Freakonomics Radio
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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- Update frequency
- every 5 days
- Average duration
- 41 minutes
- Episodes
- 856
- Years Active
- 2010 - 2025
76. You Eat What You Are, Part 1
How American food so got bad -- and why it's getting so much better.
75. Retirement Kills
Sure, we all dream of leaving the office forever. But what if it's bad for your health?
74. Soul Possession
In a world where nearly everything is for sale, is it always okay to buy what isn’t yours?
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?
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?
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.
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?
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?
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."
67. The Patent Gap
Women hold fewer than one in 10 patents. Why? And what are we missing out on?
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”?
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?
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?
63. The Dilbert Index?
Measuring workplace morale -- and how to game the sick-day system.
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?
61. Does This Recession Make Me Look Fat?
A look at some non-obvious ways to lose weight.
60. Save Me From Myself
A commitment device forces you to be the person you really want to be. What could possibly go wrong?
59. The Hidden Side of the Super Bowl
A football cheat sheet to help you sound like the smartest person at the party.
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.
57. Does Money Really Buy Elections?
We all know the answer is yes. But the data -- and Rudy Giuliani -- say no.