673. What Is Money?That’s what the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang wanted to learn. So he turned Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations into an oratorio. We […]

672. What Makes Judy Faulkner Run?Epic Systems manages the electronic health records for hundreds of millions of people. This makes Faulkner a healthcare […]

Why Does Everyone Hate Rats? (Update)New York City’s mayor called them “public enemy number one.” History books say they caused the Black Death — although recent […]

671. Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer’s Disease?One possibility: a leading hypothesis pursued by researchers (and funders) was built on science […]

670. Beeconomics 101How do beekeepers make a living? Why is there so much honey fraud? And why did billions of bees suddenly disappear? To find out, guest host […]

Ten Myths About the U.S. Tax System (Update)Nearly everything that politicians say about taxes is at least half a lie. They are also dishonest when it comes to the […]

669. Why Is 95 Percent of the World’s Bourbon Made in Kentucky?Is it tradition … or protectionism? And what happens when the bourbon boom turns into a g […]

668. Do Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny Have Blood on Their Hands?As one researcher told us: “We’ve engineered a world where the most distracting device ever made is als […]

In a Driverless World, Who Loses and Who Wins?In blue cities across the country, unions and politicians want to ban self-driving cars. In this episode from the […]

Are Human Drivers Finally Obsolete?How a secret project at Google led to driverless cars on American roads.  Freakonomics Radio shares a story from our friends at […]

667. Here’s Why You Are Constantly Fighting Off ScammersA ruthless (and ruthlessly efficient) industry is using digital tools to supercharge one of the world’s o […]

666. This Is How Progress HappensEconomists don’t usually talk about “culture.” But Joel Mokyr argues that it’s the engine of innovation — and the Nobel Prize com […]

The Most Powerful People You’ve Never Heard Of (Update)Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and […]

665. Werner Herzog Isn’t Afraid …… of bad reviews, meager financing, or artificial intelligence. But he is worried that the world is full of sloppy thinkers who m […]

664. Are Thousands of Medical Cures Hiding in Plain Sight?Existing drugs can sometimes be repurposed to treat rare diseases. But making that match can be hard — an […]

All You Need Is Nudge (Update)When Richard Thaler first published Nudge, the world was just starting to believe in his brand of behavioral economics. In this 2021 […]

663. Is Weed a Performance-Enhancing Drug?The science says no, at least not in the athletic sense. But the psychic benefits can be large — just ask former N.F.L. s […]

662. If You’re Not Cheating, You’re Not TryingIn sports, the rules are meant to be sacrosanct. But when it comes to performance-enhancing drugs, the slope is […]

Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore? (Update)They used to be the N.F.L.’s biggest stars, with paychecks to match. Now their salaries are near the bottom, and t […]

661. Can A.I. Save Your Life?For 50 years, the healthcare industry has been trying (and failing) to harness the power of artificial intelligence. It may finally be […]