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 Steve Levitt activates his hive mind. SOURCES: Alex Sapoznik , historian, reader in late medieval history at King’s College London. Chris Hiatt , past president of the American Honey Producers Association, owner of Hiatt Honey Company. Michael Roberts , founding executive director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy at U.C.L.A. Law School. Walter "Wally" Thurman , professor emeritus of agricultural economics at North Carolina State University. RESOURCES: " U.S. honey is increasingly supplied through imports ," by David Olsen (USDA Economic Research Service, 2018). " Economic Effects and Responses to Changes in Honey Bee Health ," by Peyton Ferrier, Randal Rucker, Walter Thurman, and Michael Burgett (USDA Economic Research Service, 2018). " The Fable of the Bees: An Economic Investigation ," by Steven Cheung (The Journal of Law and Economics, 1973). " Sugar and Sweeteners Yearbook Tables - Visualization: Meeting honey demand in the United States ," (USDA Economic Research Service) . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You can listen to 670. Beeconomics 101 online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

670. Beeconomics 101 is an episode from Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher.

This episode is 00:55:51 long.

This episode was published on Apr 10, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Freakonomics Radio when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.