656. How Handel Got His Mojo BackWhen he wrote Messiah (in 24 days), Handel was past his prime and nearly broke. One night in Dublin changed all that. (Part two of […]

655. “The Greatest Piece of Participatory Art Ever Created”Why does an 18th-century Christian oratorio lend such comfort to our own turbulent times? Stephen Dubner […]

Dying Is Easy. Retail Is Hard. (Update)Macy’s wants to recapture its glorious past. The author of the Wimpy Kid books wants to rebuild his dilapidated hometown. We j […]

Is Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Its Most Valuable Asset? (Update)The iconic department store calls the parade its “gift to the nation.” With 30 million TV viewers, it’s […]

654. Is the Public Ready for Private Equity?A Trump executive order is giving retail investors more access to private markets. Is that a golden opportunity — or f […]

653. Does Horse Racing Have a Future?Thoroughbred auction prices keep setting records. But tracks are closing, gambling revenues are falling, and the sport is […]

What Happens When You Turn 20The world has changed a good bit since Freakonomics was first published. In this live anniversary episode, Stephen Dubner tells Geoff […]

652. Inside the Horse-Industrial ComplexHow does Kentucky keep itself atop the thoroughbred industry? Is a champion stallion really worth $200,000 per date? And […]

651. The Ultimate Dance PartnerFor most of human history, horsepower made the world go. Then came the machines. So why are there still seven million horses in […]

Are Two C.E.O.s Better Than One? (Update)Spotify, Oracle, and Comcast have each recently announced they’re going with co-C.E.O.s. In this 2023 episode, we dig into t […]

650. The Doctor Won’t See You NowThe U.S. has a physician shortage, created in part by a century-old reform that shut down bad medical schools. But why haven’t we f […]

A Question-Asker Becomes a Question-AnswererFor the 20th anniversary of Freakonomics, Debbie Millman of Design Matters interviews Stephen Dubner about his […]

How Can We Break Our Addiction to Contempt? (Update)Arthur Brooks, an economist and former head of the American Enterprise Institute, believes that there is only one […]

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 […]

648. The Merger You Never Knew You WantedThe N.F.L. is a powerful cartel with imperial desires. College football is about to undergo a financial reckoning. So […]

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 […]

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 tha […]

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 n […]

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, Beaut […]