Freakonomics Radio podcast

Freakonomics Radio

Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior. To get every show in our network without ads and a monthly bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio, sign up for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts at http://apple.co/SiriusXM.

Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior. To get every show in our network without ads and a monthly bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio, sign up for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts at http://apple.co/SiriusXM.

 

#805

Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia? (Update)

Some of the biggest names in behavioral science stand accused of faking their results. Last year, an astonishing 10,000 research papers were retracted. In a series originally published in early 2024, we talk to whistleblowers, reformers, and a co-author who got caught up in the chaos. (Part 1 of 2)   ---SOURCES: ------ [Max Bazerman] (https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6420) , professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. ------ [Leif Nelson] (https://haas.berkeley.edu/faculty/nelson-leif/) , professor of business administration at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business. ------ [Brian Nosek] (https://www.cos.io/team/brian-nosek) , professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and executive director at the Center for Open Science. ------ [Joseph Simmons] (https://oid.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/jsimmo/) , professor of applied statistics and operations, information, and decisions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. ------ [Uri Simonsohn] (https://www.esade.edu/faculty/uri.simonsohn) , professor of behavioral science at Esade Business School. ------ [Simine Vazire] (https://www.simine.com/) , professor of psychology at the University of Melbourne and editor-in-chief of Psychological Science.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [More Than 10,000 Research Papers Were Retracted in 2023 — a New Record] (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03974-8) ," by Richard Van Noorden (Nature, 2023). ------" [Data Falsificada (Part 1): 'Clusterfake] (https://datacolada.org/109) ,'" by Joseph Simmons, Leif Nelson, and Uri Simonsohn (Data Colada, 2023). ------" [Fabricated Data in Research About Honesty. You Can't Make This Stuff Up. Or, Can You?] (https://www.npr.org/2023/07/27/1190568472/dan-ariely-francesca-gino-harvard-dishonesty-fabricated-data) " by Nick Fountain, Jeff Guo, Keith Romer, and Emma Peaslee (Planet Money, 2023). ------ [Complicit: How We Enable the Unethical and How to Stop] (https://amzn.to/48RGBZ7) , by Max Bazerman (2022). ------" [Evidence of Fraud in an Influential Field Experiment About Dishonesty] (https://datacolada.org/98) ," by Joseph Simmons, Leif Nelson, and Uri Simonsohn (Data Colada, 2021). ------" [False-Positive Psychology: Undisclosed Flexibility in Data Collection and Analysis Allows Presenting Anything as Significant] (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797611417632) ," by Joseph Simmons, Leif Nelson, and Uri Simonsohn (Psychological Science, 2011).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Why Do We Cheat, and Why Shouldn’t We?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-do-we-cheat-and-why-shouldnt-we/) " by No Stupid Questions (2023). ------" [Is Everybody Cheating These Days?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-everybody-cheating-these-days/) " by No Stupid Questions (2021). ... Read more

26 Dec 2024

1 HR 15 MINS

1:15:08

26 Dec 2024


#804

Your Brain Doesn’t Work the Way You Think

David Eagleman upends myths and describes the vast possibilities of a brainscape that even neuroscientists are only beginning to understand. Steve Levitt interviews him in this special episode of People I (Mostly) Admire.   ---SOURCES: ------ [David Eagleman] (https://eagleman.com/about-david-eagleman/) , professor of cognitive neuroscience at Stanford University and C.E.O. of Neosensory.   ---RESOURCES: ------ [Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain] (https://amzn.to/4hIwZF2) , by David Eagleman (2020). ------" [Why Do We Dream? A New Theory on How It Protects Our Brains] (https://time.com/5925206/why-do-we-dream/) ," by David Eagleman and Don Vaughn (TIME, 2020). ------" [Prevalence of Learned Grapheme-Color Pairings in a Large Online Sample of Synesthetes] (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4349591/) ," by Nathan Witthoft, Jonathan Winawer, and David Eagleman (PLoS One, 2015). ------ [Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives] (https://amzn.to/3YVXVKi) , by David Eagleman (2009). ------ [The vOICe app] (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=vOICe.vOICe&hl=en_US&pli=1) . ------ [Neosensory] (https://neosensory.com/) .   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Feeling Sound and Hearing Color] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/feeling-sound-and-hearing-color/) ," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024). ------" [What’s Impacting American Workers?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/whats-impacting-american-workers/) " by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024). ------" [This Is Your Brain on Podcasts] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/this-is-your-brain-on-podcasts/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2016). ... Read more

23 Dec 2024

47 MINS

47:53

23 Dec 2024


#803

616. How to Make Something from Nothing

Adam Moss was the best magazine editor of his generation. When he retired, he took up painting. But he wasn’t very good, and that made him sad. So he wrote a book about how creative people work— and, in the process, he made himself happy again.   ---SOURCE: ------ [Adam Moss] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Moss) , magazine editor and author.   ---RESOURCES: ------ [The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing] (https://amzn.to/4fsnYhd) , by Adam Moss (2024). ------" [Goodbye, New York. Adam Moss Is Leaving the Magazine He Has Edited for 15 Years] (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/business/media/new-york-magazine-adam-moss-resigns.html) ," by Michael M. Grynbaum (The New York Times, 2019). ------ [Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking] (https://amzn.to/3CBWogT) , by Samin Nosrat (2017).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [David Simon Is On Strike. Here’s Why] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/david-simon-is-on-strike-heres-why/) ," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023). ------" [Samin Nosrat Always Wanted to Be Famous] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/extra-samin-nosrat-always-wanted-to-be-famous/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ------" [What’s Wrong with Being a One-Hit Wonder?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/whats-wrong-with-being-a-one-hit-wonder/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ... Read more

19 Dec 2024

48 MINS

48:12

19 Dec 2024


#802

615. Is Ozempic as Magical as It Sounds?

In a wide-ranging conversation with Ezekiel Emanuel, the policymaking physician and medical gadfly, we discuss the massive effects of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. We also talk about the state of cancer care, mysteries in the gut microbiome, flaws in the U.S. healthcare system — and what a second Trump term means for healthcare policy.   ---SOURCES: ------ [Ezekiel Emanuel] (https://www.ezekielemanuel.com/about) , vice provost for Global Initiatives, co-director of the Health Transformation Institute, and professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [Obesity Drugs Would Be Covered by Medicare and Medicaid Under Biden Proposal] (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/26/upshot/obesity-drugs-medicare-medicaid.html) ," by Margot Sanger-Katz (The New York Times, 2024). ------" [International Coverage of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: A Review and Ethical Analysis of Discordant Approaches] (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01356-4/abstract) ," by Johan L. Dellgren, and Govind Persad, and Ezekiel J. Emanuel (The Lancet, 2024). ------ [The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma] (https://amzn.to/3BqIe4U) , by Mustafa Suleyman (2023). ------" [The Significance of Blockbusters in the Pharmaceutical Industry] (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41573-022-00213-z) ," by Alexander Schuhmacher, Markus Hinder, Nikolaj Boger, Dominik Hartl, and Oliver Gassmann (Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2022). ------ [Reinventing American Health Care: How the Affordable Care Act Will Improve Our Terribly Complex, Blatantly Unjust, Outrageously Expensive, Grossly Inefficient, Error Prone System] (https://amzn.to/4fgtdQK) , by Ezekiel J. Emanuel (2014). ------" [Why I Hope to Die at 75] (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/10/why-i-hope-to-die-at-75/379329/) ," by Ezekiel J. Emanuel (The Atlantic, 2014). ------" [Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceuticals] (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3967783/) ," by Ziad F. Gellad and Kenneth W. Lyles (The American Journal of Medicine, 2014). ------ [Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family] (https://amzn.to/3OPzlos) , by Ezekiel J. Emanuel (2013). ------" [Bounds in Competing Risks Models and the War on Cancer] (https://www.jstor.org/stable/4123087) ," by Bo E. Honoré and Adriana Lleras-Muney (Econometrica, 2006).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [How to Fix Medical Research] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-fix-medical-research/) ," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024). ------" [The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm Emanuel] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-suddenly-diplomatic-rahm-emanuel/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ------" [Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/ari-emanuel-is-never-indifferent/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ------" [Who Pays for Multimillion-Dollar Miracle Cures?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/who-pays-for-multi-million-dollar-miracle-cures/) " by Freakonomics, M.D. (2023). ------" [Who Gets the Ventilator?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/who-gets-the-ventilator-ep-413/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2020). ... Read more

12 Dec 2024

56 MINS

56:49

12 Dec 2024


#801

How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Update)

Last week, we heard a former U.S. ambassador describe Russia’s escalating conflict with the U.S. Today, we revisit a 2019 episode about an overlooked front in the Cold War — a “farms race” that, decades later, still influences what Americans eat.   ---SOURCES: ------ [Anne Effland] (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anne_Effland) , former Senior Economist for the Office of Chief Economist in the U.S.D.A. ------ [Shane Hamilton] (https://www.york.ac.uk/management/staff/shamilton/) , historian at the University of York. ------ [Peter Timmer] (https://necsi.edu/c-peter-timmer) , economist and former professor at Harvard University. ------ [Audra Wolfe] (https://audrajwolfe.com/) , writer, editor, and historian.   ---RESOURCES: ------ [Freedom’s Laboratory: The Cold War Struggle for the Soul of Science] (https://amzn.to/3Birtss) , by Audra Wolfe (2018). ------ [Supermarket USA: Food and Power in The Cold War Farms Race] (https://amzn.to/4izW5Xk) , by Shane Hamilton (2018). ------“ [Association of Higher Consumption of Foods Derived From Subsidized Commodities With Adverse Cardiometabolic Risk Among US Adults] (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27379488) ,” by Karen R. Siegel, Kai McKeever Bullard, K. M. Narayan, et al. (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2016). ------ [The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War] (https://amzn.to/3BhH7UU) , by Robert J. Gordon (2016). ------“ [How the Mechanical Tomato Harvester Prompted the Food Movement] (https://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/news/how-mechanical-tomato-harvester-prompted-food-movement) ,” by Ildi Carlisle-Cummins (UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences Newsletter, 2015).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Is the U.S. Sleeping on Threats from Russia and China?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-the-u-s-sleeping-on-threats-from-russia-and-china/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ... Read more

09 Dec 2024

38 MINS

38:53

09 Dec 2024


#800

614. Is the U.S. Sleeping on Threats from Russia and China?

John J. Sullivan, a former State Department official and U.S. ambassador, says yes: “Our politicians aren’t leading — Republicans or Democrats.” He gives a firsthand account of a fateful Biden-Putin encounter, talks about his new book Midnight in Moscow, and predicts what a second Trump term means for Russia, Ukraine, China — and the U.S.   ---SOURCES: ------ [John Sullivan] (https://nsl.law.columbia.edu/people/john-j-sullivan) , former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia.    ---RESOURCES: ------ [Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Lines of Russia's War Against the West,] (https://amzn.to/4gmfDw7) by John Sullivan (2024). ------" [The ‘Deathonomics’ Powering Russia’s War Machine] (https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/russia-ukraine-war-military-death-pay-6cfe936e) ," by Georgi Kantchev and Matthew Luxmoore (The Wall Street Journal, 2024). ------ [War] (https://amzn.to/4ghcApa) , by Bob Woodward (2024). ------" [On the Record: The U.S. Administration’s Actions on Russia] (https://www.brookings.edu/articles/on-the-record-the-u-s-administrations-actions-on-russia/) ," by Alina Polyakova and Filippos Letsas (Brookings, 2019). ------" [Why Economic Sanctions Still Do Not Work] (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2539263) ," by Robert A. Pape (International Security, 1998).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm Emanuel] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-suddenly-diplomatic-rahm-emanuel/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ... Read more

05 Dec 2024

51 MINS

51:24

05 Dec 2024


#799

613. Dying Is Easy. Retail Is Hard.

Macy’s wants to recapture its glorious past. The author of the Wimpy Kid books wants to rebuild his dilapidated hometown. We just want to listen in. (Part two of a [ two-part series] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/can-the-macys-parade-save-macys/) .)   ---SOURCES: ------ [Mark Cohen] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-cohen-b9886b7/) , former professor and director of retail studies at Columbia Business School. ------ [Will Coss] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/willcoss/) , vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios. ------ [Jeff Kinney] (https://wimpykid.com/about-the-author/) , author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café. ------ [Tony Spring] (https://macysinc.com/investors/governance/board-of-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=59e54111-e049-4319-9d8a-260734f6d65a) , chairman and C.E.O. of Macy’s Inc.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [Macy’s Discovers Employee Hid Millions in Delivery Expenses] (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/25/business/macys-earnings-delay-accounting-error.html) ," by Jordyn Holman and Danielle Kaye (The New York Times, 2024). ------" [NBC Ready to Pay Triple to Gobble Up Thanksgiving Parade Broadcast Rights] (https://www.wsj.com/business/media/nbc-ready-to-pay-triple-to-gobble-up-thanksgiving-parade-broadcast-rights-e18fd95f) ," by Joe Flint (The Wall Street Journal, 2024). ------" [How Macy’s Set Out to Conquer the Department Store Business — and Lost] (https://www.retaildive.com/news/how-macys-set-out-to-conquer-the-department-store-business-and-lost/608277/) ," by Daphne Howland (Retail Dive, 2022). ------ [An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café] (https://www.anunlikelystory.com/) .   ---EXTRA: ------" [Can the Macy's Parade Save Macy's?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/can-the-macys-parade-save-macys/) " series by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ... Read more

28 Nov 2024

1 HR 01 MINS

1:01:34

28 Nov 2024


#798

612. Is Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Its Most Valuable Asset?

The 166-year-old chain, which is fighting extinction, calls the parade its “gift to the nation.” With 30 million TV viewers, it’s also a big moneymaker. At least we think it is — Macy’s is famously tight-lipped about parade economics. We try to loosen them up. (Part one of a [ two-part series] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/can-the-macys-parade-save-macys/) .) Please take our audience survey at [freakonomics.com/survey] (http://freakonomics.com/survey) .   ---SOURCES: ------John Cheney, carpenter at Macy’s Studios. ------ [Will Coss] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/willcoss/) , vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios. ------ [Jeff Kinney] (https://wimpykid.com/about-the-author/) , author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café. ------ [Kevin Lynch] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjlynch23/) , vice president of global helium at Messer. ------Jen Neal, executive vice president of live events and specials for NBCUniversal Entertainment ------ [Tony Spring] (https://macysinc.com/investors/governance/board-of-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=59e54111-e049-4319-9d8a-260734f6d65a) , chairman and C.E.O. of Macy's Inc. ------ [Jessica Tisch] (https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/847-24/mayor-adams-appoints-jessica-tisch-nypd-commissioner#/0) , commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation; incoming commissioner of the New York City Police Department. ------ [Dawn Tolson] (https://www.nyc.gov/site/cecm/about/about-the-executive-director.page) , executive director of Citywide Event Coordination and Management and the Street Activity Permit Office for the City of New York.   ---RESOURCES: ------ [Macy's: The Store. The Star. The Story.] (https://amzn.to/40XwtNr) , by Robert M. Grippo (2009). ------ [History of Macy's of New York, 1853-1919: Chapters in the Evolution of the Department Store] (https://www.amazon.com/History-1858-1919-Harvard-Studies-Business/dp/0674863704) , by Ralph M. Hower (1943). ------ [Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade] (https://www.macys.com/s/parade/) .   ---EXTRA: ------ [The Economics of Everyday Things] (https://freakonomics.com/series/everyday-things/) .  ... Read more

21 Nov 2024

53 MINS

53:18

21 Nov 2024


#797

How to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot Apocalypse (Update)

It’s true that robots (and other smart technologies) will kill many jobs. It may also be true that newer collaborative robots (“cobots”) will totally reinvigorate how work gets done. That, at least, is what the economists are telling us. Should we believe them?   ---SOURCES: ------ [David Autor] (https://economics.mit.edu/faculty/dautor) , professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ------ [James Rosenman] (http://www.andrusonhudson.org/andrus-on-hudson-selects-james-rosenman-as-organizations-first-ceo/) , C.E.O. of Andrus on Hudson senior care community. ------ [Karen Eggleston] (https://aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/people/karen_eggleston) , economist at Stanford University. ------ [Yong Suk Lee] (https://mckennacenter.nd.edu/people/yongsuk-lee/) , professor of technology, economy, and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [Robots and Labor in Nursing Homes] (https://www.nber.org/papers/w33116) ," by Yong Suk Lee, Toshiaki Iizuka, and Karen Eggleston (NBER Working Paper, 2024). ------" [Global Robotics Race: Korea, Singapore and Germany in the Lead] (https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/global-robotics-race-korea-singapore-and-germany-in-the-lead) ," by International Federation of Robotics (2024). ------" [Unmet Need for Equipment to Help With Bathing and Toileting Among Older US Adults] (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2777849?guestAccessKey=18f1d134-7f62-4744-9ee0-671de4920acd&utm_source=silverchair&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_alert-jamainternalmedicine&utm_content=olf&utm_term=032) ," by Kenneth Lam, Ying Shi, John Boscardin, and Kenneth E. Covinsky (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2021). ------" [Robots and Labor in the Service Sector: Evidence from Nursing Homes,] (https://www.nber.org/papers/w28322) " by Karen Eggleston, Yong Suk Lee, and Toshiaki Iizuka (NBER Working Papers, 2021). ------ [The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines] (https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262547307/the-work-of-the-future/) , by David Autor, David Mindell, Elisabeth Reynolds, and the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future (2020). ------" [Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets] (https://economics.mit.edu/files/19696) ," by Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo (University of Chicago Press, 2020). ------" [The Slowdown in Productivity Growth and Policies That Can Restore It] (https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Productivity_Framing_LO_6.16_FINAL.pdf) ," by Emily Moss, Ryan Nunn, and Jay Shambaugh (The Hamilton Project, 2020). ------" [The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade,] (https://www.nber.org/papers/w21906) " by David H. Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon H. Hanson (NBER Working Papers, 2016). ------" [Deregulation at Heart of Japan's New Robotics Revolution] (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-robots/deregulation-at-heart-of-japans-new-robotics-revolution-idUSKCN0J32DS20141119) ," by Sophie Knight and Kaori Kaneko (Reuters, 2014).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [What Do People Do All Day?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/what-do-people-do-all-day/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ------" [Did China Eat America’s Jobs?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/china-eat-americas-jobs/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2017). ... Read more

18 Nov 2024

48 MINS

48:36

18 Nov 2024


#796

611. Fareed Zakaria on What Just Happened, and What Comes Next

After a dramatic election, Donald Trump has returned from exile. We hear what to expect at home and abroad — and what to do if you didn’t vote for Trump.   SOURCE: --- [Fareed Zakaria] (https://fareedzakaria.com/about) , journalist and author.   RESOURCES: ---" [The Most Dangerous Moment Since the Cold War] (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/11/china-russia-iran-revisionist-axis/) ," by Fareed Zakaria (The Washington Post, 2024). ---" [America’s Failed Approach to Iran Can’t Really Be Called a Strategy] (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/16/iran-strategy-trump-biden-failure/) ," by Fareed Zakaria (The Washington Post, 2024). --- [Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present] (https://amzn.to/49s0Goy) , by Fareed Zakaria (2024).   EXTRAS: ---" [Are We Living Through the Most Revolutionary Period in History?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/are-we-living-through-the-most-revolutionary-period-in-history/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ---" [Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/are-private-equity-firms-plundering-the-u-s-economy/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ... Read more

14 Nov 2024

59 MINS

59:13

14 Nov 2024


#795

610. Who Wins and Who Loses Once the U.S. Legalizes Weed?

Some people want the new cannabis economy to look like the craft-beer movement. Others are hoping to build the Amazon of pot. And one expert would prefer a government-run monopoly. We listen in as they fight it out. (Part four of a [four-part series] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/is-america-switching-from-booze-to-weed/) .)   ---SOURCES: ------ [Jon Caulkins] (https://www.heinz.cmu.edu/faculty-research/profiles/caulkins-jonathanp) , professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. ------ [Adam Goers] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-goers/) , senior vice president of The Cannabist Company and chairperson of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform. ------ [Yasmin Hurd] (https://profiles.mountsinai.org/yasmin-hurd) , director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai. ------ [Jared Polis] (https://www.colorado.gov/governor/) , governor of Colorado. ------ [Ryan Stoa] (https://ryanstoa.com/) , associate professor of law at Louisiana State University.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [Prevalence of and Trends in Current Cannabis Use Among U.S. Youth and Adults, 2013–2022] (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11262189/) ," by Delvon T. Mattingly, Maggie K. Richardson, and Joy L. Hart (Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 2024). ------" [Colorado’s Weed Market Is Coming Down Hard and It’s Making Other States Nervous] (https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/06/09/colorado-weed-market-00157118) ," by Mona Zhang (Politico, 2024). ------" [Reducing Alcohol Consumption, the Nordic Way: Alcohol Monopolies, Marketing Bans and Higher Taxation] (https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/30-06-2023-reducing-alcohol-consumption--the-nordic-way--alcohol-monopolies--marketing-bans-and-higher-taxation) ," by the World Health Organization (2023). ------" [Economic Benefits and Social Costs of Legalizing Recreational Marijuana] (https://www.kansascityfed.org/research/research-working-papers/economic-benefits-and-social-costs-of-legalizing-recreational-marijuana/) ," by Jason P. Brown, Elior Cohen, and Alison Felix (Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Research Working Paper, 2023). ------" [Competition in the Markets for Beer, Wine, and Spirits] (https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Competition-Report.pdf) ," by the United States Department of the Treasury (2022). ------" [Alcohol Monopolies] (https://www.shaap.org.uk/blog/332-alcohol-monopolies.html) ," by Robin Room (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, 2021). ------" [Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America] (https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/01/craft-beer-industry/550850/) ," by Derek Thompson (The Atlantic, 2018). ------" [Marijuana Discontinuation, Anxiety Symptoms, and Relapse to Marijuana] (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19464121/) ," by Marcel O. Bonn-Miller and Rudolf H. Moos (Addictive Behaviors, 2009).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Is America Switching from Booze to Weed?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/is-america-switching-from-booze-to-weed/) " series by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ------" [Why Do Your Eyeglasses Cost $1,000?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-do-your-eyeglasses-cost-1000/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ------" [Should You Trust Private Equity to Take Care of Your Dog?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/should-you-trust-private-equity-to-take-care-of-your-dog/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ------" [Is Dialysis a Test Case of Medicare for All?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-dialysis-a-test-case-of-medicare-for-all-ep-457/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2021). ... Read more

07 Nov 2024

43 MINS

43:21

07 Nov 2024


#794

609. What Does It Take to Run a Cannabis Farm?

Chris Weld worked for years in emergency rooms, then ditched that career and bought an old farm in Massachusetts. He set up a distillery and started making prize-winning spirits. When cannabis was legalized, he jumped into that too — and the first few years were lucrative. But now? It turns out that growing, processing, and selling weed is more complicated than it looks. He gave us the grand tour.  (Part three of a [four-part series] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/is-america-switching-from-booze-to-weed/) .)   ---SOURCES: ------Chris Bennett, operations manager at Berkshire Mountain Distillers. ------Luca Boldrini, head of cultivation at The Pass. ------ [Yasmin Hurd] (https://profiles.mountsinai.org/yasmin-hurd) , director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai. ------ [Chris Weld] (https://berkshiremountaindistillers.com/about-berkshire-mountain-distillers/meet-team/) , founder and owner of Berkshire Mountain Distillers.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [As America’s Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the Harms] (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/04/us/cannabis-marijuana-risks-addiction.html?te=1&nl=today%27s-headlines&emc=edit_th_20241005) ," by Megan Twohey, Danielle Ivory, and Carson Kessler (The New York Times, 2024). ------" [Evaluation of Dispensaries’ Cannabis Flowers for Accuracy of Labeling of Cannabinoids Content] (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10924369/) ," by Mona M. Geweda, Chandrani G. Majumdar, Mahmoud A. ElSohly, et al. (Journal of Cannabis Research, 2024). ------" [The Complicated, Risky — but Potentially Lucrative — Business of Selling Cannabis] (https://www.wsj.com/business/entrepreneurship/starting-cannabis-business-1d65f771) ," by James R. Hagerty (The Wall Street Journal, 2023). ------" [Marijuana Content Labels Can’t Be Trusted] (https://commonwealthbeacon.org/marijuana/marijuana-content-labels-cant-be-trusted/) ," by Shira Schoenberg (CommonWealth Beacon, 2022). ------" [Growing Cannabis Indoors Produces a Lot of Greenhouse Gases — Just How Much Depends on Where It’s Grown] (https://theconversation.com/growing-cannabis-indoors-produces-a-lot-of-greenhouse-gases-just-how-much-depends-on-where-its-grown-156486) ," by Jason Quinn and Hailey Summers (The Conversation, 2021). ------" [Blood and Urinary Metal Levels Among Exclusive Marijuana Users in NHANES (2005-2018)] (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37646523/) ," by Katlyn E. McGraw, Anne E, Nigra, Tiffany R. Sanchez, et al. (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2018). ------" [The Carbon Footprint of Indoor Cannabis Production] (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421512002285) ," by Evan Mills (Energy Policy, 2012).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Cannabis Is Booming, So Why Isn’t Anyone Getting Rich?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/cannabis-is-booming-so-why-isnt-anyone-getting-rich/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ------" [Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-america-switching-from-booze-to-weed/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ... Read more

31 Oct 2024

40 MINS

40:08

31 Oct 2024


#793

Abortion and Crime, Revisited (Update)

With abortion on the Nov. 5 ballot, we look back at Steve Levitt’s controversial research about an unintended consequence of Roe v. Wade.   ---SOURCES: ------ [John Donohue] (https://law.stanford.edu/directory/john-j-donohue-iii/) , professor of law at Stanford Law School. ------ [Steve Levitt] (https://economics.uchicago.edu/directory/steve-levitt) , professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago and host of People I (Mostly) Admire. ------ [Jessica Wolpaw Reyes] (https://www3.amherst.edu/~jwreyes/bio.html) , professor of economics at Amherst College.   ---RESOURCES: ------“ [The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime Over the Last Two Decades] (https://bfi.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/BFI_WP_201975.pdf) ,” by John J. Donohue and Steven D. Levitt (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 2019). ------“ [The Demise of the Death Penalty in Connecticut] (https://law.stanford.edu/2016/06/07/the-demise-of-the-death-penalty-in-connecticut/) ,” by John J. Donohue (Stanford Law School Legal Aggregate, 2016). ------“ [Environmental Policy as Social Policy? The Impact of Childhood Lead Exposure on Crime] (https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/get_the_lead_out/pdfs/health/Reyes_2007.pdf) ,” by Jessica Wolpaw Reyes (The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2007). ------“ [The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime] (http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/Papers/DonohueLevittTheImpactOfLegalized2001.pdf) ,” by John J. Donohue and Steven D. Levitt (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2001). ------“ [State Abortion Rates: The Impact of Policies, Providers, Politics, Demographics, and Economic Environment] (https://www.nber.org/papers/w4853) ,” by Rebecca M. Blank, Christine C. George, and Rebecca A. London (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 1994).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [John Donohue: 'I’m Frequently Called a Treasonous Enemy of the Constitution,'] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/john-donohue-im-frequently-called-a-treasonous-enemy-of-the-constitution/) " by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021). ... Read more

28 Oct 2024

54 MINS

54:46

28 Oct 2024


#792

608. Cannabis Is Booming, So Why Isn’t Anyone Getting Rich?

There are a lot of reasons, including heavy regulations, high taxes, and competition from illegal weed shops. Most operators are losing money and waiting for Washington to get out of the way. In the meantime, it’s not that easy being green. (Part two of a [four-part series] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/is-america-switching-from-booze-to-weed/) .)   ---SOURCES: ------ [Jon Caulkins] (https://www.heinz.cmu.edu/faculty-research/profiles/caulkins-jonathanp) , professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. ------ [Adam Goers] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-goers/) , senior vice president of The Cannabist Company and chairperson of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform. ------ [Precious Osagie-Erese] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/preciousosagieerese/) , founder and C.E.O. of Precious Canna Co. ------ [Nikesh Patel] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikesh-patel-5581a02/) , C.E.O. of Mammoth Distribution. ------ [Nikesh Patel] (https://www.sf.gov/profile/nikesh-patel) , director of the San Francisco Office of Cannabis. ------ [Tom Standage] (https://mediadirectory.economist.com/people/tom-standage/) , deputy editor of The Economist.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [Most Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana for Medical, Recreational Use] (https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/03/26/most-americans-favor-legalizing-marijuana-for-medical-recreational-use/) ," (Pew Research Center, 2024). ------" [Whitney Economics U.S. Legal Cannabis Forecast - 2024 - 2035] (https://whitneyeconomics.com/blog/whitney-economics-us-legal-cannabis-forecast---2024---2035) ," by Beau Whitney (Whitney Economics, 2024). ------" [Beer Sellers Use a Loophole to Break Into Weed Drinks Market] (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-16/hemp-loophole-drives-beer-sellers-toward-thc-laced-drinks?sref=6DPKmIax) ," by Redd Brown (Bloomberg, 2024). ------" [Cannabis Producer Seeks Boston Beer Merger] (https://www.wsj.com/business/cannabis-producer-seeks-boston-beer-merger-b89e43c7) ," by Lauren Thomas (The Wall Street Journal, 2024). ------" [California's 'Apple Store of Weed' Declares Bankruptcy With $410M in Debt] (https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/medmen-bankruptcy-19429105.php) ," by Lester Black (SFGate, 2024). ------" [Is the State Democratic Chair Influencing Who Can Sell Legal Weed in this N.J. City?] (https://www.nj.com/marijuana/2023/04/is-the-state-democratic-chair-influencing-who-can-sell-legal-weed-in-this-nj-city.html) " by Jelani Gibson (NJ.com, 2023). ------" [When Prohibition Works: Comparing Fireworks and Cannabis Regulations, Markets, and Harms] (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395923001299?via=ihub) ," by Jonathan P. Caulkins and Kristina Vaia Reimer (International Journal of Drug Policy, 2023). ------" [Did Minnesota Accidentally Legalize Weed?] (https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/10/did-minnesota-accidentally-legalize-weed-its-complicated-00044544) " by Paul Demko (Politico, 2022).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-america-switching-from-booze-to-weed/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ------" [The Economics of Sports Gambling] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-economics-of-sports-gambling/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2019). ... Read more

24 Oct 2024

50 MINS

50:50

24 Oct 2024


#791

607. Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?

We have always been a nation of drinkers — but now there are more daily users of cannabis than alcohol. Considering alcohol’s harms, maybe that’s a good thing. But some people worry that the legalization of cannabis has outpaced the research. (Part one of a [four-part series] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/is-america-switching-from-booze-to-weed/) .)   ---SOURCES: ------ [Jon Caulkins] (https://www.heinz.cmu.edu/faculty-research/profiles/caulkins-jonathanp) , professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. ------ [Yasmin Hurd] (https://profiles.mountsinai.org/yasmin-hurd) , director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai. ------ [Michael Siegel] (https://medicine.tufts.edu/people/faculty/michael-siegel) , professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University. ------ [Tom Standage] (https://mediadirectory.economist.com/people/tom-standage/) , deputy editor of The Economist. ------ [Ryan Stoa] (https://ryanstoa.com/) , associate professor of law at Louisiana State University.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [Cannabis Tops Alcohol as Americans’ Daily Drug of Choice] (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/23/well/mind/marijuana-cannabis-alcohol-study.html) ," by Christina Caron (The New York Times, 2024). ------" [Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use — United States, 2016–2021] (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7308a1.htm) ," by Marissa B. Esser, Adam Sherk, Yong Liu, and Timothy S. Naimi (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2024). ------" [Nixon Started the War on Drugs. Privately, He Said Pot Was ‘Not Particularly Dangerous] (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/14/us/nixon-marijuana-tapes.html) ,'" by Ernesto Londoño (The New York Times, 2024). ------" [A Brief Global History of the War on Cannabis] (https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-global-history-of-the-war-on-cannabis/) ," by Ryan Stoa (The MIT Press Reader, 2020). ------ [Craft Weed: Family Farming and the Future of the Marijuana Industry] (https://amzn.to/4eXIPZU) , by Ryan Stoa (2018). ------" [How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat] (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html) ," by Anahad O’Connor (The New York Times, 2016). ------" [The Perils of Ignoring History: Big Tobacco Played Dirty and Millions Died. How Similar Is Big Food?] (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2879177/) " by Kelly D. Brownell and Kenneth E. Warner (The Milbank Quarterly, 2009). ------ [A History Of The World In Six Glasses] (https://amzn.to/3NqgY93) , by Tom Standage (2005). ------" [Cancer and Coronary Artery Disease Among Seventh-Day Adventists] (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13846288/) ," by E. L. Wynder, F. R. Lemon, and I. J. Bross (Cancer, 1959).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Why Is the Opioid Epidemic Still Raging?] (https://freakonomics.com/why-is-the-opioid-epidemic-still-raging/) " series by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ------" [Daron Acemoglu on Economics, Politics, and Power] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/daron-acemoglu-on-economics-politics-and-power/) ," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024). ------" [Let’s Be Blunt: Marijuana Is a Boon for Older Workers] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/lets-be-blunt-marijuana-is-a-boon-for-older-workers-ep-459/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2021). ------" [What’s More Dangerous: Marijuana or Alcohol?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/whats-more-dangerous-marijuana-or-alcohol/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2014). ... Read more

17 Oct 2024

46 MINS

46:08

17 Oct 2024


#790

606. How to Predict the Presidency

Are betting markets more accurate than polls? What kind of chaos would a second Trump term bring? And is U.S. democracy really in danger, or just “sputtering on”? (Part two of a [ two-part series] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/has-the-u-s-presidency-become-a-dictatorship/) .)   ---SOURCES: ------ [Eric Posner] (https://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/posner-e) , professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School. ------ [Koleman Strumpf] (https://economics.wfu.edu/faculty-and-staff/koleman-strumpf/) , professor of economics at Wake Forest University.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [A Trump Dictatorship Won’t Happen] (https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/trump-might-try-to-be-dictator-but-would-fail-again-by-eric-posner-2023-12) ," by Eric Posner (Project Syndicate, 2023). ------ [The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump] (https://amzn.to/3BFIEE8) , by Eric Posner (2020). ------" [The Long History of Political Betting Markets: An International Perspective] (https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/36333/chapter-abstract/318726499?redirectedFrom=fulltext) ," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman Strumpf (The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Gambling, 2013). ------" [Manipulating Political Stock Markets: A Field Experiment and a Century of Observational Data] (https://s3.amazonaws.com/fieldexperiments-papers2/papers/00325.pdf) ," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf (Working Paper, 2007). ------" [Historical Presidential Betting Markets] (https://www.uvm.edu/~awoolf/classes/fall2004/election/Historical_Presidential_Betting_Markets.pdf) ," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf (Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2004).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Has the U.S. Presidency Become a Dictatorship? (Update)] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/has-the-u-s-presidency-become-a-dictatorship-update/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ------“ [Does the President Matter as Much as You Think?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/does-the-president-matter-as-much-as-you-think-ep-404/) ” by Freakonomics Radio (2020). ------" [How Much Does the President Really Matter?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-much-does-the-president-really-matter/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2010). ... Read more

11 Oct 2024

55 MINS

55:38

11 Oct 2024


#789

Has the U.S. Presidency Become a Dictatorship? (Update)

Sure, we all pay lip service to the Madisonian system of checks and balances. But presidents have been steadily expanding the reach of the job. With an election around the corner, we updated our 2016 conversation with the legal scholar Eric Posner — who has some good news and some not-so-good news about the power of the presidency. (Part one of a [two-part series] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/has-the-u-s-presidency-become-a-dictatorship/) .)   ---SOURCE: ------ [Eric Posner] (https://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/posner-e) , professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School.     ---RESOURCES: ------" [Presidential Leadership and the Separation of Powers] (https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=12417&context=journal_articles) ," by Eric Posner (Daedalus, 2016). ------ [The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic] (https://amzn.to/3YeXeLM) , by Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule (2010).   ---EXTRA: ------" [Does the President Matter as Much as You Think?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/does-the-president-matter-as-much-as-you-think-ep-404/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2020). ... Read more

10 Oct 2024

46 MINS

46:59

10 Oct 2024


#788

605. What Do People Do All Day?

Sixty percent of the jobs that Americans do today didn’t exist in 1940. What happens as our labor becomes more technical and less physical? And what kinds of jobs will exist in the future?    ---SOURCES: ------ [David Autor] (https://economics.mit.edu/people/faculty/david-h-autor) , professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ------ [Paula Barmaimon] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulabarmaimon/?originalSubdomain=uk) , manager of coverage and audience analytics at The New York Times. ------ [Ellen Griesedieck] (https://www.americanmuralproject.org/the-artist) , artist and president of the American Mural Project. ------ [Adina Lichtman] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/adina-lichtman-57170361/) , co-host of the Our Friends Are Smart party. ------ [Avi Popack] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/avipopack/) , co-host of the Our Friends Are Smart party. ------ [Huck Scarry] (https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/meet-busytowns-favorite-son-huck-scarry) , author and illustrator. ------ [James Suzman] (https://www.fromthebush.com/) , anthropologist and author. ------ [Ben Varon] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-varon-00aa6a34/) , rabbi and chaplain at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn .   ---RESOURCES: ------" [New Frontiers: The Origins and Content of New Work, 1940–2018] (https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/139/3/1399/7630187?login=false) ," by David Autor, Caroline Chin, Anna Salomons, and Bryan Seegmiller (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2024). ------ [Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots] (https://amzn.to/3ZPD6RG) , by James Suzman (2020). ------ [Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do] (https://amzn.to/3ZIhXbX) , by Studs Terkel (1974). ------ [What Do People Do All Day?] (https://amzn.to/47MuEEJ) , by Richard Scarry (1968). ------" [Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren] (http://www.econ.yale.edu/smith/econ116a/keynes1.pdf) ," by John Maynard Keynes (1930). ------ [American Mural Project] (https://www.americanmuralproject.org/) .   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Will the Democrats 'Make America Great Again'?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/will-the-democrats-make-america-great-again/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ------" [How to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot Apocalypse] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-robot-apocalypse-ep-461/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2021). ------" [Did China Eat America’s Jobs?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/did-china-eat-americas-jobs/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2017). ------ [People I (Mostly) Admire] (https://freakonomics.com/series/people-i-mostly-admire/) . ... Read more

03 Oct 2024

1 HR 00 MINS

1:00:48

03 Oct 2024


#787

EXTRA: Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America (Update)

His research on police brutality and school incentives won him acclaim, but also enemies. He was suspended for two years by Harvard, during which time he took a hard look at corporate diversity programs. As a follow-up to our recent [series] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/the-rooney-rule/) on the Rooney Rule, we revisit our 2022 conversation with the controversial economist.   ---SOURCE: ------ [Roland Fryer] (https://scholar.harvard.edu/fryer/home) , professor of economics at Harvard University.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [How to Make Up the Covid Learning Loss] (https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-make-up-the-covid-learning-loss-pay-homework-zoom-deficit-reading-math-11653923529) ," by Roland Fryer (Wall Street Journal, 2022). ------" [Roland Fryer on Better Alternatives to Defunding the Police] (https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2020/07/10/roland-fryer-on-better-alternatives-to-defunding-the-police) ," by Roland Fryer (The Economist, 2020). ------" [Harvard Suspends Roland Fryer, Star Economist, After Sexual Harassment Claims] (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/business/economy/roland-fryer-harvard.html) ," by Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley (The New York Times, 2019). ------" [Why Diversity Programs Fail: And What Works Better] (https://stratserv.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Why-Diversity-Programs-Fail.pdf) ," by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev (Harvard Business Review, 2016). ------" [An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force] (https://www.nber.org/papers/w22399) ," by Roland G. Fryer, Jr (NBER Working Paper, 2016). ------" [Getting Beneath the Veil of Effective Schools: Evidence from New York City] (https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.5.4.28) ," by Will Dobbie and Roland G. Fryer (American Economics Journal, 2013). ------" [Financial Incentives and Student Achievement: Evidence From Randomized Trials] (https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/fryer/files/financial_incentives_and_student_achievement_evidence_from_randomized_trials.pdf) ," by Roland G. Fryer (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2011). ------" [Toward a Unified Theory of Black America] (https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/magazine/toward-a-unified-theory-of-black-america.html) ," by Stephen J. Dubner (The New York Times, 2005). ------ [Equal Opportunity Ventures] (https://www.eoventures.com/) . ------ [Intus Care] (https://www.intuscare.com/) . ------ [Reconstruction] (https://reconstruction.us/home) . ------ [Sigma Squared] (https://www.sigma2.io/) .   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/the-rooney-rule/) " series by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ------" [The True Story of the Gender Pay Gap] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-true-story-of-the-gender-pay-gap/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2016). ------" [Does “Early Education” Come Way Too Late?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/does-early-education-come-way-too-late/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2015). ... Read more

30 Sep 2024

1 HR 00 MINS

1:00:29

30 Sep 2024


#786

604. Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring? (Part 2)

What happened when the Rooney Rule made its way from pro football to corporate America? Some progress, some backsliding, and a lot of controversy. (Second in a two-part [series] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/the-rooney-rule/) .)   ---SOURCES: ------ [Tynesia Boyea-Robinson] (https://capeqimpact.com/team) , president and C.E.O. of CapEQ. ------ [N. Jeremi Duru] (https://www.american.edu/wcl/faculty/jduru.cfm) , professor of law at American University. ------ [Herm Edwards] (https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/herm-edwards/) , former N.F.L. player and head coach. ------ [Christopher Rider] (https://michiganross.umich.edu/faculty-research/faculty/christopher-rider) , professor of entrepreneurial studies at the University of Michigan. ------ [Jim Rooney] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimrooney21/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F) , author and co-partner of Rooney Consulting. ------ [Scott Shephard] (https://nationalcenter.org/ncppr/staff/scott-shepard/) , general counsel at the National Center for Public Policy Research.   ---RESOURCES: ------ [The Social Impact Advantage: Win Customers and Talent By Harnessing Your Business For Good] (https://amzn.to/4eeac1Z) , by Tynesia Boyea-Robinson (2022). ------ [A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney’s Story from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule] (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/714068/a-different-way-to-win-by-jim-rooney-foreword-by-joe-greene/?ref=PRH0A5E8B2BA974&aid=15871&linkid=PRH0A5E8B2BA974) , by Jim Rooney (2019). ------" [If There’s Only One Woman in Your Candidate Pool, There’s Statistically No Chance She’ll Be Hired] (https://hbr.org/2016/04/if-theres-only-one-woman-in-your-candidate-pool-theres-statistically-no-chance-shell-be-hired) ," by Stefanie K. Johnson, David R. Hekman and Elsa T. Chan (Harvard Business Review, 2016). ------" [Racial Disparity in Leadership: Performance-Reward Bias in Promotions of National Football League Coaches] (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314583797_Racial_Disparity_in_Leadership_Performance-Reward_Bias_in_Promotions_of_National_Football_League_Coaches#full-text) ," by Christopher I. Rider, James Wade, Anand Swaminathan, and Andreas Schwab (SSRN, 2016). ------ [Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL] (https://amzn.to/47NyAVP) , by N. Jeremi Duru (2010).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring? (Part 1)] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/did-the-nfl-solve-diversity-hiring-part-1/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ------“ [When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/when-is-a-superstar-just-another-employee/) ” by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ------“ [How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy? (Replay)] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-much-does-discrimination-hurt-the-economy-replay/) ,” by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ... Read more

26 Sep 2024

47 MINS

47:19

26 Sep 2024


#785

603. Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring? (Part 1)

The biggest sports league in history had a problem: While most of its players were Black, almost none of its head coaches were. So the N.F.L. launched a hiring policy called the Rooney Rule. In the first episode of a [two-part series] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/the-rooney-rule/) , we look at how the rule succeeded — until it failed.   ---SOURCES: ------ [N. Jeremi Duru] (https://www.american.edu/wcl/faculty/jduru.cfm) , professor of law at American University. ------ [Herm Edwards] (https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/herm-edwards/) , former N.F.L. player and head coach. ------ [Jim Rooney] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimrooney21/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F) , author and co-partner of Rooney Consulting.   ---RESOURCES: ------ [A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney's Story from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule] (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/714068/a-different-way-to-win-by-jim-rooney-foreword-by-joe-greene/?ref=PRH0A5E8B2BA974&aid=15871&linkid=PRH0A5E8B2BA974) , by Jim Rooney (2019). ------" [For ASU's Herm Edwards, Sports Bubble Helped to Overcome Racism Growing Up] (https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/ncaaf/asu/2018/07/12/herm-edwards-sports-bubble-shielded-arizona-state-football-coach/707255002/) ," by Jeff Metcalfe (The Arizona Republic, 2018). ------ [Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL] (https://amzn.to/47NyAVP) , by N. Jeremi Duru (2010). ------" [Differences in the Success of NFL Coaches by Race, 1990-2002: Evidence of Last Hire, First Fire] (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277385564_Differences_in_the_Success_of_NFL_Coaches_by_Race_1990-2002_Evidence_of_Last_Hire_First_Fire) ," by Janice Madden (Journal of Sports Economics, 2004).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/when-is-a-superstar-just-another-employee/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ------" [How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy? (Replay)] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-much-does-discrimination-hurt-the-economy-replay/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ... Read more

19 Sep 2024

47 MINS

47:51

19 Sep 2024


#784

EXTRA: In Praise of Maintenance (Update)

We revisit an episode from 2016 that asks: Has our culture’s obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact that things also need to be taken care of?    ---SOURCES: ------ [Martin Casado] (http://a16z.com/2016/02/24/martin-casado/) , general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. ------ [Ruth Schwartz Cowan] (https://hss.sas.upenn.edu/people/ruth-schwartz-cowan) , professor emerita of history and sociology of science at University of Pennsylvania. ------ [Edward Glaeser] (http://scholar.harvard.edu/glaeser/home) , professor of economics at Harvard University. ------ [Chris Lacinak] (https://www.weareavp.com/team/chris-lacinak/) , founder and president of AVPreserve. ------ [Andrew Russell] (http://arussell.org/) , provost of SUNY Polytechnic Institute. ------ [Lawrence Summers] (http://larrysummers.com/) , professor and president emeritus of Harvard University; former Secretary of the Treasury and former director of the National Economic Council. ------ [Lee Vinsel] (http://leevinsel.com/about/) , professor of science, technology, and society at Virginia Tech.   ---RESOURCES: ------“ [Hail the Maintainers] (https://aeon.co/essays/innovation-is-overvalued-maintenance-often-matters-more) ," by Andrew Russell and Lee Vinsel (Aeon, 2016). ------“ [A Lesson on Infrastructure From the Anderson Bridge Fiasco] (https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/05/25/lesson-infrastructure-from-anderson-bridge-fiasco/uKS6xQZxFBF0fZd2EuT06K/story.html) ,” by Lawrence Summers and Rachel Lipson (The Boston Globe, 2016). ------ [Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier] (https://amzn.to/47nVSBj) , by Edward Glaeser (2008). ------ [More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave] (https://amzn.to/3Tu0e4d) , by Ruth Schwartz Cowan (1983).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Freakonomics Radio Takes to the Skies] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/freakonomics-radio-takes-to-the-skies/) ," series by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ------" [Edward Glaeser Explains Why Some Cities Thrive While Others Fade Away] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/edward-glaeser-explains-why-some-cities-thrive-while-others-fade-away/) ," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021). ------" [Why Larry Summers Is the Economist Everyone Hates to Love] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-larry-summers-is-the-economist-everyone-hates-to-love/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2017). ... Read more

16 Sep 2024

42 MINS

42:37

16 Sep 2024


#783

602. Is Screen Time as Poisonous as We Think?

Young people have been reporting a sharp rise in anxiety and depression. This maps neatly onto the global rise of the smartphone. Some researchers are convinced that one is causing the other. But how strong is the evidence?   ---SOURCES: ------ [David Blanchflower] (https://economics.dartmouth.edu/people/david-graham-blanchflower) , professor of economics at Dartmouth College. ------ [Lauren Oyler] (https://www.thecut.com/2021/01/profile-lauren-oyler-author-of-debut-novel-fake-accounts.html) , novelist and cultural critic. ------ [Andrew Przybylski] (https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/profiles/andrew-przybylski/) , professor of human behavior and technology at the University of Oxford.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [The Declining Mental Health Of The Young And The Global Disappearance Of The Hump Shape In Age In Unhappiness] (https://www.nber.org/papers/w32337) ," by David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, and Xiaowei Xu (NBER Working Paper, 2024). ------" [Further Evidence on the Global Decline in the Mental Health of the Young] (https://www.nber.org/papers/w32500) ," by David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, Anthony Lepinteur, and Alan Piper (NBER Working Paper, 2024). ------ [No Judgment: Essays] (https://amzn.to/4d10XAM) , by Lauren Oyler (2024). ------" [To What Extent are Trends in Teen Mental Health Driven by Changes in Reporting?] (https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2023/09/01/jhr.0423-12854R1) " by Adriana Corredor-Waldron and Janet Currie (Journal of Human Resources, 2024). ------ [The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness] (https://amzn.to/3TsakCp) , by Jonathan Haidt (2024). ------" [Global Well-Being and Mental Health in the Internet Age] (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21677026231207791) ," by Matti Vuorre and Andrew K. Przybylski (Clinical Psychological Science, 2023). ------" [Are Mental Health Awareness Efforts Contributing to the Rise in Reported Mental Health Problems? A Call to Test the Prevalence Inflation Hypothesis] (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X2300003X) ," by Lucy Foulkes and Jack L. Andrews (New Ideas in Psychology, 2023). ------" [The Association Between Adolescent Well-Being and Digital Technology Use] (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-018-0506-1) ," by Amy Orben and Andrew K. Przybylski (Nature Human Behaviour, 2019). ------ [iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood — and What That Means for the Rest of Us] (https://amzn.to/3Xqq8H0) , by Jean M. Twenge (2017).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Are You Caught in a Social Media Trap?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/are-you-caught-in-a-social-media-trap/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ------" [Are We Getting Lonelier?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/are-we-getting-lonelier/) " by No Stupid Questions (2023). ------" [Is Facebook Bad for Your Mental Health?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-facebook-bad-for-your-mental-health/) " by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022). ------" [Why Is U.S. Media So Negative? (Replay)] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-is-u-s-media-so-negative-replay/) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2022). ... Read more

12 Sep 2024

40 MINS

40:29

12 Sep 2024


#782

601. Multitasking Doesn’t Work. So Why Do We Keep Trying?

Only a tiny number of “supertaskers” are capable of doing two things at once. The rest of us are just making ourselves miserable, and less productive. How can we put the — hang on a second, I've just got to get this. Come see Stephen Dubner live!  “A Questionable Evening: A strategic interrogation from two people who ask questions for a living,” featuring Stephen Dubner and PJ Vogt from Search Engine. Thursday, Sept. 26th, at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY.  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-questionable-evening-evening-with-stephen-dubner-and-pj-vogt-tickets-1002544747327   ---SOURCES: ------ [Olivia Grace] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliviadgrace/) , senior product manager at Slack. ------ [Gloria Mark] (https://gloriamark.com/) , professor of computer science at the University of California, Irvine. ------ [David Strayer] (https://psych.utah.edu/people/faculty/strayer-david.php) , professor of cognition and neural science at the University of Utah.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [Immersion in Nature Enhances Neural Indices of Executive Attention] (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-52205-1) ," by Amy S. McDonnell and David L. Strayer (Nature: Scientific Reports, 2024). ------" [Contribution to the Study on the ‘Right to Disconnect’ From Work. Are France and Spain Examples for Other Countries and E.U. Law?] (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20319525221105102) " by Loïc Lerouge and Francisco Trujillo Pons (European Labour Law Journal, 2022). ------" [Task Errors by Emergency Physicians Are Associated With Interruptions, Multitasking, Fatigue and Working Memory Capacity: A Prospective, Direct Observation Study] (https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/27/8/655) ," by Johanna I. Westbrook, Magdalena Z. Raban, Scott R. Walter, and Heather Douglas (BMJ Quality & Safety, 2018). ------" [Supertaskers: Profiles in Extraordinary Multitasking Ability] (https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/PBR.17.4.479) ," by Jason M. Watson and David L. Strayer (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2010). ------" [The Effects of Video Game Playing on Attention, Memory, and Executive Control] (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001691808001200?via%3Dihub) ," by Walter R. Boot, Arthur F. Kramer, Daniel J. Simons, Monica Fabiani, and Gabriele Gratton (Acta Psychologica, 2008). ------" ['Constant, Constant, Multi-Tasking Craziness': Managing Multiple Working Spheres] (https://ics.uci.edu/~gmark/CHI2004.pdf) ," by Victor M. González and Gloria Mark (Proceedings of the 2004 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI, 2004).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Why Is the U.S. So Good at Killing Pedestrians?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-is-the-u-s-so-good-at-killing-pedestrians/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2023). ------" [Why Did You Marry That Person?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-did-you-marry-that-person/) " by Freakonomics Radio (2022). ------" [How Much Should We Be Able to Customize Our World?] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-much-should-we-be-able-to-customize-our-world/) " by No Stupid Questions (2021). ... Read more

05 Sep 2024

58 MINS

58:04

05 Sep 2024


#781

What Is the Future of College — and Does It Have Room for Men? (Update)

Educators and economists tell us all the reasons college enrollment has been dropping, especially for men, and how to stop the bleeding. (Part 3 of our series from 2022, “ [Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School] (https://freakonomics.com/freakonomics-radio-goes-back-to-school/) .”)   ---SOURCES: ------ [Zachary Bleemer] (https://zacharybleemer.com/) , assistant professor of economics at Princeton University and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. ------ [D'Wayne Edwards] (https://pensolelewiscollege.com/founder/) , founder and President of Pensole Lewis College. ------ [Catharine Hill] (https://www.yale.edu/board-trustees/current-trustees/catharine-bond-hill) , former president of Vassar College; trustee at Yale University; and managing director at Ithaka S+R. ------ [Pano Kanelos] (https://www.uaustin.org/people/pano-kanelos) , founding president of the University of Austin. ------ [Amalia Miller] (https://amaliarmiller.faculty.virginia.edu/) , professor of economics at the University of Virginia. ------ [Donald Ruff] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-ruff-87941548/) , president and C.E.O. of the Eagle Academy Foundation. ------ [Morton Schapiro] (https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/directory/schapiro_morton.aspx) , professor of economics and former president of Northwestern University. ------ [Ruth Simmons] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Simmons) , former president of Smith College, Brown University, and Prairie View A&M University. ------ [Miguel Urquiola] (https://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/msu2101/) , professor of economics at Columbia University.   ---RESOURCES: ------" [What Gay Men’s Stunning Success Might Teach Us About the Academic Gender Gap] (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/24/gay-men-academic-success-gender-gap-lessons/) ," by Joel Mittleman (The Washington Post, 2022). ------" [We Can't Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We're Starting a New One] (https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/we-cant-wait-for-universities-to?s=r) ," by Pano Kanelos (Common Sense, 2021). ------" [Academic Freedom in Crisis: Punishment, Political Discrimination, and Self-Censorship] (https://cspicenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AcademicFreedom.pdf) ," by Eric Kaufmann (Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, 2021). ------“ [A Generation of American Men Give Up on College: ‘I Just Feel Lost’] (https://www.wsj.com/articles/college-university-fall-higher-education-men-women-enrollment-admissions-back-to-school-11630948233) ,” by Douglas Belkin (The Wall Street Journal, 2021). ------" [Community Colleges and Upward Mobility] (https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w29254/w29254.pdf) ," by Jack Mountjoy (NBER Working Paper, 2021). ------" [Elite Schools and Opting In: Effects of College Selectivity on Career and Family Outcomes] (https://www.nber.org/papers/w25315) ," by Suqin Ge, Elliott Isaac, and Amalia Miller (NBER Working Paper, 2019). ------" [Leaving Boys Behind: Gender Disparities in High Academic Achievement] (https://www.nber.org/papers/w19331) ," by Nicole M. Fortin, Philip Oreopoulos, and Shelley Phipps (NBER Working Paper, 2013).   ---EXTRAS: ------" [Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School] (https://freakonomics.com/freakonomics-radio-goes-back-to-school/) ," series by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ------“ ['If We’re All in It for Ourselves, Who Are We?'] (https://freakonomics.com/podcast/if-were-all-in-it-for-ourselves-who-are-we/) ” by Freakonomics Radio (2024). ... Read more

29 Aug 2024

49 MINS

49:17

29 Aug 2024