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Society & Culture
Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior.
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97. Lying to Ourselves
We rely on polls and surveys to tell us how people will behave in the future. Too bad they're completely unreliable.
05:4517/10/2012
96. The Cobra Effect
When you want to get rid of a nasty pest, one obvious solution comes to mind: just offer a cash reward. But be careful -- because nothing backfires quite like a bounty.
34:1010/10/2012
95. Why America’s Economic Growth May Be (Shh!) Over
Sure, we love our computers and all the rest of our digital toys. But when it comes to real economic gains, can we ever match old-school innovations like the automobile and electricity?
05:4503/10/2012
94. The Tale of the $15 Tomato
Trying to go rustic by baking, brewing, and knitting at home can be terribly inefficient. And that's a wonderful thing.
09:2423/09/2012
93. Why Online Poker Should Be Legal
The data show that poker is indeed a game of skill, not chance, and a Federal judge agrees. So why are players still being treated like criminals?
05:2519/09/2012
92. Fear Thy Nature
What "Sleep No More" and the Stanford Prison Experiment tell us about who we really are.
37:1512/09/2012
91. Can Selling Beer Cut Down on Public Drunkenness?
Binge drinking is a big problem at college football games. Oliver Luck -- father of No. 1 NFL pick Andrew, and the athletic director at West Virginia University -- had an unusual idea to help solve it.
05:4505/09/2012
90. How Deep Is the Shadow Economy?
What we know -- and don't know -- about the gazillions of dollars that never show up on anyone's books.
19:2229/08/2012
89. There’s Cake in the Breakroom!
If you think working from home offers too many distractions, just think about what happens at the office.
06:1022/08/2012
88. Freakonomics Goes to College, Part 2
College tends to make people happier, healthier, and wealthier. But how?
33:3115/08/2012
87. The Season of Death
We know that summertime brings far too many fatal accidents. But you may be surprised if you dig into the numbers.
06:1608/08/2012
86. Freakonomics Goes to College, Part 1
What's a college degree really worth these days?
29:0129/07/2012
85. Olympian Economics
Do host cities really get the benefits their boosters promise, or are they just engaging in some fiscal gymnastics?
06:4125/07/2012
84. Legacy of a Jerk
What happens to your reputation when you're no longer around to defend it?
43:1018/07/2012
83. What's Wrong With Cash for Grades?
If we want our kids to thrive in school, maybe we should just pay them.
06:1410/07/2012
82. Please Steal My Car
Levitt and Dubner answer your FREAK-quently Asked Questions about junk food, insurance, and how to make an economist happy.
22:4604/07/2012
81. Star-Spangled Banter?
Once a week, the British Prime Minister goes before the House of Commons for a lightning round of hard questions. Should the U.S. give it a try?
07:1226/06/2012
80. Riding the Herd Mentality
How using peer pressure -- and good, old-fashioned shame -- can push people to do the right thing.
35:4720/06/2012
79. A Cheap Employee Is … a Cheap Employee
Paying workers as little as possible seems smart -- unless you can make more money by paying them more.
06:0313/06/2012
78. You Eat What You Are, Part 2
To feed 7 billion people while protecting the environment, it would seem that going local is a no-brainer -- until you start looking at the numbers.
28:4906/06/2012
77. Playing the Nerd Card
The NBA’s superstars are suddenly sporting Urkel glasses -- but is it more than a fashion statement?
05:2930/05/2012
76. You Eat What You Are, Part 1
How American food so got bad -- and why it's getting so much better.
29:4323/05/2012
75. Retirement Kills
Sure, we all dream of leaving the office forever. But what if it's bad for your health?
05:3616/05/2012
74. Soul Possession
In a world where nearly everything is for sale, is it always okay to buy what isn’t yours?
28:0707/05/2012
73. A Rose By Any Other Distance
At a time when people worry about every mile their food must travel, why is it okay to import most of our cut flowers from thousands of miles away?
05:3902/05/2012
72. Lottery Loopholes and Deadly Doctors
What do you do when smart people keep making stupid mistakes? And: are we a nation of financial illiterates?
56:4725/04/2012
71. Is Good Corporate Citizenship Also Good for the Bottom Line?
A new study says that yes, it is -- but try telling that to the United Nations officials who are preaching sustainability practices.
06:2018/04/2012
70. Eating and Tweeting
Does the future of food lie in its past – or inside a tank of liquid nitrogen? Also: how anti-social can you be on a social network?
57:0011/04/2012
69. The Hidden Cost of False Alarms
If any other product failed 94 percent of the time, you’d probably stop using it. So why do we put up with burglar alarms?
05:4103/04/2012
68. The Power of the President -- and the Thumb
How much does the President of the United States really matter? And: where did all the hitchhikers go? A pair of "attribution errors."
57:0228/03/2012
67. The Patent Gap
Women hold fewer than one in 10 patents. Why? And what are we missing out on?
04:4622/03/2012
66. Show and Yell
Is booing an act of verbal vandalism or the last true expression of democracy? And: when you drive a Prius, are you guilty of “conspicuous conservation”?
57:3114/03/2012
65. It’s Not the President, Stupid
Isn’t it time to admit that the U.S. economy doesn’t have a commander in chief?
05:2407/03/2012
64. The Days of Wine and Mouses
Do more expensive wines taste better? And: what does one little rodent in a salad say about a restaurant’s future?
56:2127/02/2012
63. The Dilbert Index?
Measuring workplace morale -- and how to game the sick-day system.
05:1322/02/2012
62. How Biased Is Your Media?
The left and the right blame each other for pretty much everything, including slanted media coverage. Can they both be right?
35:3615/02/2012
61. Does This Recession Make Me Look Fat?
A look at some non-obvious ways to lose weight.
05:0208/02/2012
60. Save Me From Myself
A commitment device forces you to be the person you really want to be. What could possibly go wrong?
33:5801/02/2012
59. The Hidden Side of the Super Bowl
A football cheat sheet to help you sound like the smartest person at the party.
05:0225/01/2012
58. What Do Hand-Washing and Financial Illiteracy Have in Common?
Education is the surest solution to a lot of problems. Except when it’s not.
34:2219/01/2012
57. Does Money Really Buy Elections?
We all know the answer is yes. But the data -- and Rudy Giuliani -- say no.
05:3111/01/2012
56. Why Is “I Don’t Know” So Hard to Say?
Levitt and Dubner answer your FREAK-quently Asked Questions about certifying politicians, irrational fears, and the toughest three words in the English language.
15:3804/01/2012
55. The Perils of Drunk Walking
We know it's terribly dangerous to drive drunk. But heading home on foot isn't the solution.
05:2127/12/2011
54. How Is a Bad Radio Station Like Our Public-School System? (Encore)
The thrill of customization, via Pandora and a radical new teaching method
29:3121/12/2011
53. How American Food Got So Bad
Tyler Cowen points fingers. There's plenty of blame to go around.
04:3713/12/2011
52. Weird Recycling
Clever ways to not waste our waste.
24:0502/12/2011
51. What Makes a Donor Donate?
The science of charity, with economist John List.
05:0129/11/2011
50. The Truth Is Out There…Isn’t It?
There’s a nasty secret about hot-button topics like global warming: knowledge is not always power.
30:0522/11/2011
49. Unnatural Turkeys
Our appetite for breast meat renders our holiday birds unable to reproduce.
04:3816/11/2011
48. Boo…Who?
Is booing an act of verbal vandalism—or the last true expression of democracy?
29:4208/11/2011