Freakonomics Radio
Insurance forms that make no sense. Subscriptions that can’t be cancelled. A never-ending blizzard of automated notifications. In this update of a 2025 episode, Stephen Dubner discovers where all this sludge comes from — and how much it’s costing us.
- SOURCES:
- Benjamin Handel, professor of economics at UC Berkeley.
- Neale Mahoney, professor of economics at Stanford University.
- Richard Thaler, professor of economics at The University of Chicago.
- RESOURCES:
- “Selling Subscriptions,” by Liran Einav, Ben Klopack, and Neale Mahoney (Stanford University, 2023).
- “The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok,” by Cory Doctorow (WIRED, 2023).
- “Dominated Options in Health Insurance Plans,” by Chenyuan Liu and Justin Sydnor (American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2022).
- Nudge: The Final Edition, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein (2021).
- “Frictions or Mental Gaps: What’s Behind the Information We (Don’t) Use and When Do We Care?” by Benjamin Handel and Joshua Schwartzstein (Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2018).
- “Adverse Selection and Switching Costs in Health Insurance Markets: When Nudging Hurts,” by Benjamin Handel (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011).
- EXTRAS:
- “Sludge,” series by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
- “People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is Hard. (Update)” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
- “All You Need is Nudge,” by Freakonomics Radio (2021).
- “How to Fix the Hot Mess of U.S. Healthcare,” by Freakonomics Radio (2021).
- “Should We Really Behave Like Economists Say We Do?” by Freakonomics Radio (2015).
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386. How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War
Aisle upon aisle of fresh produce, cheap meat, and sugary cereal — a delicious embodiment of free-market capitalism, right? Not quite. The supermarket was in fact the endpoint of the U.S. government’s battle for agricultural…
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386. How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War
Aisle upon aisle of fresh produce, cheap meat, and sugary cereal — a delicious embodiment of free-market capitalism, right? Not quite. The supermarket was in fact the endpoint of the U.S. government’s battle for agricultural…
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America’s Hidden Duopoly (Rebroadcast)
We all know our political system is “broken” — but what if that’s not true? Some say the Republicans and Democrats constitute a wildly successful industry that has colluded to kill off competition, stifle reform,…
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America’s Hidden Duopoly (Rebroadcast)
We all know our political system is “broken” — but what if that’s not true? Some say the Republicans and Democrats constitute a wildly successful industry that has colluded to kill off competition, stifle reform,…
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America’s Hidden Duopoly (Rebroadcast)
We all know our political system is “broken” — but what if that’s not true? Some say the Republicans and Democrats constitute a wildly successful industry that has colluded to kill off competition, stifle reform,…
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385. What Do Nancy Pelosi, Taylor Swift, and Serena Williams Have in Common?
They — along with a great many other high-achieving women — were all once Girl Scouts. So was Sylvia Acevedo. Raised in a poor, immigrant family, she was told that “girls like her” didn’t go…
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385. What Do Nancy Pelosi, Taylor Swift, and Serena Williams Have in Common?
They — along with a great many other high-achieving women — were all once Girl Scouts. So was Sylvia Acevedo. Raised in a poor, immigrant family, she was told that “girls like her” didn’t go…
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385. What Do Nancy Pelosi, Taylor Swift, and Serena Williams Have in Common?
They — along with a great many other high-achieving women — were all once Girl Scouts. So was Sylvia Acevedo. Raised in a poor, immigrant family, she was told that “girls like her” didn’t go…
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384. Abortion and Crime, Revisited
The controversial theory linking Roe v. Wade to a massive crime drop is back in the spotlight as several states introduce abortion restrictions. Steve Levitt and John Donohue discuss their original research, the challenges to…
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384. Abortion and Crime, Revisited
The controversial theory linking Roe v. Wade to a massive crime drop is back in the spotlight as several states introduce abortion restrictions. Steve Levitt and John Donohue discuss their original research, the challenges to…