Stephen Dubner, live on stage, mixes it up with outbound mayor London Breed, and asks economists whether A.I. can be “human-centered” and if Tang is a gateway drug.
- SOURCES:
- London Breed, former mayor of San Francisco.
- Erik Brynjolfsson, professor of economics at Stanford University
- Koleman Strumpf, professor of economics at Wake Forest University
- RESOURCES:
- “SF crime rate at lowest point in more than 20 years, mayor says,” by George Kelly (The San Francisco Standard, 2025)
- “How the Trump Whale and Prediction Markets Beat the Pollsters in 2024,” by Niall Ferguson and Manny Rincon-Cruz (Wall StreetJournal, 2024)
- “Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Discovery, and Product Innovation,” by Aidan Toner-Rodgers (MIT Department of Economics, 2024)
- EXTRAS:
- “Why Are Cities (Still) So Expensive?” by Freakonomics Radio (2020)
443. A Sneak Peek at Biden’s Top Economist
The incoming president argues that the economy and the environment are deeply connected. This is reflected in his choice for National Economic Council director — Brian Deese, a climate-policy wonk and veteran of the no-drama-Obama…
PLAYBACK (2015): Could the Next Brooklyn Be … Las Vegas?!
Tony Hsieh, the longtime C.E.O. of Zappos, was an iconoclast and a dreamer. Five years ago, we sat down with him around a desert campfire to talk about those dreams. Hsieh died recently from injuries…
442. Is it Too Late for General Motors to Go Electric?
G.M. produces more than 20 times as many cars as Tesla, but Tesla is worth nearly 10 times as much. Mary Barra, the C.E.O. of G.M., is trying to fix that. We speak with her…
441. Does Advertising Actually Work? (Part 2: Digital)
Google and Facebook are worth a combined $2 trillion, with the vast majority of their revenue coming from advertising. In our previous episode, we learned that TV advertising is much less effective than the industry…
440. Does Advertising Actually Work? (Part 1: TV)
Companies around the world spend more than half-a-trillion dollars each year on ads. The ad industry swears by its efficacy — but a massive new study tells a different story.
439. Please Get Your Noise Out of My Ears
The modern world overwhelms us with sounds we didn’t ask for, like car alarms and cell-phone “halfalogues.” What does all this noise cost us in terms of productivity, health, and basic sanity?
438. How to Succeed by Being Authentic (Hint: Carefully)
John Mackey, the C.E.O. of Whole Foods, has learned the perils of speaking his mind. But he still says what he thinks about everything from “conscious leadership” to the behavioral roots of the obesity epidemic.…
Why the Left Had to Steal the Right’s Dark-Money Playbook
The sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh spent years studying crack dealers, sex workers, and the offspring of billionaires. Then he wandered into an even stranger world: social media. He spent the past five years at Facebook and…
437. Many Businesses Thought They Were Insured for a Pandemic. They Weren’t.
A fine reading of most policies for “business interruption” reveals that viral outbreaks aren’t covered. Some legislators are demanding that insurance firms pay up anyway. Is it time to rethink insurance entirely?
436. Forget Everything You Know About Your Dog
As beloved and familiar as they are, we rarely stop to consider life from the dog’s point of view. That stops now. In this latest installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, we discuss Inside…