Podcast Episodes
Back to Search515. When You Pray to God Online, Who Else Is Listening?
Episode 515
The pandemic moved a lot of religious activity onto the internet. With faith-based apps, Silicon Valley is turning virtual prayers into earthly rewar…
3 years, 5 months ago
This Is Your Brain on Pollution (Ep. 472 Update)
As the Biden administration rushes to address climate change, Stephen Dubner looks at another, hidden cost of air pollution — one that’s affecting ho…
3 years, 6 months ago
514. Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America
Episode 514
The controversial Harvard economist, recently back from a suspension, “broke a lot of glass early in my career,” he says. His research on school ince…
3 years, 6 months ago
513. Should Public Transit Be Free?
Episode 513
It boosts economic opportunity and social mobility. It’s good for the environment. So why do we charge people to use it? The short answer: it’s compl…
3 years, 6 months ago
Why Is U.S. Media So Negative? (Ep. 477 Replay)
Breaking news! Sources say American journalism exploits our negativity bias to maximize profits, and social media algorithms add fuel to the fire. St…
3 years, 6 months ago
The Pros and Cons of America’s (Extreme) Individualism (Ep. 470 Replay)
According to a decades-long research project, the U.S. is not only the most individualistic country on earth; we’re also high on indulgence, short-te…
3 years, 7 months ago
The U.S. Is Just Different — So Let’s Stop Pretending We’re Not (Ep. 469 Replay)
We often look to other countries for smart policies on education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. But can a smart policy be simply transplanted into…
3 years, 7 months ago
512. Does Philosophy Still Matter?
Episode 512
It used to be at the center of our conversations about politics and society. Scott Hershovitz (author of Nasty, Brutish, and Short) argues that philo…
3 years, 7 months ago
511. Why Did You Marry That Person?
Episode 511
Sure, you were “in love.” But economists — using evidence from Bridgerton to Tinder — point to what’s called “assortative mating.” And it has some un…
3 years, 7 months ago
The Economist’s Guide to Parenting: 10 Years Later (Ep. 479 Replay)
In one of the earliest Freakonomics Radio episodes, we asked a bunch of economists with young kids how they approached child-rearing. Now the kids ar…
3 years, 8 months ago