Freakonomics Radio

  • 616. How to Make Something from Nothing

    Adam Moss was the best magazine editor of his generation. When he retired, he took up painting. But he wasn’t very good, and that made him sad. So he wrote a book about how creative…


  • 615. Is Ozempic as Magical as It Sounds?

    In a wide-ranging conversation with Ezekiel Emanuel, the policymaking physician and medical gadfly, we discuss the massive effects of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. We also talk about the state of cancer care,…


  • How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Update)

    Last week, we heard a former U.S. ambassador describe Russia’s escalating conflict with the U.S. Today, we revisit a 2019 episode about an overlooked front in the Cold War — a “farms race” that, decades…


  • 614. Is the U.S. Sleeping on Threats from Russia and China?

    John J. Sullivan, a former State Department official and U.S. ambassador, says yes: “Our politicians aren’t leading — Republicans or Democrats.” He gives a firsthand account of a fateful Biden-Putin encounter, talks about his new…


  • 613. Dying Is Easy. Retail Is Hard.

    Macy’s wants to recapture its glorious past. The author of the Wimpy Kid books wants to rebuild his dilapidated hometown. We just want to listen in. (Part two of a two-part series.)   SOURCES: Mark…


  • 612. Is Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Its Most Valuable Asset?

    The 166-year-old chain, which is fighting extinction, calls the parade its “gift to the nation.” With 30 million TV viewers, it’s also a big moneymaker. At least we think it is — Macy’s is famously tight-lipped…


  • How to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot Apocalypse (Update)

    It’s true that robots (and other smart technologies) will kill many jobs. It may also be true that newer collaborative robots (“cobots”) will totally reinvigorate how work gets done. That, at least, is what the…


  • 611. Fareed Zakaria on What Just Happened, and What Comes Next

    After a dramatic election, Donald Trump has returned from exile. We hear what to expect at home and abroad — and what to do if you didn’t vote for Trump.   SOURCE: Fareed Zakaria, journalist…


  • 610. Who Wins and Who Loses Once the U.S. Legalizes Weed?

    Some people want the new cannabis economy to look like the craft-beer movement. Others are hoping to build the Amazon of pot. And one expert would prefer a government-run monopoly. We listen in as they…


  • 609. What Does It Take to Run a Cannabis Farm?

    Chris Weld worked for years in emergency rooms, then ditched that career and bought an old farm in Massachusetts. He set up a distillery and started making prize-winning spirits. When cannabis was legalized, he jumped…