Podcast Episodes

Why Do We Really Follow the News? (Rebroadcast)

There are all kinds of civics-class answers to that question. But how true are they? Could it be that we like to read about war, politics, and miscellaneous heartbreak simply because it's (gasp) ente…

Published on 9 years, 6 months ago

251. Are We in a Mattress-Store Bubble?

Episode 251

You've seen them — everywhere! — and often clustered together, as if central planners across America decided that what every city really needs is a Mattress District. There are now dozens of online r…

Published on 9 years, 6 months ago

Time to Take Back the Toilet

Public bathrooms are noisy, poorly designed, and often nonexistent. What to do?

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Published on 9 years, 6 months ago

250. Why Does Everyone Hate Flying? And Other Questions Only a Pilot Can Answer

Episode 250

Patrick Smith, the author of Cockpit Confidential, answers every question we can throw at him about what really happens up in the air. Just don't get him started on pilotless planes -- or whether the…

Published on 9 years, 6 months ago

249. The Longest Long Shot

Episode 249

When the uncelebrated Leicester City Football Club won the English Premier League, it wasn't just the biggest underdog story in recent history. It was a sign of changing economics — and that other im…

Published on 9 years, 7 months ago

248. How to Be Tim Ferriss

Episode 248

Our Self-Improvement Month concludes with a man whose entire life and career are one big pile of self-improvement. Nutrition? Check. Bizarre physical activities? Check. Working less and earning more?…

Published on 9 years, 7 months ago

247. How to Win Games and Beat People

Episode 247

Games are as old as civilization itself, and some people think they have huge social value regardless of whether you win or lose. Tom Whipple is not one of those people. That's why he consulted an ar…

Published on 9 years, 7 months ago

246. How to Get More Grit in Your Life

Episode 246

The psychologist Angela Duckworth argues that a person's level of stick-to-itiveness is directly related to their level of success. No big surprise there. But grit, she says, isn't something you're b…

Published on 9 years, 7 months ago

245. Being Malcolm Gladwell

Episode 245

"Books are a pain in the ass," says Gladwell, who has written some of the most popular, influential, and beloved non-fiction books in recent history. In this wide-ranging and candid conversation, he …

Published on 9 years, 7 months ago

244. How to Become Great at Just About Anything

Episode 244

What if the thing we call "talent" is grotesquely overrated? And what if deliberate practice is the secret to excellence? Those are the claims of the research psychologist Anders Ericsson, who has be…

Published on 9 years, 8 months ago