Freakonomics Radio
It regulates 20 percent of the U.S. economy, and its commissioner has an aggressive agenda — faster drug approvals, healthier food, cures for diabetes and cancer. How much can he deliver? (Part two of “The Freakonomics Radio Guide to Getting Better.”)
- SOURCES:
- Marty Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
- RESOURCES:
- “Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health,” by Vishal Patel, Michael Liu, and Anupam Jena (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2025).
- “What the evidence tells us about Tylenol, leucovorin, and autism,” by Matthew Herper (STAT, 2025).
- “I Run the F.D.A. Pharma Ads Are Hurting Americans.” by Marty Makary (New York Times, 2025).
- Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health, by Marty Makary (2024).
- EXTRAS:
- “Are You Really Allergic to Penicillin?” by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
- “How to Fix the Hot Mess of U.S. Healthcare,” by Freakonomics Radio (2021).
- “Bad Medicine, Part 3: Death by Diagnosis,” by Freakonomics Radio (2016).
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649. Should Ohio State (and Michigan, and Clemson) Join the N.F.L.?
Soccer leagues around the world use a promotion-and-relegation system to reward the best teams and punish the worst. We ask whether American sports fans would enjoy a similar system. (Part two of a two-part series.)…
648. The Merger You Never Knew You Wanted
The N.F.L. is a powerful cartel with imperial desires. College football is about to undergo a financial reckoning. So maybe they should team up? (Part one of a two-part series.) SOURCES: DeMaurice Smith, former…
Is the U.S. Really Less Corrupt Than China? (Update)
In this episode we first published in 2021, the political scientist Yuen Yuen Ang argues that different forms of government create different styles of corruption — and that the U.S. and China have more in…
647. China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers.
In his new book “Breakneck,” Dan Wang argues that the U.S. has a lot to learn from China. He also says that “no two peoples are more alike.” We have questions. SOURCES: Dan Wang,…
Is the World Ready for a Guaranteed Basic Income? (Update)
A lot of jobs in the modern economy don’t pay a living wage, and some of those jobs may be wiped out by new technologies. So what’s to be done? We revisit an episode from…
646. An Air Traffic Controller Walks Into a Radio Studio …
What does it take to “play 3D chess at 250 miles an hour”? And how far will $12.5 billion of “Big, Beautiful” funding go toward modernizing the F.A.A.? (Part two of a two-part series.) …
645. Is the Air Traffic Control System Broken?
Flying in the U.S. is still exceptionally safe, but the system relies on outdated tech and is under tremendous strain. Six experts tell us how it got this way and how it can (maybe) be…
644. Has America Lost Its Appetite for the Common Good?
Patrick Deneen, a political philosopher at Notre Dame, says yes. He was a Democrat for years, and has now come to be seen as an “ideological guru” of the Trump administration. But that only tells…
Extra: A Modern Whaler Speaks Up (Update)
Bjørn Andersen has killed hundreds of minke whales. He tells us how he does it, why he does it, and what he thinks would happen if whale-hunting ever stopped. (This bonus episode is a follow-up…
What Can Whales Teach Us About Clean Energy, Workplace Harmony, and Living the Good Life? (Update)
In the final episode of our whale series, we learn about fecal plumes, shipping noise, and why Moby-Dick is still worth reading. (Part 3 of “Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.“) SOURCES: Michele Baggio,…