678. Who Gets to Choose a “Good Death”?
New York is the latest state to legalize medical aid in dying. Stephen Dubner speaks with the governor who signed the law, a Nobel Prize-win...
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Freakonomics Radio
In their books "Freakonomics," "SuperFreakonomics" and "Think Like a Freak", Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner explore "the hidden side of everything," telling stories about cheating sc...
Freakonomics Radio Podcast Guide
Listen to Freakonomics Radio, a Society & Culture podcast by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher. Stream 914 episodes in English, follow new audio stories, and play episodes online on Radio and Podcast.
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20 of 914 episodes677. Can Backgammon Save Us from Ourselves?
It brings strangers together. It teaches probability, strategy, and emotional control. It has even helped N.F.L. teams win the Super Bowl. S...
This Is Your Brain on Pollution (Update)
As the Trump administration rolls back environmental regulations, we revisit a 2022 episode that explored the hidden cost of an invisible th...
676. Has America Lost the Plot?
Another war in the Middle East. A retreat from the international order. A presidency built on self-dealing and arbitrary power. It’s enough...
The Vanishing Mr. Feynman (Update)
In his final years, Richard Feynman's curiosity took him to some surprising places. We hear from his companions on the trips he took — and o...
The Brilliant Mr. Feynman (Update)
What happens when an existentially depressed and recently widowed young physicist from Queens gets a fresh start in California? We follow Ri...
The Curious Mr. Feynman (Update)
From the Manhattan Project to the Challenger investigation, the physicist Richard Feynman loved to shoot down what he called “lousy ideas.”...
675. Has the New York Times Become a Games Company?
Not exactly. But their runaway success with games like Wordle says something bigger about the way we live now. (Part one of a series, “We Ar...
674. How Does a Composer Feel After the World Premiere?
Great. Then depressed. Then great again. Stephen Dubner gets the full story from David Lang; we also hear from some fans, and the New York P...
Was Adam Smith Really a Right-Winger? (Update)
Economists and politicians have turned him into a mascot for free-market ideology. Some on the left say the right has badly misread him. In...
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...
672. What Makes Judy Faulkner Run?
Epic Systems manages the electronic health records for hundreds of millions of people. This makes Faulkner a healthcare heavyweight and one...
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 scientific evid...
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 that now appears to be fraudulent. Stephen D...
670. Beeconomics 101
How 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 national debt. In th...
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 glut? SOURCES: Andrew Muhammad , agricultural econom...
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 also the one we use to listen to music i...
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 Search Engine podcast, PJ...
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 Search Engine...