Freakonomics Radio

In this episode from 2013, we look at whether spite pays — and if it even exists. SOURCES:Benedikt HerrmannSteve LevittFreakonomics People I (Mostly) AdmireDave O'ConnorLisi OliverE.O. Wilson RESOURCES:You Don't Know Bo: The Legend of Bo Jackson, Amputation of the nose throughout history(ACTA Otorhinolaryngologica Italica,The Appearance of Homo Rivalis: Social Preferences and the Nature of Rent Seeking(Center for Decision Research and Experimental EXTRAS:What It’s Like to Be Middle-Aged (in the Middle Ages)Freakonomics Radio

The simplicity of life back then is appealing today, as long as you don’t mind Church hegemony, the occasional plague, trial by gossip — and the lack of ibuprofen. (Part two of a three-part series, “Cradle to Grave.”) SOURCES:Jordan CavalierMatt SchwarzPhillipp SchofieldNeslihan Şenocak RESOURCES:A People's Church: Medieval Italy and Christianity, 1050–1300, The Routledge Handbook of Medieval Rural Life, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, EXTRAS:Are You Having a Midlife Crisis?No Stupid Questions

For decades, the great fear was overpopulation. Now it’s the opposite. How did this happen — and what’s being done about it? (Part one of a three-part series, “Cradle to Grave.”) SOURCES:Matthias DoepkeAmy FroideDiana LairdCatherine Pakaluk RESOURCES:Fertility Rate, Total for the United States(Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis,Global fertility in 204 countries and territories, 1950–2021, with forecasts to 2100: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021(The Lancet, Suddenly There Aren’t Enough Babies. The Whole World Is Alarmed(The Wall Street Journal,Taxing bachelors and proposing marriage lotteries – how superpowers addressed declining birthrates in the past(University of Maryland,Is Fertility a Leading Economic Indicator?(National Bureau of Economic Research,The King's Midwife: A History and Mystery of Madame du Coudray, The Population Bomb, An Economic Analysis of Fertility(National Bureau of Economic Research, EXTRAS:What Will Be the Consequences of the Latest Prenatal-Testing Technologies?Freakonomics Radio

A famous essay argues that “not a single person on the face of this earth” knows how to make a pencil. How true is that? In this 2016 episode, we looked at what pencil-making can teach us about global manufacturing — and the proper role of government in the economy. SOURCES:Caroline WeaverMatt RidleyTim HarfordJim WeissenbornThomas Thwaites RESOURCES:When ideas have sex(TED,How I built a toaster — from scratch(TED,Look on this toaster, ye mighty, and despair!(Financial Times,I, Pencil(Foundation for Economic Education, EXTRAS:Fault-Finder Is a Minimum-Wage JobFreakonomics Radio

Nicholas Cullinan, the new director of the British Museum, seems to think so. “I'm not afraid of the past,” he says — which means talking about looted objects, the basement storerooms, and the leaking roof. We take the guided tour. SOURCES:Nicholas Cullinan RESOURCES:Inside the British Museum: stolen treasures and a £1bn revamp(The Times,British Museum gems for sale on eBay - how a theft was exposed(BBC,British Museum chief Nicholas Cullinan: ‘I start with the idea that everything is possible,'(Financial Times,Who Benefits When Western Museums Return Looted Art?(The Atlantic,The Will of Sir Hans Sloane, The Portland Vase(The British Museum) EXTRAS:Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is HardFreakonomics Radio

Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, is less reserved than the average banker. He explains why vibes are overrated, why the Fed’s independence is non-negotiable, and why tariffs could bring the economy back to the Covid era. SOURCES:Austan Goolsbee RESOURCES:Internet Rising, Prices Falling: Measuring Inflation in a World of E-Commerce(American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings,Microeconomics, Does the Internet Make Markets More Competitive? Evidence from the Life Insurance Industry(Journal of Political Economy,Survey of Consumers(University of Michigan).Adobe Digital Price Index EXTRAS:Was Austan Goolsbee’s First Visit to the Oval Office Almost His Last?People I (Mostly) Admire Is $2 Trillion the Right Medicine for a Sick Economy?Freakonomics Radio Fed Up,Freakonomics Radio Why the Trump Tax Cuts Are Terrible/Awesome (Part 2)Freakonomics Radio Ben Bernanke Gives Himself a GradeFreakonomics Radio Should the U.S. Merge With Mexico?Freakonomics Radio

Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, the authors of The World for Sale, help us shine a light on the shadowy realm of commodity traders. SOURCES:Javier BlasJack Farchy RESOURCES:The World For Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources, The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich, EXTRAS:How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Update)Freakonomics Radio The First Great American IndustryFreakonomics Radio

Everyone makes mistakes. How do we learn from them? Lessons from the classroom, the Air Force, and the world’s deadliest infectious disease. SOURCES:Will ColemanAmy EdmondsonBabak JavidGary KleinTheresa MacPhailRoy ShalemSamuel West RESOURCES:A Golf Club Urinal, Colgate Lasagna and the Bitter Fight Over the Museum of Failure(Wall Street Journal,Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, You Think Failure Is Hard? So Is Learning From ItPerspectives on Psychological Science, The Market for R&D FailuresSSRN, Performing a Project PremortemHarvard Business Review, EXTRAS:The Deadliest Disease in Human HistoryPeople I (Mostly) Admire How to Succeed at FailingFreakonomics Radio Moncef Slaoui: ‘It’s Unfortunate That It Takes a Crisis for This to HappenPeople I (Mostly) Admire

Giving up can be painful. That's why we need to talk about it. Today: stories about glitchy apps, leaky paint cans, broken sculptures — and a quest for the perfect bowl of ramen. SOURCES:John BoykinAngela DuckworthNo Stupid QuestionsAmy EdmondsonHelen FisherEric von Hippel,Jill HoffmanGary KleinSteve LevittPeople I (Mostly) AdmireFreakonomicsJoseph O’ConnellMike RidgemanMelanie StefanTravis Thul RESOURCES:Data Snapshot: Tenure and Contingency in US Higher EducationAmerican Association of University ProfessorsGrit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Entrepreneurship and the U.S. EconomyA C.V. of FailuresNature, Ramen Now! EXTRAS: How to Succeed at FailingFreakonomics Radio Annie Duke Thinks You Should QuitPeople I (Mostly) Admire How Do You Know When It’s Time to Quit?No Stupid Questions Honey, I Grew the Economy,Freakonomics Radio The Upside of QuittingFreakonomics Radio

In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. It can also produce discoveries that save millions of lives. Tales from the front line, the lab, and the I.T. department. SOURCES:Amy EdmondsonCarole HemmelgarnGary KleinRobert LangerJohn Van Reenen RESOURCES:Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, Reconsidering the Application of Systems Thinking in Healthcare: The RaDonda Vaught CaseBritish Journal of Anaesthesia, Estimates of preventable hospital deaths are too high, new study shows(Yale News,Dispelling the Myth That Organizations Learn From FailureSSRN, A New, Evidence-Based Estimate of Patient Harms Associated With Hospital CareJournal of Patient Safety, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, Polymers for the Sustained Release of Proteins and Other MacromoleculesNature, The Innovation and Diffusion Podcast, EXTRAS:The Curious, Brilliant, Vanishing Mr. FeynmanFreakonomics Radio Will a Covid-19 Vaccine Change the Future of Medical Research?Freakonomics Radio Bad Medicine, Part 3: Death by DiagnosisFreakonomics Radio

We tend to think of tragedies as a single terrible moment, rather than the result of multiple bad decisions. Can this pattern be reversed? We try — with stories about wildfires, school shootings, and love. SOURCES:Amy EdmondsonHelen FisherEd GaleaGary KleinDavid RiedmanAaron StarkJohn Van Reenen RESOURCES:Ethan Crumbley: Parents of Michigan school gunman sentenced to at least 10 years(New York Times,Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, How Fire Turned Lahaina Into a Death TrapThe New York Times, The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic, I Was Almost A School ShooterTEDxBoulder, EXTRAS: Is Perfectionism Ruining Your Life?People I (Mostly) Admire Why Did You Marry That Person?Freakonomics Radio What Do We Really Learn From Failure?No Stupid Questions How to Fail Like a ProFreakonomics Radio Failure Is Your FriendFreakonomics Radio

It used to be that making documentary films meant taking a vow of poverty (and obscurity). The streaming revolution changed that. Award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler talks to Stephen Dubner about capturing Billie Eilish’s musical genius and Martha Stewart’s vulnerability — and why he really, really, really needs to make a film about the New York Mets. SOURCES:R.J. Cutler RESOURCES:Fight for Glory, Martha, Reality Check: The Boom—or Glut—in Streaming Documentaries Has Sparked a Reckoning Among Filmmakers and Their Subjects(Vulture,Inside the Documentary Cash Grab(The Hollywood Reporter,Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, EXTRAS:Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent,Freakonomics Radio

It’s been in development for five years and has at least a year to go. On the eve of its out-of-town debut, the actor playing Lincoln quit. And the producers still need to raise another $15 million to bring the show to New York. There really is no business like show business. (Part three of a three-part series.) SOURCES:Christopher AshleyDebby BuchholzCarmen CusackQuentin Earl DarringtonJoe DiPietroCrystal Monee Hall.Ivan HernandezMichael RushtonJeffrey SellerAlan Shorr.Daniel Watts. RESOURCES:3 Summers of Lincoln Review: Visceral ‘3 Summers of Lincoln’ is thrilling and thought-provoking(San Diego Union-Tribune,What’s Wrong with the Theatre is What’s Wrong With Society,(ArtsJournal,American Theater Is Imploding Before Our Eyes(New York Times,The Moral Foundations of Public Funding for the Arts, EXTRAS:How to Make the Coolest Show on BroadwayFreakonomics RadioYou Can Make a Killing, but Not a LivingFreakonomics Radio

In an episode from 2012, we looked at what Sleep No More and the Stanford Prison Experiment can tell us about who we really are. SOURCES:Felix BarrettSteven LevittPhilip Zimbardo RESOURCES:Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist behind the ‘Stanford Prison Experiment,’ dies at 91,Stanford Report, Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment,American Psychologist, The Lifespan of a Lie,GEN, Punchdrunk EXTRAS:How Is Live Theater Still Alive?Freakonomics Radio

A hit like Hamilton can come from nowhere while a sure bet can lose $20 million in a flash. We speak with some of the biggest producers in the game — Sonia Friedman, Jeffrey Seller, Hal Luftig — and learn that there is only one guarantee: the theater owners always win. (Part two of a three-part series.) SOURCES:Debby BuchholzSonia FriedmanRocco LandesmanHal LuftigLuis Miranda Jr.Michael RushtonJeffrey SellerRichard WinklerStacy Wolf RESOURCES:Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir, Relentless: My Story of the Latino Spirit That Is Transforming America, Beyond Broadway: The Pleasure and Promise of Musical Theatre Across America, ‘Hamilton’ Inc.: The Path to a Billion-Dollar Broadway Show(New York Times,On the Performing Arts: The Anatomy of Their Economic Problems(The American Economic Review, EXTRAS:How to Make the Coolest Show on BroadwayFreakonomics RadioYou Can Make a Killing, but Not a LivingFreakonomics Radio

It has become fiendishly expensive to produce, and has more competition than ever. And yet the believers still believe. Why? And does the world really want a new musical about ... Abraham Lincoln?! (Part one of a three-part series.) SOURCES:Christopher AshleyQuentin DarringtonJoe DiPietroCrystal Monee HallRocco LandesmanAlan ShorrDaniel WattsRichard Winkler RESOURCES:3 Summers of LincolnLive Performance Theaters in the US - Market Research Report (2014-2029)Leadership: In Turbulent TimesBig River EXTRAS:How to Make the Coolest Show on BroadwayFreakonomics RadioYou Can Make a Killing, but Not a LivingFreakonomics Radio

Why do so many promising solutions in education, medicine, and criminal justice fail to scale up into great policy? And can a new breed of “implementation scientists” crack the code? SOURCES:Patti ChamberlainJohn ListLauren SuppleeDana L. Suskind RESOURCES:How Can Experiments Play a Greater Role in Public Policy? 12 Proposals from an Economic Model of ScalingThe Science of Using Science: Towards an Understanding of the Threats to Scaling ExperimentsThe Field Experiments WebsiteInconsistent Device Use in Pediatric Cochlear Implant Users: Prevalence and Risk FactorsU.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health EXTRAS:Why Do Most Ideas Fail to Scale?Freakonomics Radio The Price of Doing Business with John List,People I (Mostly) Admire Child Trends.Oregon Social Learning Center.T.M.W. Center for Early Learning and Public Health.The Field Experiments Website

There is no sludgier place in America than Washington, D.C. But there are signs of a change. We’ll hear about this progress — and ask where Elon Musk and DOGE fit in. (Part two of a two-part series.) SOURCES:Benjamin HandelNeale MahoneyJennifer PahlkaRichard Thaler RESOURCES:How Big Is the Subscription Cancellation Problem?(Briefing Book,Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do BetterNudge: The Final Edition,HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, EXTRAS:Sludge, Part 1: The World Is Drowning in ItFreakonomics Radio

Insurance forms that make no sense. Subscriptions that can’t be cancelled. A never-ending blizzard of automated notifications. Where does all this sludge come from — and how much is it costing us? (Part one of a two-part series.) SOURCES:Benjamin Handel,Neale Mahoney,Richard Thaler, RESOURCES:Selling Subscriptions,(Stanford University,The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok,(WIRED,Dominated Options in Health Insurance Plans,(American Economic Journal: Economic Policy,Nudge (The Final Edition),Frictions or Mental Gaps: What’s Behind the Information We (Don’t) Use and When Do We Care?(Journal of Economic Perspectives,Adverse Selection and Switching Costs in Health Insurance Markets: When Nudging Hurts,(National Bureau of Economic Research, EXTRAS:People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is Hard. (Update)Freakonomics Radio All You Need is Nudge,Freakonomics Radio How to Fix the Hot Mess of U.S. Healthcare,Freakonomics Radio Should We Really Behave Like Economists Say We Do?Freakonomics Radio

The quirky little grocery chain with California roots and German ownership has a lot to teach all of us about choice architecture, efficiency, frugality, collaboration, and team spirit. SOURCES:Kirk DesErmiaMark GardinerSheena IyengarMichael Roberto RESOURCES:Trader Joe’sHarvard Business School Case, What Brands Are Actually Behind Trader Joe’s Snacks?Eater,Build a Brand Like Trader Joe’s When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Unlocking Creativity, EXTRAS:How Can This Possibly Be True?Freakonomics Radio How to Save $1 Billion Without Even Trying Freakonomics Radio