Podcast Episodes

452. Jeff Immelt Knows He Let You Down

Episode 452

Not so long ago, G.E. was the most valuable company in the world, a conglomerate that included everything from light bulbs and jet engines to financial services and The Apprentice. Now it’s selling o…

Published on 4 years, 10 months ago

451. Can I Ask You a Ridiculously Personal Question?

Episode 451

Most of us are are afraid to ask sensitive questions about money, sex, politics, etc. New research shows this fear is largely unfounded. Time for some interesting conversations!

Hosted by Simplecast,…

Published on 4 years, 10 months ago

450. How to Be Better at Death

Episode 450

Caitlin Doughty is a mortician who would like to put herself out of business. Our corporate funeral industry, she argues, has made us forget how to offer our loved ones an authentic sendoff. Doughty …

Published on 4 years, 10 months ago

449. How to Fix the Incentives in Cancer Research

Episode 449

For all the progress made in fighting cancer, it still kills 10 million people a year, and some types remain especially hard to detect and treat. Pancreatic cancer, for instance, is nearly always fat…

Published on 4 years, 11 months ago

448. The Downside of Disgust

Episode 448

It’s a powerful biological response that has preserved our species for millennia. But now it may be keeping us from pursuing strategies that would improve the environment, the economy, even our own h…

Published on 4 years, 11 months ago

447. How Much Do We Really Care About Children?

Episode 447

They can’t vote or hire lobbyists. The policies we create to help them aren’t always so helpful. Consider the car seat: parents hate it, the safety data are unconvincing, and new evidence suggests an…

Published on 4 years, 11 months ago

446. “We Get All Our Great Stuff from Europe — Including Witch Hunting.”

Episode 446

We’ve collected some of our favorite moments from People I (Mostly) Admire, the latest show from the Freakonomics Radio Network. Host Steve Levitt seeks advice from scientists and inventors, memory w…

Published on 4 years, 11 months ago

Trust Me (Ep. 266 Rebroadcast)

Societies where people trust one another are healthier and wealthier. In the U.S. (and the U.K. and elsewhere), social trust has been falling for decades — in part because our populations are more di…

Published on 5 years ago

445. Why Do We Seek Comfort in the Familiar?

Episode 445

In this episode of No Stupid Questions — a Freakonomics Radio Network show launched earlier this year — Stephen Dubner and Angela Duckworth debate why we watch, read, and eat familiar things during a…

Published on 5 years ago

444. How Do You Cure a Compassion Crisis?

Episode 444

Patients in the U.S. healthcare system often feel they’re treated with a lack of empathy. Doctors and nurses have tragically high levels of burnout. Could fixing the first problem solve the second? A…

Published on 5 years ago