On this episode of Slate Money, Felix Salmon of Fusion, Cathy O'Neil of mathbabe.org, and Slate's Moneybox columnist Jordan Weissmann discuss:

• The economics of partying on New Years Eve in Times Square

• The risky side of derivatives trading 

• Warren Buffett and predatory lending

Read about the Gaussian copula function in Felix's piece for Wired.

Check out other Panoply podcasts at itunes.com/panoply.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @Felix salmon, @mathbabedotorg, @JHWeissmann

Podcast production by Zachary Dinerstein

Slate Money is brought to you by TaxAct. File simple federal and state returns for free by visiting TaxAct.com/slate. TaxAct will guide you through every step of the process—using your computer, tablet or phone—and get you the maximum refund, guaranteed.

And by Texture, the mobile app that lets you tap directly into the world's most popular magazines, anywhere, using your phone or tablet. Dive deeper into Vogue, People, Esquire, Time — and hundreds more — with interactive content for a richer reading experience. Right now, try Texture for free at Texture.com/money.

And by MileIQ. If you're one of the 60 million Americans who drive for work then you know that your miles are your dollars. Every mile you don't log is money that you are losing. MileIQ is the only mileage-tracker app that detects, logs, and calculates your miles for you, ensuring that every mile is accounted for and no dollar is lost. Try MileIQ for free today by texting SLATEMONEY to 31996.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices