Paul’s favorite podcasts

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. Oh, and also: is it worthwhile to vote?

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?

A commitment device forces you to be the person you really want to be. What could possibly go wrong?

Education is the surest solution to a lot of problems. Except when it’s not.

The left and the right blame each other for pretty much everything, including slanted media coverage. Can they both be right?

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

Fire deaths in the U.S. have fallen 90 percent over the past 100 years, a great and greatly underappreciated gain. How did it happen — and could we ever get to zero?

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

It’s the banking tool that got millions of people around the world to stop wasting money on the lottery. So why won’t state and federal officials in the U.S. give it a chance?

Season 1, Episode 5: You know the saying: a winner never quits and a quitter never wins. To which Freakonomics Radio says … Are you sure?