Podcast Episodes

265. The White House Gets Into the Nudge Business

Episode 265

A tiny behavioral-sciences startup is trying to improve the way federal agencies do their work. Considering the size (and habits) of most federal agencies, this isn't so simple. But after a series of…

Published on 9 years, 1 month ago

264. In Praise of Incrementalism

Episode 264

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 9 years, 2 months ago

263. In Praise of Maintenance

Episode 263

Has our culture's obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact that things also need to be taken care of?

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Published on 9 years, 2 months ago

262. This Is Your Brain on Podcasts

Episode 262

Neuroscientists still have a great deal to learn about the human brain. One recent MRI study sheds some light, finding that a certain kind of storytelling stimulates enormous activity across broad sw…

Published on 9 years, 2 months ago

How To Win A Nobel Prize (Rebroadcast)

The process is famously secretive (and conducted in Swedish!) but we pry the lid off at least a little bit.

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Published on 9 years, 2 months ago

261. Why Are We Still Using Cash?

Episode 261

It facilitates crime, bribery, and tax evasion -- and yet some governments (including ours) are printing more cash than ever. Other countries, meanwhile, are ditching cash entirely. And if Star Trek …

Published on 9 years, 3 months ago

260. Has the U.S. Presidency Become a Dictatorship?

Episode 260

Sure, we all pay lip service to the Madisonian system of checks and balances. But as one legal scholar argues, presidents have been running roughshod over the system for decades. The result? An accum…

Published on 9 years, 3 months ago

259. Ten Signs You Might Be a Libertarian

Episode 259

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate, likes to say that most Americans are libertarians but don't know it yet. So why can't Libertarians (and other third parties) gain more po…

Published on 9 years, 3 months ago

258. Why Uber Is an Economist’s Dream

Episode 258

To you, it's just a ride-sharing app that gets you where you're going. But to an economist, Uber is a massive repository of moment-by-moment data that is helping answer some of the field's most elusi…

Published on 9 years, 3 months ago

257. The Future (Probably) Isn’t as Scary as You Think

Episode 257

Internet pioneer Kevin Kelly tries to predict the future by identifying what's truly inevitable. How worried should we be? Yes, robots will probably take your job -- but the future will still be pret…

Published on 9 years, 4 months ago