Freakonomics Radio

  • A Question-Asker Becomes a Question-Answerer

    For the 20th anniversary of Freakonomics, Debbie Millman of Design Matters interviews Stephen Dubner about his upbringing, his writing career, and why it’s important to “swing your swing.” Plus: a sneak peek at a new…


  • How Can We Break Our Addiction to Contempt? (Update)

    Arthur Brooks, an economist and former head of the American Enterprise Institute, believes that there is only one remedy for our political polarization: love. In this 2021 episode, we ask if Brooks is a fool…


  • 649. Should Ohio State (and Michigan, and Clemson) Join the N.F.L.?

    Soccer leagues around the world use a promotion-and-relegation system to reward the best teams and punish the worst. We ask whether American sports fans would enjoy a similar system. (Part two of a two-part series.)…


  • 648. The Merger You Never Knew You Wanted

    The N.F.L. is a powerful cartel with imperial desires. College football is about to undergo a financial reckoning. So maybe they should team up? (Part one of a two-part series.)   SOURCES: DeMaurice Smith, former…


  • Is the U.S. Really Less Corrupt Than China? (Update)

    In this episode we first published in 2021, the political scientist Yuen Yuen Ang argues that different forms of government create different styles of corruption — and that the U.S. and China have more in…


  • 647. China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers.

    In his new book “Breakneck,” Dan Wang argues that the U.S. has a lot to learn from China. He also says that “no two peoples are more alike.” We have questions.   SOURCES: Dan Wang,…


  • Is the World Ready for a Guaranteed Basic Income? (Update)

    A lot of jobs in the modern economy don’t pay a living wage, and some of those jobs may be wiped out by new technologies. So what’s to be done? We revisit an episode from…


  • 646. An Air Traffic Controller Walks Into a Radio Studio …

    What does it take to “play 3D chess at 250 miles an hour”? And how far will $12.5 billion of “Big, Beautiful” funding go toward modernizing the F.A.A.? (Part two of a two-part series.)  …


  • 645. Is the Air Traffic Control System Broken?

    Flying in the U.S. is still exceptionally safe, but the system relies on outdated tech and is under tremendous strain. Six experts tell us how it got this way and how it can (maybe) be…


  • 644. Has America Lost Its Appetite for the Common Good?

    Patrick Deneen, a political philosopher at Notre Dame, says yes. He was a Democrat for years, and has now come to be seen as an “ideological guru” of the Trump administration. But that only tells…


Let's Evolve Together
Logo