Freakonomics Radio

They say they make companies more efficient through savvy management. Critics say they bend the rules to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers and employees. Can they both be right? (Probably not.)    SOURCES: Brendan Ballou , C.E.O. of the Public Integrity Project. Dan Glickberg , venture-capital investor. Hannah Howard , food writer. Sachin Khajuria , investor.   RESOURCES...

David Rubenstein, a product of the old bipartisan D.C., made his fortune in private equity. He’s been spending it on “patriotic philanthropy” and institutions like the Kennedy Center, where Trump fired him as chairman. Now he wonders if the center can hold.   SOURCES: David Rubenstein , co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group, principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles.   RESOURCES...

Podcasting started as a niche-nerd pursuit. Now it’s a $9 billion industry. Is that a lot? The strange economics of this thing we do.   SOURCES: Jim Bankoff , chairman and C.E.O. of Vox Media. Ben Davis , head of digital at WME. Will Page , former chief economist at Spotify and author of Pivot . Jenna Weiss-Berman , head of Paper Kite Audio and executive producer of Good Hang with Amy Poehler...

An economist calls America’s beef industry a “miracle.” An antitrust scholar calls it “broken.” Maybe they’re both right?   SOURCES: Austin Frerick , agriculture antitrust expert, fellow at Yale University, author of Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry . Robert Hodgen , C.E.O. of King Ranch. Roger Horowitz , food historian, director of the Center for the Histor...

That’s the question at the heart of a battle between Kalshi and state gambling regulators. As prediction markets boom, there are other questions, too — about insider trading, market manipulation, and whether the public has turned against them. (Part two of a two-part series .)    SOURCES: Gary Gensler , former chair of the S.E.C. and the C.F.T.C. Robin Hanson , professor of economics at...

The promise is that they can beat the experts at predicting inflation, elections, and FDA approvals. But right now, roughly 90 percent of the action is sports. Is this a future we want to bet on? Stephen Dubner speaks with, among others, the C.E.O. of Kalshi. (Part one of a two-part series .)   SOURCES: Robin Hanson , professor of economics at George Mason University. Nicole Kagan , head of r...

He was thriving in the N.F.L., but then he decided to focus on mathematics — a subject he now teaches at M.I.T. John walks Stephen Dubner through the whole story, teaches him some blocking techniques, and explains why some infinities are bigger than others.   If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts . Hosted by Simplecast, an Ad...

For decades, teams have tried (and mostly failed) to predict which college quarterbacks will thrive in the pros. Is the science finally catching up? Stephen Dubner speaks with a scout, a psychologist, a data warrior, and a Hall of Fame quarterback who nobody wanted.     SOURCES: Scott Goldman , sports psychologist, owner of the Athletic Intelligence Quotient. Dan Hatman , director o...

He started with one small shop in London. He has since resuscitated both Barnes & Noble and Waterstones. He tells Stephen Dubner exactly how he does it.   If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for...

Gina Raimondo, a former commerce secretary and governor, thinks A.I. will create plenty of jobs in the long run. She also thinks a poorly managed transition could tear the country apart. So she came up with a plan.     SOURCES: Gina Raimondo , co-chair and C.E.O. of RAISE US.   RESOURCES: " What Makes New Work Different from More Work? ," by David Autor, Caroline Chin, Anna Salomons...

Anne Pasternak (Brooklyn Museum) and Michael Roth (Wesleyan University) tell Stephen Dubner how they keep the peace in the middle of a culture war.   If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertisi...

Museums are purging their collections of looted treasures. Can they also get something in return? And what does it mean to be a museum in the 21st century? (Part 3 of an updated series originally published in 2023.)   SOURCES: Patricia Allan , museum consultant, former curator of world cultures for the Glasgow Museums. Andrea Bayer , deputy director for collections and administration at the M...

The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jennifer Egan talks about confidence, luck, and why it takes 35 drafts to get to the finish line. If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The world’s great museums are full of art and artifacts that were plundered during an era when plunder was the norm. Now there’s a push to return these works to their rightful owners. Sounds simple, right? It's not. (Part 2 of an updated series originally published in 2023.)   SOURCES: Matthew Bogdanos , assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and chief of the Antiq...

When he joined the Del Fuegos, his big brother’s band, all Warren knew how to play was a record player. Things went great for a while — and then it all fell apart. So how did he wind up writing definitive books on Springsteen and Tom Petty?  If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm....

How did a freshly looted Egyptian antiquity end up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art? Why did it take Kim Kardashian to crack the case? And how much of what you see in any museum is stolen? (Part 1 of “ Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard ,” first published in 2023.)   SOURCES: Andrea Bayer , deputy director of collections and administration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Matthew Bogd...

Angela Buchdahl was the first Asian American to be ordained as a rabbi, and now she is among the most influential rabbis in the world. She and Stephen Dubner talk about boundary-crossing, the aftermath of October 7, and whether you can be a good Jew without believing in God.    If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts . Hosted by Sim...

Former S.E.C. chair Gary Gensler has had a front-row seat to numerous financial booms and busts. How does he feel about America’s massive bet on A.I.? “Something has to give.”   SOURCES: Gary Gensler , professor of the practice of global economics, management, and finance at M.I.T.   RESOURCES: This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly , by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff (2011...

Harlan Coben doesn’t think so. The mega-best-selling author talks suburbia, impostor syndrome, and what he learned from his college friend David Foster Wallace. If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for adv...

Governments started the space age. Now, billionaires and private firms are reinventing it. Guest host Steve Levitt explores what the past can teach us about a high-stakes future. (Part two of a two-part series .)   SOURCES: Blaise Agüera y Arcas , vice president and fellow at Google, C.T.O. of technology and society. Rosanna Hoffman , head of space law, policy, and sustainability at the United Nat...

Gary and Stephen talk about creativity, recovery, getting fired, and holding grudges. They also get outside and play basketball, which is a big part of how Gary stays well.   If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data f...

At first it sounds ridiculous. But it might be inevitable. Guest host Steve Levitt talks to a team that hopes to push A.I. infrastructure off the planet. Part one of a two-part series .)   SOURCES: Blaise Agüera y Arcas , vice president and fellow at Google, C.T.O. of technology and society. Travis Beals , senior director of product management at Google, Project Suncatcher lead. Will Marshall , co...

Hillary Sterling was a Brooklyn kid raised on cream cheese sandwiches and canned potatoes. So how did she become one of New York City's best chefs? The Ci Siamo executive chef explains on the second episode of Better in Person.   If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for info...

Like tens of millions of people, Stephen Dubner thought he had a penicillin allergy. Like the vast majority, he didn’t. This misdiagnosis costs billions of dollars and causes serious health problems, so why hasn’t it been fixed? We find out in this update of a 2025 episode.   SOURCES: Kimberly Blumenthal , allergist-immunologist and researcher at the Mayo Clinic. Theresa MacPhail , associate profe...

Is the oxymoron really “the secret sauce to everything”? That’s the case Ingels makes in this debut episode of our new video show Better in Person, filmed in Stephen Dubner’s living room.   If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of...