Freakonomics Radio

  • Trust Me (Ep. 266 Rebroadcast)

    Societies where people trust one another are healthier and wealthier. In the U.S. (and the U.K. and elsewhere), social trust has been falling for decades — in part because our populations are more diverse. What…


  • 445. Why Do We Seek Comfort in the Familiar?

    In this episode of No Stupid Questions — a Freakonomics Radio Network show launched earlier this year — Stephen Dubner and Angela Duckworth debate why we watch, read, and eat familiar things during a crisis,…


  • 444. How Do You Cure a Compassion Crisis?

    Patients in the U.S. healthcare system often feel they’re treated with a lack of empathy. Doctors and nurses have tragically high levels of burnout. Could fixing the first problem solve the second? And does the…


  • 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.…