Freakonomics Radio
New York is the latest state to legalize medical aid in dying. Stephen Dubner speaks with the governor who signed the law, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, a death doula — and an ethicist who thinks the very idea is wrong.
- SOURCES:
- Kathy Hochul, governor of New York.
- Suzanne O’Brien, death doula, founder of Doulagivers Institute.
- Al Roth, economist at Stanford University.
- Daniel Sulmasy, physician, philosopher, director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University.
- RESOURCES:
- Moral Economics: From Prostitution to Organ Sales, What Controversial Transactions Reveal About How Markets Work, by Al Roth (2026).
- “New York Moves to Allow Terminally Ill People to Die on Their Own Terms,” by Grace Ashford (New York Times, 2025).
- The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One through the End of Life, by Suzanne O’Brien (2025).
- The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, by Neil Gorsuch (2009).
- EXTRAS:
- “Make Me a Match (Update),” by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
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585. A Social Activist in Prime Minister’s Clothing
Justin Trudeau, facing record-low approval numbers, is doubling down on his progressive agenda. But he is so upbeat (and Canada-polite) that it’s easy to miss just how radical his vision is. Can he make it…
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585. A Social Activist in Prime Minister’s Clothing
Justin Trudeau, facing record-low approval numbers, is doubling down on his progressive agenda. But he is so upbeat (and Canada-polite) that it’s easy to miss just how radical his vision is. Can he make it…
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584. How to Pave the Road to Hell
So you want to help people? That’s great — but beware the law of unintended consequences. Three stories from the modern workplace. SOURCES: Joshua Angrist, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.…
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How to Pave the Road to Hell
So you want to help people? That’s great — but beware the law of unintended consequences. Three stories from the modern workplace. SOURCES: Joshua Angrist, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.…
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Extra: The Men Who Started a Thinking Revolution (Update)
The psychologist Daniel Kahneman — a Nobel laureate and the author of Thinking, Fast and Slow — recently died at age 90. Along with his collaborator Amos Tversky, he changed how we all think about decision-making.…
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Why Are There So Many Bad Bosses? (Update)
People who are good at their jobs routinely get promoted into bigger jobs they’re bad at. We explain why firms keep producing incompetent managers — and why that’s unlikely to change. SOURCES: Nick Bloom, professor…
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Why Are There So Many Bad Bosses?
People who are good at their jobs routinely get promoted into bigger jobs they’re bad at. We explain why firms keep producing incompetent managers — and why that’s unlikely to change. SOURCES: Nick Bloom, professor…
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Why Are There So Many Bad Bosses?
People who are good at their jobs routinely get promoted into bigger jobs they’re bad at. We explain why firms keep producing incompetent managers — and why that’s unlikely to change. SOURCES: Nick Bloom, professor…
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583. Are We Living Through the Most Revolutionary Period in History?
Fareed Zakaria says yes. But it’s not just political revolution — it’s economic, technological, even emotional. He doesn’t offer easy solutions but he does offer some hope. SOURCES: Fareed Zakaria, journalist and author. …
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583. Are We Living Through the Most Revolutionary Period in History?
Fareed Zakaria says yes. But it’s not just political revolution — it’s economic, technological, even emotional. He doesn’t offer easy solutions but he does offer some hope. SOURCES: Fareed Zakaria, journalist and author. …