Freakonomics Radio

  • 480. How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy? (Replay)

    Evidence from Nazi Germany and 1940’s America (and pretty much everywhere else) shows that discrimination is incredibly costly — to the victims, of course, but also the perpetrators. One modern solution is to invoke a…


  • 564. How to Succeed at Failing, Part 4: Extreme Resiliency

    Everyone makes mistakes. How do you learn from them? Lessons from the classroom, the Air Force, and the world’s deadliest infectious disease.   RESOURCES: Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, by Amy…


  • 563. How to Succeed at Failing, Part 3: Grit vs. Quit

    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.    RESOURCES…


  • 562. How to Succeed at Failing, Part 2: Life and Death

    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.   RESOURCES: Right Kind of Wrong: The Science…


  • 561. How to Succeed at Failing, Part 1: The Chain of Events

    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.…


  • 232. A New Nobel Laureate Explains the Gender Pay Gap (Replay)

    Claudia Goldin is the newest winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. We spoke with her in 2016 about why women earn so much less than men — and how it’s not all explained by…


  • 560. Is This “the Worst Job in Corporate America” — or Maybe the Best?

    John Ray is an emergency C.E.O., a bankruptcy expert who takes over companies that have succumbed to failure or fraud. He’s currently cleaning up the mess left by alleged crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried. And he…


  • 559. Are Two C.E.O.s Better Than One?

    If two parents can run a family, why shouldn’t two executives run a company? We dig into the research and hear firsthand stories of both triumph and disaster. Also: lessons from computer programmers, Simon and…


  • 558. The Facts Are In: Two Parents Are Better Than One

    In her new book The Two-Parent Privilege, the economist Melissa Kearney says it’s time for liberals to face the facts: U.S. marriage rates have plummeted but the babies keep coming, and the U.S. now leads…


  • 557. When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee?

    The union that represents N.F.L. players conducted their first-ever survey of workplace conditions, and issued a report card to all 32 teams. What did the survey reveal? Clogged showers, rats in the locker room —…