The Freakonomics Radio Book Club

David Rubenstein, a product of the old bipartisan D.C., made his fortune in private equity. He’s been spending it on “patriotic philanthropy” and institutions like the Kennedy Center, where Trump fired him as chairman. Now he wonders if the center can hold.

• SOURCES:
  • David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group, principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles.

• RESOURCES:
  • Inside the Owner's Box: Conversations on Power and Leadership in Sports, by David M. Rubenstein (2026).
  • The American Experiment: Dialogues on a Dream, by David M. Rubenstein (2021).
  • The American Story: Conversations With Master Historians, by David M. Rubenstein (2019).
  • Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis (2003).

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Merger You Never Knew You Wanted," by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
  • "The Secret Life of a C.E.O.," series by Freakonomics Radio (2018).
  • "Extra: David Rubenstein Full Interview," by Freakonomics Radio (2018).
  • "The Longest Long Shot," by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

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One possibility: a leading hypothesis pursued by researchers (and funders) was built on science that now appears to be fraudulent. Stephen Dubner speaks with the scientist and the journalist who blew the whistle.

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Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. In this updated episode from 2025, journalists Javier Blas and Jack Farchy help us shine a light on the shadowy realm of commodity traders.

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... of bad reviews, meager financing, or artificial intelligence. But he is worried that the world is full of sloppy thinkers who mistake facts for the truth.

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For 50 years, the healthcare industry has been trying (and failing) to harness the power of artificial intelligence. It may finally be ready for prime time. What will this mean for human doctors — and the rest of us? (Part four of “The Freakonomics Radio Guide to Getting Better.”)

• SOURCES:
  • Bob Wachter, professor, chair of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
  • Pierre Elias, cardiologist, assistant professor of biomedical informatics at Columbia University, medical director for artificial intelligence at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

• RESOURCES:
  • A Giant Leap: How AI Is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future, by Bob Wachter (2026).
  • "Epic Systems (MyChart)," by Acquired (2025).
  • "Detecting structural heart disease from electrocardiograms using AI," by Pierre Elias and Timothy Poterucha (Nature, 2025).
  • "What Are the Risks of Sharing Medical Records With ChatGPT?" by Maggie Astor (New York Times, 2025).
  • "Will Generative Artificial Intelligence Deliver on Its Promise in Health Care?" by Bob Wachter and Erik Brynjolfsson (JAMA, 2023).
  • The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine’s Computer Age, by Bob Wachter (2015).

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Doctor Won’t See You Now," by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
  • "How to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot Apocalypse (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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Zeke Emanuel (a physician, medical ethicist, and policy wonk) has some different ideas for how to lead a healthy and meaningful life. It starts with ice cream. (Part three of “The Freakonomics Radio Guide to Getting Better.”)

• SOURCES:
  • Zeke Emanuel, oncologist, bioethicist, professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

• RESOURCES:
  • Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life, by Zeke Emanuel (2026).
  • "Nutrition Science’s Most Preposterous Result," by David Merritt Johns (The Atlantic, 2023).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Is Ozempic as Magical as It Sounds?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm Emanuel," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • "Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • "What’s the “Best” Exercise?" by Freakonomics Radio (2014).

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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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Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, the authors of The World for Sale, help us shine a light on the shadowy realm of commodity traders.

• SOURCES:
  • Javier Blas, opinion columnist at Bloomberg News.
  • Jack Farchy, energy and commodities senior reporter at Bloomberg News.

• RESOURCES:
  • The World For Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources, by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy (2021)
  • The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich, by Daniel Ammann (2010).

• EXTRAS:
  • "How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Update)" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "The First Great American Industry," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

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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).

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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).

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