Freakonomics Radio Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, is less reserved than the average banker. He explains why vibes are overrated, why the Fed’s independence is non-negotiable, and why tariffs could bring the economy back to the Covid era. SOURCES: Austan Goolsbee, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank … Read more
Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, the authors of The World for Sale, help us shine a light on the shadowy realm of commodity traders. SOURCES: Javier Blas, … Read more
Everyone makes mistakes. How do we learn from them? Lessons from the classroom, the Air Force, and the world’s deadliest infectious disease. SOURCES: Will Coleman, founder and C.E.O. of Alto. Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School. Babak Javid, physician-scientist and associate director of the University of California, San Francisco Center … Read more
Giving up can be painful. That’s why we need to talk about it. Today: stories about glitchy apps, leaky paint cans, broken sculptures — and a quest for the perfect bowl of ramen. SOURCES: John Boykin, website designer and failed paint can re-inventor. Angela Duckworth, host of No Stupid Questions, co-founder of Character Lab, … Read more
In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. It can also produce discoveries that save millions of lives. Tales from the front line, the lab, and the I.T. department. SOURCES: Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School. Carole Hemmelgarn, co-founder of Patients for Patient Safety U.S. and director of the Clinical Quality, Safety … Read more
We tend to think of tragedies as a single terrible moment, rather than the result of multiple bad decisions. Can this pattern be reversed? We try — with stories about wildfires, school shootings, and love. SOURCES: Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School. Helen Fisher, former senior research fellow at The … Read more
It used to be that making documentary films meant taking a vow of poverty (and obscurity). The streaming revolution changed that. Award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler talks to Stephen Dubner about capturing Billie Eilish’s musical genius and Martha Stewart’s vulnerability — and why he really, really, really needs to make a film about the New York … Read more
It’s been in development for five years and has at least a year to go. On the eve of its out-of-town debut, the actor playing Lincoln quit. And the producers still need to raise another $15 million to bring the show to New York. There really is no business like show business. (Part three of … Read more
In an episode from 2012, we looked at what Sleep No More and the Stanford Prison Experiment can tell us about who we really are. SOURCES: Felix Barrett, artistic director of Punchdrunk. Steven Levitt, professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus at Stanford University. RESOURCES: “Philip Zimbardo, the … Read more
A hit like Hamilton can come from nowhere while a sure bet can lose $20 million in a flash. We speak with some of the biggest producers in the game — Sonia Friedman, Jeffrey Seller, Hal Luftig — and learn that there is only one guarantee: the theater owners always win. (Part two of a … Read more