Freakonomics Radio show

Freakonomics Radio

Summary: Have fun discovering the hidden side of everything with host Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of the best-selling "Freakonomics” books. Each week, hear surprising conversations that explore the riddles of everyday life and the weird wrinkles of human nature—from cheating and crime to parenting and sports. Dubner talks with Nobel laureates and provocateurs, social scientists and entrepreneurs — and his “Freakonomics” co-author Steve Levitt. After just a few episodes, this podcast will have you too thinking like a Freak. Produced by WNYC Studios, home of other great podcasts such as “Radiolab," "Death, Sex & Money," and "On the Media."

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  • Artist: Stephen J. Dubner and WNYC Studios
  • Copyright: Stephen J. Dubner and WNYC

Podcasts:

 How to Be Tim Ferriss | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 41:28

Our Self-Improvement Month concludes with a man whose entire life and career are one big pile of self-improvement. Nutrition? Check. Bizarre physical activities? Check. Working less and earning more? Check. Tim Ferriss, creator of the Four-Hour universe, may at first glance look like a charlatan, but it seems more likely that he's a wizard -- and the kind of self-improvement ally we all want on our side.

 How to Win Games and Beat People | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 52:26

Games are as old as civilization itself, and some people think they have huge social value regardless of whether you win or lose. Tom Whipple is not one of those people. That's why he consulted an army of preposterously overqualified experts to find the secret to winning any game.

 How to Get More Grit in Your Life | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 44:25

The psychologist Angela Duckworth argues that a person's level of stick-to-itiveness is directly related to their level of success. No big surprise there. But grit, she says, isn't something you're born with -- it can be learned. Here's how.

 Being Malcolm Gladwell | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 28:18

"Books are a pain in the ass," says Gladwell, who has written some of the most popular, influential, and beloved non-fiction books in recent history. In this wide-ranging and candid conversation, he describes other pains in the ass -- as well as his passions, his limits, and why he'll never take up golf.

 How to Become Great at Just About Anything | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 51:51

What if the thing we call "talent" is grotesquely overrated? And what if deliberate practice is the secret to excellence? Those are the claims of the research psychologist Anders Ericsson, who has been studying the science of expertise for decades. He tells us everything he's learned.

 How to Be More Productive | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 38:34

It's Self-Improvement Month at Freakonomics Radio. We begin with a topic that seems to be on everyone's mind: how to get more done in less time. First, however, a warning: there's a big difference between being busy and being productive.

 Is the World Ready for a Guaranteed Basic Income? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 36:40

A lot of full-time jobs in the modern economy simply don't pay a living wage. And even those jobs may be obliterated by new technologies. What's to be done so that financially vulnerable people aren't just crushed? It may finally be time for an idea that economists have promoted for decades.

 Are Payday Loans Really as Evil as People Say? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 49:36

Critics -- including President Obama -- say short-term, high-interest loans are predatory, trapping borrowers in a cycle of debt. But some economists see them as a useful financial instrument for people who need them. As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau promotes new regulation, we ask: who's right?

 The Economics of Sleep, Part 2 (Rebroadcast) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 42:47

People who sleep better earn more money. Now all we have to do is teach everyone to sleep better.

 The Economics of Sleep, Part 1 (Rebroadcast) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 45:37

Could a lack of sleep help explain why some people get much sicker than others?

 Yes, the American Economy Is in a Funk -- But Not for the Reasons You Think | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 33:29

As 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?

 The No-Tipping Point | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 43:14

The 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.

 The United States of Cory Booker | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 39:18

The 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?

 Ask Not What Your Podcast Can Do for You | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 41:39

Now 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.

 How Can This Possibly Be True? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 40:49

A 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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