Freakonomics Radio

The U.S. has a physician shortage, created in part by a century-old reform that shut down bad medical schools. But why haven’t we filled the gap? Why are some physicians so unhappy? And which is worse: a bad doctor or no doctor at all?

• SOURCES:
  • Karen Clay, professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
  • Rochelle Walensky, physician-scientist and former director of the CDC.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Medical School Closures, Market Adjustment, and Mortality in the Flexner Report Era," by Karen Clay, Grant Miller, Margarita Portnykh, and Ethan Schmick (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2025).
  • "Application Overload — A Call to Reduce the Burden of Applying to Medical School," by Rochelle Walensky and Loren Walensky (New England Journal of Medicine, 2025).
  • "Challenges to the Future of a Robust Physician Workforce in the United States," by Rochelle Walensky and Nicole McCann (New England Journal of Medicine, 2025).
  • "The first step to addressing the physician shortage," by Rochelle Walensky and Nicole McCann (STAT, 2025).
  • "Physician Workforce: Projections, 2022-2037," (National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, 2024).
  • “Projected Estimates of African American Medical Graduates of Closed Historically Black Medical Schools,” by Kendall Campbell, Irma Corral, Jhojana Infante Linares, and Dmitry Tumin (JAMA Network, 2020).
  • "Medical Education in the United States and Canada," by Abraham Flexner (The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1910).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Is the Air Traffic Control System Broken?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
  • "Are You Ready for the Elder Swell?" by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
  • "Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

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For the 20th anniversary of Freakonomics, Debbie Millman of Design Matters interviews Stephen Dubner about his upbringing, his writing career, and why it's important to “swing your swing.” Plus: a sneak peek at a new project.

• SOURCES:
  • Debbie Millman, writer and host of Design Matters with Debbie Millman.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Stephen J. Dubner," by Design Matters with Debbie Millman (2025).
  • Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son's Return To His Jewish Family, by Stephen Dubner (1999).
  • "Choosing My Religion," by Stephen Dubner (New York Times, 1996).

• EXTRAS:
  • "In Search of the Real Adam Smith," by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

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Arthur Brooks, an economist and former head of the American Enterprise Institute, believes that there is only one remedy for our political polarization: love. In this 2021 episode, we ask if Brooks is a fool for thinking this — and if perhaps you are his kind of fool?

• SOURCES:
  • Arthur Brooks, professor of public and nonprofit leadership at Harvard University.

• RESOURCES:
  • “Vital Statistics on Congress,” by Molly Reynolds and Naomi Maehr (Brookings Institute, 2024).
  • Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, by Anna Lembke (2021).
  • “Reading Too Much Political News Is Bad for Your Well-Being,” by Arthur Brooks (The Atlantic, 2020).
  • Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt, by Arthur Brooks (2019).
  • “This 75-Year Harvard Study Found the 1 Secret to Leading a Fulfilling Life,” by Melanie Curtin (Inc., 2017).
  • The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America, by Arthur Brooks (2015).
  • “Grin and Bear It: The Influence of Manipulated Facial Expression on the Stress Response,” by Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman (Psychological Science, 2012).

• EXTRAS:
  • “Why Is U.S. Media So Negative?” by Freakonomics Radio (2021).

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Soccer leagues around the world use a promotion-and-relegation system to reward the best teams and punish the worst. We ask whether American sports fans would enjoy a similar system. (Part two of a two-part series.)

• SOURCES:
  • Domonique Foxworth, sports analyst and former N.F.L. player.
  • Stefan Szymanski, professor of sport management at the University of Michigan.
  • Victor Matheson, professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross.

• RESOURCES:
  • "'Root, root, root for the home team" did TV kill minor league baseball in the 1950s?" by Stefan Szymanski (University of Michigan, 2025).
  • "European and North American Sports Differences (?): A Quarter Century on," by Stefan Szymanski (Principles and Paradoxes of Sports Economics, 2024).
  • National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer, by Stefan Szymanski and Andrew Zimbalist (2006).

• EXTRAS:
  • "When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee? (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
  • "The Longest Long Shot," by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

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The N.F.L. is a powerful cartel with imperial desires. College football is about to undergo a financial reckoning. So maybe they should team up? (Part one of a two-part series.)

• SOURCES:
  • DeMaurice Smith, former executive director of the National Football League Players Association.
  • Domonique Foxworth, sports analyst and former N.F.L. player.
  • Jeffrey Kessler, partner at the law firm of Winston & Strawn.
  • Oliver Luck, sports executive and consultant.
  • Victor Matheson, professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross.

• RESOURCES:
  • Turf Wars: The Fight for the Soul of America's Game, by DeMaurice Smith (2025).
  • "Is there a Case for Subsidizing Sports Stadiums?" by Victor Matheson (Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2018).

• EXTRAS:
  • "America’s Hidden Duopoly," by Freakonomics Radio (2018).
  • "Should the U.S. Merge With Mexico?" by Freakonomics Radio (2014).

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In this episode we first published in 2021, the political scientist Yuen Yuen Ang argues that different forms of government create different styles of corruption — and that the U.S. and China have more in common than we’d like to admit.

• SOURCES:
  • Yuen Yuen Ang, professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University.

• RESOURCES:
  • "China’s Anti-Graft Show Is Educational, With Unintended Lessons," by Li Yuan (The New York Times, 2022).
  • China’s Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption, by Yuen Yuen Ang (2020).
  • "A Fair Assessment of China’s IP Protection," by Shang-Jin Wei and Xinding Yu (Project Syndicate, 2019).
  • The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong with Banking and What to Do about It, by Anat Admati (2013).
  • "A Fistful of Dollars: Lobbying and the Financial Crisis," by Deniz Igan, Prachi Mishra, and Thierry Tressel (2011).

• EXTRAS:
  • "China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers." by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
  • American Culture series by Freakonomics Radio (2021).

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In his new book “Breakneck,” Dan Wang argues that the U.S. has a lot to learn from China. He also says that “no two peoples are more alike.” We have questions.

• SOURCES:
  • Dan Wang, research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, author of Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future.

• RESOURCES:
  • Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, by Dan Wang (2025).
  • The Anaconda in the Chandelier: Writings on China, by Perry Link (2025).
  • "Is the U.S. Ready for the Next War?" by Dexter Filkins (The New Yorker, 2025).
  • "How smartphones made Shenzhen China’s innovation capital," by Dan Wang (2016).
  • How China Escaped the Poverty Trap, by Yuen Yuen Ang (2016).
  • The Art of Not Being Governed, by Jame Scott (2009).

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Engineering State and the Lawyerly Society: Dan Wang on his new book 'Breakneck,'" by the Sinica Podcast (2025).
  • "Is the U.S. Really Less Corrupt Than China?" by Freakonomics Radio (2021).

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A lot of jobs in the modern economy don’t pay a living wage, and some of those jobs may be wiped out by new technologies. So what’s to be done? We revisit an episode from 2016 for a potential solution.

• SOURCES:
  • Erik Brynjolfsson, professor of economics at Stanford University.
  • Evelyn Forget, professor of economics and community health sciences at the University of Manitoba.
  • Sam Altman, C.E.O. of OpenAI.
  • Robert Gordon, professor emeritus of economics at Northwestern University.
  • Greger Larson, professor of archeology at the University of Oxford.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Here's what a Sam Altman-backed basic income experiment found," by Megan Cerullo (CBS News, 2024).
  • Utopia for Realists, by Rutger Bregman. The Correspondent (2016).
  • The Second Machine Age, by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee (2014).
  • "The Town With No Poverty: Using Health Administration Data To Revisit Outcomes of a Canadian Guaranteed Annual Income Field Experiment," by Evelyn Forget (Canadian Public Policy, 2011).
  • "The Negative Income Tax and the Evolution of U.S. Welfare Policy," by Robert Moffitt (Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2003).
  • Capitalism and Freedom, by Milton Freidman (2002).
  • "Lesson from the Income Maintenance Experiments," (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and The Brookings Institution, 1986).
  • Law, Legislation and Liberty, Volume 3: The Political Order of A Free People, by Frederick Hayek (1981).
  • "Daniel Moynihan and President-elect Nixon: How charity didn't begin at home," by Peter Passell and Leonard Ross (New York Times, 1973).
  • "Income Maintenance Programs," (Hearings Before The Subcommittee On Fiscal Policy Of The Joint Economic Committee Congress Of The United States, 1968).

• EXTRAS:
  • "President Nixon Unveils the Family Assistance Program," (1969).
  • "Milton Friedman interview with William F Buckley Jr.," (1968).
  • "Martin Luther King Jr. advocates for Guaranteed Income at Stanford," (1967).

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What does it take to “play 3D chess at 250 miles an hour”? And how far will $12.5 billion of “Big, Beautiful” funding go toward modernizing the F.A.A.? (Part two of a two-part series.)

• SOURCES:
  • David Strayer, professor of cognition and neural science at the University of Utah.
  • Dorothy Robyn, senior fellow at I.T.I.F.
  • Ed Bastian, C.E.O. of Delta Airlines.
  • Ed Bolen, president and C.E.O. of the National Business Aviation Association.
  • John Strong, professor of finance and economics at the William and Mary School of Business.
  • Kenneth Levin, retired air traffic controller.
  • Olivia Grace, former product manager at Slack.
  • Polly Trottenberg, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

• RESOURCES:
  • “An Air Traffic Controller Speaks Out About Newark Airport,” by The Journal (2025).
  • "Why Did Air Traffic Control Reform Efforts Fail (Again)?" by Jeff Davis (Eno Center for Transportation, 2023).
  • "Supertaskers: Profiles in extraordinary multitasking ability," by Jason Watson and David Strayer (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2021).
  • Managing the Skies: Public Policy, Organization, and Financing of Air Traffic Management, by John Strong and Clinton Oster (2016).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Multitasking Doesn't Work. So Why Do We Keep Trying?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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Flying in the U.S. is still exceptionally safe, but the system relies on outdated tech and is under tremendous strain. Six experts tell us how it got this way and how it can (maybe) be fixed. (Part one of a two-part series.)

• SOURCES:
  • Dorothy Robyn, senior fellow at I.T.I.F.
  • Ed Bastian, C.E.O. of Delta Airlines.
  • John Strong, professor of finance and economics at the William and Mary School of Business.
  • Kenneth Levin, retired air traffic controller.
  • Polly Trottenberg, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Brand New Air Traffic Control System Plan," (Federal Aviation Administration, 2025).
  • The Air Traffic Controller Workforce Imperative: Staffing Models and Their Implementation to Ensure Safe and Efficient Airspace Operations, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2025).
  • "Annual Aviation Infrastructure Report: 2025," by Marc Scribner (Reason Foundation, 2025).
  • "New air traffic academy died in Congress despite dire need for more staff," by Lori Aratani (The Washington Post, 2025).
  • "The Real Problem With the FAA," by Dorothy Robyn (The Atlantic, 2025).
  • "How Much Do Jet Aircraft Pay into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to Fly from Dallas to D.C.?" by Ann Henebery, (Eno Center for Transportation, 2018).
  • Managing the Skies, by John Strong and Clinton Oster (2016).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Freakonomics Radio Takes to the Skies," series by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • "In Praise of Maintenance," by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

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