Freakonomics Radio

EXPLORE

Society & Culture

© 2024 PodJoint

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts115/v4/f7/0c/c5/f70cc540-ce36-d96f-b111-c970aad5505c/mza_17703422762227531425.jpg/600x600bb.jpg

Freakonomics Radio

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

860 episodes

3 days ago

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. To get every show in the Freakonomics Radio Network without ads and a monthly bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio, start a free trial for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Show more...

Society & Culture

All content for Freakonomics Radio is the property of Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

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. To get every show in the Freakonomics Radio Network without ads and a monthly bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio, start a free trial for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Show more...

Society & Culture

Episodes (20/860)

Freakonomics Radio

Is the U.S. Really Less Corrupt Than China? (Update)

In this episode we first published in 2021, the political scientist Yuen Yuen Ang argues that different forms of government create different styles of corruption — and that the U.S. and China have more in common than we’d like to admit.

3 days ago

57 minutes 34 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

647. China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers.

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.

1 week ago

1 hour 1 minute 50 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

Is the World Ready for a Guaranteed Basic Income? (Update)

A lot of jobs in the modern economy don’t pay a living wage, and some of those jobs may be wiped out by new technologies. So what’s to be done? We revisit an episode from 2016 for a potential solution.

1 week ago

36 minutes 2 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

646. An Air Traffic Controller Walks Into a Radio Studio ...

What does it take to “play 3D chess at 250 miles an hour”? And how far will $12.5 billion of “Big, Beautiful” funding go toward modernizing the F.A.A.? (Part two of a two-part series.)

2 weeks ago

1 hour 1 minute 10 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

645. Is the Air Traffic Control System Broken?

Flying in the U.S. is still exceptionally safe, but the system relies on outdated tech and is under tremendous strain. Six experts tell us how it got this way and how it can (maybe) be fixed. (Part one of a two-part series.)

3 weeks ago

1 hour 2 minutes 37 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

644. Has America Lost Its Appetite for the Common Good?

Patrick Deneen, a political philosopher at Notre Dame, says yes. He was a Democrat for years, and has now come to be seen as an “ideological guru” of the Trump administration. But that only tells half the story ...

1 month ago

1 hour 16 minutes 42 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

Extra: A Modern Whaler Speaks Up (Update)

Bjørn Andersen has killed hundreds of minke whales. He tells us how he does it, why he does it, and what he thinks would happen if whale-hunting ever stopped. (This bonus episode is a follow-up to our series “Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.”)

1 month ago

26 minutes 47 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

What Can Whales Teach Us About Clean Energy, Workplace Harmony, and Living the Good Life? (Update)

In the final episode of our whale series, we learn about fecal plumes, shipping noise, and why "Moby-Dick" is still worth reading. (Part 3 of "Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.")

1 month ago

48 minutes 11 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

Why Do People Still Hunt Whales? (Update)

For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine. Whale meat was also on a few menus. But today, demand for whale products is at a historic low. And yet some countries still have a whaling industry. We find out why. (Part 2 of “Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.”)

1 month ago

37 minutes 32 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

The First Great American Industry (Update)

Whaling was, in the words of one scholar, “early capitalism unleashed on the high seas.” How did the U.S. come to dominate the whale market? Why did whale hunting die out here — and continue to grow elsewhere? And is that whale vomit in your perfume? (Part 1 of “Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.”)

1 month ago

45 minutes 2 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

Why Does Tipping Still Exist? (Update)

It’s a haphazard way of paying workers, and yet it keeps expanding. With federal tax policy shifting in a pro-tip direction, we revisit an episode from 2019 to find out why.

1 month ago

47 minutes 25 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

643. Why Do Candles Still Exist?

They should have died out when the lightbulb was invented. Instead they’re a $10 billion industry. What does it mean that we still want tiny fires inside our homes?

1 month ago

47 minutes 22 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

642. How to Wage Peace, According to Tony Blinken

The former secretary of state isn’t a flamethrower, but he certainly has strong opinions. In this wide-ranging conversation with Stephen Dubner, he gives them all: on Israel, Gaza, China, Iran, Russia, Biden, Trump — and the rest of the world.

2 months ago

1 hour 6 minutes 28 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

Why Does One Tiny State Set the Rules for Everyone? (Update)

Until recently, Delaware was almost universally agreed to be the best place for companies to incorporate. Now, with Elon Musk leading a corporate stampede out of the First State, we revisit an episode from 2023 that asked if Delaware’s “franchise” is wildly corrupt, wildly efficient … or both?

2 months ago

47 minutes 2 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

641. What Does It Cost to Lead a Creative Life?

For years, the playwright David Adjmi was considered “polarizing and difficult.” But creating "Stereophonic" seems to have healed him. Stephen Dubner gets the story — and sorts out what Adjmi has in common with Richard Wagner.

2 months ago

46 minutes 22 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

640. Why Governments Are Betting Big on Sports

The Gulf States and China are spending billions to build stadiums and buy up teams — but what are they really buying? And can an entrepreneur from Cincinnati make his own billions by bringing baseball to Dubai?

2 months ago

50 minutes 12 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

How to Make Your Own Luck (Update)

Before she decided to become a poker pro, Maria Konnikova didn’t know how many cards are in a deck. But she did have a Ph.D. in psychology, a brilliant coach, and a burning desire to know whether life is driven more by skill or chance. She found some answers in poker — and she’s willing to tell us everything she learned.

2 months ago

58 minutes 7 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

639. “This Country Kicks My Ass All the Time”

Cory Booker on the politics of fear, the politics of hope, and how to split the difference.

2 months ago

53 minutes 46 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

638. Are You Ready for the Elder Swell?

In the U.S., there will soon be more people over 65 than there are under 18 — and it’s not just lifespan that’s improving, it’s “healthspan” too. Unfortunately, the American approach to aging is stuck in the 20th century. In less than an hour, we try to unstick it. (Part three of a three-part series, “Cradle to Grave.”)

3 months ago

54 minutes 53 seconds

Freakonomics Radio

What Do Medieval Nuns and Bo Jackson Have in Common? (Update)

In this episode from 2013, we look at whether spite pays — and if it even exists.

3 months ago

36 minutes 13 seconds