Synopsis
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 didnt) 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. Special features include series like The Secret Life of a C.E.O. as well as a live game show, Tell Me Something I Dont Know.
Episodes
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240. Yes, the American Economy Is in a Funk -- But Not for the Reasons You Think
17/03/2016 Duration: 33minAs sexy as the digital revolution may be, it can't compare to the Second Industrial Revolution (electricity! the gas engine! antibiotics!), which created the biggest standard-of-living boost in U.S. history. The only problem, argues the economist Robert Gordon, is that the Second Industrial Revolution was a one-time event. So what happens next?
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239. The No-Tipping Point
11/03/2016 Duration: 43minThe restaurant business model is warped: kitchen wages are too low to hire cooks, while diners are put in charge of paying the waitstaff. So what happens if you eliminate tipping, raise menu prices, and redistribute the wealth? New York restaurant maverick Danny Meyer is about to find out.
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238. The United States of Cory Booker
03/03/2016 Duration: 39minThe junior U.S. Senator from New Jersey thinks bipartisanship is right around the corner. Is he just an idealistic newbie or does he see a way forward that everyone else has missed?
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237. Ask Not What Your Podcast Can Do for You
25/02/2016 Duration: 41minNow and again, Freakonomics Radio puts hat in hand and asks listeners to donate to the public-radio station that produces the show. Why on earth should anyone pay good money for something that can be had for free? Here are a few reasons.
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236. How Can This Possibly Be True?
18/02/2016 Duration: 40minA famous economics essay features a pencil (yes, a pencil) arguing that “not a single person on the face of this earth knows how to make me.” Is the pencil just bragging? In any case, what can the pencil teach us about our global interdependence — and the proper role of government in the economy?
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235. Who Needs Handwriting?
11/02/2016 Duration: 39minThe digital age is making pen and paper seem obsolete. But what are we giving up if we give up on handwriting?
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How to Fix a Broken High Schooler, in Four Easy Steps (Rebroadcast)
04/02/2016 Duration: 29minOkay, maybe the steps aren't so easy. But a program run out of a Toronto housing project has had great success in turning around kids who were headed for trouble.
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Is America’s Education Problem Really Just a Teacher Problem? (Rebroadcast)
28/01/2016 Duration: 36minIf U.S. schoolteachers are indeed "just a little bit below average," it's not really their fault. So what should be done about it?
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234. Do Boycotts Work?
21/01/2016 Duration: 37minThe Montgomery Bus Boycott, the South African divestment campaign, Chick-fil-A! Almost anyone can launch a boycott, and the media loves to cover them. But do boycotts actually produce the change they're fighting for?
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233. How to Be Less Terrible at Predicting the Future
14/01/2016 Duration: 46minExperts and pundits are notoriously bad at forecasting, in part because they aren't punished for bad predictions. Also, they tend to be deeply unscientific. The psychologist Philip Tetlock is finally turning prediction into a science -- and now even you could become a superforecaster.
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232. The True Story of the Gender Pay Gap
07/01/2016 Duration: 43minDiscrimination can't explain why women earn so much less than men. If only it were that easy.
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When Willpower Isn’t Enough (Rebroadcast)
31/12/2015 Duration: 31minSure, we all want to make good personal decisions, but it doesn't always work out. That's where "temptation bundling" comes in.
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Fixing the World, Bang-for-the-Buck Edition (Rebroadcast)
24/12/2015 Duration: 41minA team of economists has been running the numbers on the U.N.'s development goals. They have a different view of how those billions of dollars should be spent.
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231. Is Migration a Basic Human Right?
17/12/2015 Duration: 01h58sThe argument for open borders is compelling -- and deeply problematic.
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230. The Cheeseburger Diet
10/12/2015 Duration: 32minOne woman's quest to find the best burger in town can teach all of us to eat smarter.
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229. Ben Bernanke Gives Himself a Grade
03/12/2015 Duration: 47minHe was handed the keys to the global economy just as it started heading off a cliff. Fortunately, he'd seen this movie before.
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Why Do People Keep Having Children? (Rebroadcast)
26/11/2015 Duration: 40minEven a brutal natural disaster doesn't diminish our appetite for procreating. This surely means we're heading toward massive overpopulation, right? Probably not.
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228. Does “Early Education” Come Way Too Late?
19/11/2015 Duration: 45minIn our collective zeal to reform schools and close the achievement gap, we may have lost sight of where most learning really happens -- at home.
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227. Should Everyone Be in a Rock Band?
12/11/2015 Duration: 45minLessons from Tom Petty's rise and another rocker's fall.
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226. Food + Science = Victory!
05/11/2015 Duration: 38minA kitchen wizard and a nutrition detective talk about the perfect hamburger, getting the most out of garlic, and why you should use vodka in just about everything.