Podcast Episodes

346. Two (Totally Opposite) Ways to Save the Planet

Episode 346

The environmentalists say we’re doomed if we don’t drastically reduce consumption. The technologists say that human ingenuity can solve just about any problem. A debate that’s been around for decades…

Published on 7 years, 4 months ago

345. How to Be Happy

Episode 345

The U.N.’s World Happiness Report — created to curtail our unhealthy obsession with G.D.P. — is dominated every year by the Nordic countries. We head to Denmark to learn the secrets of this happiness…

Published on 7 years, 4 months ago

344. Who Decides How Much a Life Is Worth?

Episode 344

After every mass shooting or terrorist attack, victims and survivors receive a huge outpouring of support — including a massive pool of compensation money. How should that money be allocated? We spea…

Published on 7 years, 4 months ago

A Conversation With PepsiCo C.E.O. Indra Nooyi (Ep. 316 Update)

One of the world’s biggest and best-known companies just announced that its C.E.O. would be stepping down in the fall. We interviewed her as part of our series “The Secret Life of a C.E.O.," and we t…

Published on 7 years, 4 months ago

343. An Astronaut, a Catalan, and Two Linguists Walk Into a Bar…

Episode 343

In this live episode of “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know,” we learn why New York has skinny skyscrapers, how to weaponize water, and what astronauts talk about in space. Joining Stephen J. Dubner as c…

Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

342. Has Lance Armstrong Finally Come Clean?

Episode 342

He was once the most lionized athlete on the planet, with seven straight Tour de France wins and a victory over cancer too. Then the doping charges caught up with him. When he finally confessed to Op…

Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

341. Why We Choke Under Pressure (and How Not To)

Episode 341

It happens to just about everyone, whether you’re going for Olympic gold or giving a wedding toast. We hear from psychologists, economists, and the golfer who some say committed the greatest choke of…

Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

340. People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is Hard.

Episode 340

You wouldn’t think you could win a Nobel Prize for showing that humans tend to make irrational decisions. But that’s what Richard Thaler has done. The founder of behavioral economics describes his un…

Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

339. The Future of Freakonomics Radio

Episode 339

After 8 years and more than 300 episodes, it was time to either 1) quit, or 2) make the show bigger and better. We voted for number 2. Here’s a peek behind the curtain and a preview of what you’ll be…

Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

In Praise of Incrementalism (Rebroadcast)

What do Renaissance painting, civil-rights movements, and Olympic cycling have in common? In each case, huge breakthroughs came from taking tiny steps. In a world where everyone is looking for the ne…

Published on 7 years, 6 months ago