approach to climate change?
09.19.2022 Extra: Ken Burns \| People I (Mostly) Admire The documentary filmmaker, known for "The Civil War," "Jazz," and "Baseball," turns his attention to the Holocaust, and asks what we can learn from the evils of the past.
09.15.2022 515. When You Pray to God Online, Who Else Is Listening? The pandemic moved a lot of religious activity onto the internet. With faith-based apps, Silicon Valley is turning virtual prayers into earthly rewards. Does this mean sharing user data? Dear God, let’s hope not …
09.08.2022 This Is Your Brain on Pollution (Ep. 472 Update) As the Biden administration rushes to address climate change, Stephen Dubner looks at another, hidden cost of air pollution — one that’s affecting how we think.
09.01.2022 514. Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America The controversial Harvard economist, recently back from a suspension, “broke a lot of glass early in my career,” he says. His research on school incentives and police brutality won him acclaim — but also enemies. Now he’s taking a hard ...
08.25.2022 513. Should Public Transit Be Free? It boosts economic opportunity and social mobility. It’s good for the environment. So why do we charge people to use it? The short answer: it’s complicated.
08.18.2022 Why Is U.S. Media So Negative? (Ep. 477 Replay) Breaking news! Sources say American journalism exploits our negativity bias to maximize profits, and social media algorithms add fuel to the fire. Stephen Dubner investigates.
08.11.2022 The Pros and Cons of America’s (Extreme) Individualism (Ep. 470 Replay) According to a decades-long research project, the U.S. is not only the most individualistic country on earth; we’re also high on indulgence, short-term thinking, and masculinity (but low on “uncertainty avoidance,” if that makes you feel better). We look at ...
08.04.2022 The U.S. Is Just Different — So Let’s Stop Pretending We’re Not (Ep. 469 Replay) We often look to other countries for smart policies on education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. But can a smart policy be simply transplanted into a country as culturally unusual (and as supremely WEIRD) as America?
07.28.2022 512. Does Philosophy Still Matter? It used to be at the center of our conversations about politics and society. Scott Hershovitz (author of "Nasty, Brutish, and Short") argues that philosophy still has a lot to say about work, justice, and parenthood. Our latest installment of ...
07.21.2022 511. Why Did You Marry That Person? Sure, you were “in love.” But economists — using evidence from "Bridgerton" to Tinder — point to what’s called “assortative mating.” And it has some unpleasant consequences for society.
07.14.2022 The Economist’s Guide to Parenting: 10 Years Later (Ep. 479 Replay) In one of the earliest Freakonomics Radio episodes, we asked a bunch of economists with young kids how they approached child-rearing. Now the kids are old enough to talk — and they have a lot to say. We hear about ...
07.07.2022 510. What Problems Does Crypto Solve, Anyway? Boosters say blockchain technology will usher in a brave new era of decentralization. Are they right — and would it be a dream or a nightmare? (Part 3 of "What Can Blockchain Do for You?")
06.30.2022 509. Are N.F.T.s All Scams? Some of them are. With others, it’s more complicated (and more promising). We try to get past the Bored Apes and the ripoffs to see if we can find art on the blockchain. (Part 2 of "What Can Blockchain Do ...
06.23.2022 508. Does the Crypto Crash Mean the Blockchain Is Over? No. But now is a good time to sort out the potential from the hype. Whether you’re bullish, bearish, or just confused, we’re here to explain what the blockchain can do for you. (Part 1 of a series.)
06.16.2022 507. 103 Pieces of Advice That May or May Not Work Kevin Kelly calls himself “the most optimistic person in the world.” And he has a lot to say about parenting, travel, A.I., being luckier — and why we should spend way more time on YouTube.
06.09.2022 506. What Is Sportswashing (and Does It Work)? In ancient Rome, it was bread and circuses. Today, it’s a World Cup, an Olympics, and a new Saudi-backed golf league that’s challenging the P.G.A. Tour. Can a sporting event really repair a country’s reputation — or will it trigger ...
06.02.2022 505. Did Domestic Violence Really Spike During the Pandemic? When the world went into lockdown, experts predicted a rise in intimate-partner assaults. What actually happened was more complicated.

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