The 166-year-old chain, which is fighting extinction, calls the parade its “gift to the nation.” With 30 million TV viewers,... more

It’s true that robots (and other smart technologies) will kill many jobs. It may also be true that newer collaborative... more

After a dramatic election, Donald Trump has returned from exile. We hear what to expect at home and abroad —... more

Some people want the new cannabis economy to look like the craft-beer movement. Others are hoping to build the Amazon... more

Chris Weld worked for years in emergency rooms, then ditched that career and bought an old farm in Massachusetts. He... more

With abortion on the Nov. 5 ballot, we look back at Steve Levitt’s controversial research about an unintended consequence of... more

There are a lot of reasons, including heavy regulations, high taxes, and competition from illegal weed shops. Most operators are... more

We have always been a nation of drinkers — but now there are more daily users of cannabis than alcohol.... more

Are betting markets more accurate than polls? What kind of chaos would a second Trump term bring? And is U.S.... more

Sure, we all pay lip service to the Madisonian system of checks and balances. But presidents have been steadily expanding... more

Sixty percent of the jobs that Americans do today didn’t exist in 1940. What happens as our labor becomes more... more

His research on police brutality and school incentives won him acclaim, but also enemies. He was suspended for two years... more

What happened when the Rooney Rule made its way from pro football to corporate America? Some progress, some backsliding, and... more

The biggest sports league in history had a problem: While most of its players were Black, almost none of its... more

We revisit an episode from 2016 that asks: Has our culture’s obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact... more

Young people have been reporting a sharp rise in anxiety and depression. This maps neatly onto the global rise of... more

Only a tiny number of “supertaskers” are capable of doing two things at once. The rest of us are just... more

Educators and economists tell us all the reasons college enrollment has been dropping, especially for men, and how to stop... more

Stephen Dubner appears as a guest on "Fail Better," a new podcast hosted by David Duchovny. The two of them... more

America’s top colleges are facing record demand. So why don’t they increase supply? (Part 2 of our series from 2022,... more

We think of them as intellectual enclaves and the surest route to a better life. But U.S. colleges also operate... more

There are a lot of factors that go into greatness, many of which are not obvious. As the Olympics come... more

Tania Tetlow, a former federal prosecutor and now the president of Fordham University, thinks the modern campus could use a... more

It’s not oil or water or plutonium — it’s human hours. We've got an idea for putting them to use,... more

A new proposal from the Biden administration calls for a nationwide cap on rent increases. Economists think that’s a terrible... more

That’s the worry. Even the humble eyeglass industry is dominated by a single firm. We look into the global spike... more

A single company, EssilorLuxottica, owns so much of the eyewear industry that it’s hard to escape their gravitational pull —... more

You wouldn’t think you could win a Nobel Prize for showing that humans tend to make irrational decisions. But that’s... more

Daniel Kahneman left his mark on academia (and the real world) in countless ways. A group of his friends and... more

American politics is trapped in a duopoly, with two all-powerful parties colluding to stifle competition. We revisit a 2018 episode... more

It’s hard to know whether the benefits of hiring a celebrity are worth the risk. We dig into one gruesome... more

Broadway operates on a winner-take-most business model. A runaway hit like "Stereophonic" — which just won five Tony Awards —... more

The Berlin dance mecca Berghain is known for its eight-hour line and inscrutable door policy. PJ Vogt, host of the... more

Hit by Covid, runaway costs, and a zillion streams of competition, serious theater is in serious trouble. A new hit... more

Every December, a British man named Tom Whitwell publishes a list of 52 things he’s learned that year. These fascinating... more

An update of our 2020 series, in which we spoke with physicians, researchers, and addicts about the root causes of... more

Thanks to legal settlements with drug makers and distributors, states have plenty of money to boost prevention and treatment. Will... more

Most epidemics flare up, do their damage, and fade away. This one has been raging for almost 30 years. To... more

Presenting two stories from "The Economics of Everyday Things": Why does it seem like every car is black, white, or... more

The economist and social critic Glenn Loury has led a remarkably turbulent life, both professionally and personally. In a new... more

The employee ownership movement is growing, and one of its biggest champions is also a private equity heavyweight. Is this... more

From politics and economics to psychology and the arts, many of the modern ideas we take for granted emerged a... more

Five years ago, we published an episode about the boom in home DNA testing kits, focusing on the high-flying firm... more

Justin Trudeau, facing record-low approval numbers, is doubling down on his progressive agenda. But he is so upbeat (and Canada-polite)... more

So you want to help people? That’s great — but beware the law of unintended consequences. Three stories from the... more

The psychologist Daniel Kahneman — a Nobel laureate and the author of “Thinking, Fast and Slow” — recently died at... more

People who are good at their jobs routinely get promoted into bigger jobs they’re bad at. We explain why firms... more

Fareed Zakaria says yes. But it’s not just political revolution — it’s economic, technological, even emotional. He doesn’t offer easy... more

The political debates over immigration can generate a lot of fuzzy facts. We wanted to test Americans’ knowledge — so,... more

As the U.S. tries to fix its messy immigration system, our neighbor to the north is scooping up more talented... more

The U.S. immigration system is a massively complicated machine, with a lot of worn-out parts. How to fix it? Step... more

She arrived in the U.S. as an 11-year-old refugee, then rose to become Secretary of State. Her views on immigration,... more

How did a nation of immigrants come to hate immigration? We start at the beginning, sort through the evidence, and... more

Economists have discovered an odd phenomenon: many people who use social media (even you, maybe?) wish it didn’t exist. But... more

In ancient Rome, it was bread and circuses. Today, it’s a World Cup, an Olympics, and a new Saudi-backed golf... more

What surprises lurk in our sewage? How did racist city planners end up saving Black lives? Why does Arizona grow... more

It used to feel like magic. Now it can feel like a set of cheap tricks. Is the problem with... more

A wide-open conversation with three women who guided Richard Feynman through some big adventures at the Esalen Institute. (Part of... more

In his final years, Richard Feynman's curiosity took him to some surprising places. We hear from his companions on the... more

What happens when an existentially depressed and recently widowed young physicist from Queens gets a fresh start in California? We... more

They’re heading to the Super Bowl for the second time in five years. But back in 2018, they were coming... more

From the Manhattan Project to the Challenger investigation, the physicist Richard Feynman loved to shoot down what he called “lousy... more

Michael Roth of Wesleyan University doesn’t hang out with other university presidents. He also thinks some of them have failed... more

We all like to throw around terms that describe human behavior — “bystander apathy” and “steep learning curve” and “hard-wired.”... more

Probably not — the incentives are too strong. Scholarly publishing is a $28 billion global industry, with misconduct at every... more

Some of the biggest names in behavioral science stand accused of faking their results. Last year, an astonishing 10,000 research... more

In a special episode of The Economics of Everyday Things, host Zachary Crockett explains what millennials do to show they... more

In a special episode of People I (Mostly) Admire, Steve Levitt talks to Cat Bohannon about her new book "Eve:... more

In a special episode of No Stupid Questions, Angela Duckworth and Mike Maughan talk about unfinished tasks, recurring arguments, and... more

Lewis got incredible access to Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire behind the spectacular FTX fraud. His book is a bestseller, but... more

In policing, as in most vocations, the best employees are often promoted into leadership without much training. One economist thinks... more

It boosts economic opportunity and social mobility. It’s good for the environment. So why do we charge people to use... more

Most industries have become more productive over time. But not construction! We identify the causes — and possible solutions. (Can... more

Pro footballer and star podcaster Jason Kelce is ubiquitous right now (almost as ubiquitous as his brother and co-host Travis,... more

They say they make companies more efficient through savvy management. Critics say they bend the rules to enrich themselves at... more

Evidence from Nazi Germany and 1940’s America (and pretty much everywhere else) shows that discrimination is incredibly costly — to... more

Everyone makes mistakes. How do you learn from them? Lessons from the classroom, the Air Force, and the world’s deadliest... more

Giving up can be painful. That's why we need to talk about it. Today: stories about glitchy apps, leaky paint... more

In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. It can also produce discoveries that save millions of lives. Tales from the front... more

We tend to think of tragedies as a single terrible moment, rather than the result of multiple bad decisions. Can... more

Claudia Goldin is the newest winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. We spoke with her in 2016 about why... more

John Ray is an emergency C.E.O., a bankruptcy expert who takes over companies that have succumbed to failure or fraud.... more

If two parents can run a family, why shouldn’t two executives run a company? We dig into the research and... more

In her new book "The Two-Parent Privilege," the economist Melissa Kearney says it’s time for liberals to face the facts:... more

The union that represents N.F.L. players conducted their first-ever survey of workplace conditions, and issued a report card to all... more

For all the speculation about the future, A.I. tools can be useful right now. Adam Davidson discovers what they can... more

Guest host Adam Davidson looks at what might happen to your job in a world of human-level artificial intelligence, and... more

Artificial intelligence, we’ve been told, will destroy humankind. No, wait — it will usher in a new age of human... more

The famously profane politician and operative is now U.S. ambassador to Japan, where he’s trying to rewrite the rules of... more

Americans are so accustomed to the standard intersection that we rarely consider how dangerous it can be — as well... more

Bjorn Andersen killed 111 minke whales this season. He tells us how he does it, why he does it, and... more

In three stories from our newest podcast, host Zachary Crockett digs into sports mascots, cashmere sweaters, and dinosaur skeletons.

In the final episode of our whale series, we learn about fecal plumes, shipping noise, and why "Moby-Dick" is still... more

For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine. Whale meat... more

Whaling was, in the words of one scholar, “early capitalism unleashed on the high seas.” How did the U.S. come... more

Actually, the reasons are pretty clear. The harder question is: Will we ever care enough to stop?

Sure, you were “in love.” But economists — using evidence from "Bridgerton" to Tinder — point to what’s called “assortative... more

But as C.E.O. of the resurgent Microsoft, he is firmly at the center of the A.I. revolution. We speak with... more

Probably not. The economist Kelly Shue argues that E.S.G. investing just gives more money to firms that are already green... more

Gun control, abortion rights, drug legalization — it seems like every argument these days claims that if X happens, then... more

He turned a small Hollywood talent agency into a massive sports-and-entertainment empire. In a freewheeling conversation, he explains how he... more

Sure, markets work well in general. But for some transactions — like school admissions and organ transplants — money alone... more

Museums are purging their collections of looted treasures. Can they also get something in return? And what does it mean... more

The world’s great museums are full of art and artifacts that were plundered during an era when plunder was the... more

How did a freshly looted Egyptian antiquity end up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art? Why did it take Kim... more

Whether it’s a giant infrastructure plan or a humble kitchen renovation, it’ll inevitably take way too long and cost way... more

Every language has its taboo words (which many people use all the time). But the list of forbidden words is... more

Delaware is beloved by corporations, bankruptcy lawyers, tax avoiders, and money launderers. Critics say the Delaware “franchise” is undemocratic and... more

Many companies say they want to create more opportunities for Black Americans. One company is doing something concrete about it.... more

Every year, Americans short the I.R.S. nearly half a trillion dollars. Most ideas to increase compliance are more stick than... more

In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, the economist Amy Finkelstein explains why insurance markets are broken and... more

People who are good at their jobs routinely get promoted into bigger jobs they’re bad at. We explain why firms... more

Most travelers want the cheapest flight they can find. Airlines, meanwhile, need to manage volatile fuel costs, a pricey workforce,... more

Thanks to decades of work by airlines and regulators, plane crashes are nearly a thing of the past. Can we... more

It’s an unnatural activity that has become normal. You’re stuck in a metal tube with hundreds of strangers (and strange... more

Adam Smith famously argued that specialization is the key to prosperity. In the N.F.L., the long snapper is proof of... more

Hotel guests adore those cute little soaps, but is it just a one-night stand? In our fourth episode of "The... more

For decades, the U.S. let globalization run its course and hoped China would be an ally. Now the Biden administration... more

Can a hit single from four decades ago still pay the bills? Zachary Crockett f-f-f-finds out in the third episode... more

The economist Kate Raworth says the aggressive pursuit of G.D.P. is trashing the planet and shortchanging too many people. She... more

How does America's cutest sales force get billions of Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs into our hands every year? Zachary... more

When small businesses get bought by big investors, the name may stay the same — but customers and employees can... more

A new podcast hosted by Zachary Crockett. In the first episode: Gas stations. When gas prices skyrocket, do station owners... more

Big investors are buying up local veterinary practices (and pretty much everything else). What does this mean for scruffy little... more

And with her book "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat," she succeeded. Now she's not so sure how to feel about all... more

We tend to look down on artists who can't match their breakthrough success. Should we be celebrating them instead?

In a special episode of No Stupid Questions, Stephen Dubner and Angela Duckworth discuss classroom design, open offices, and cognitive... more

In this special episode of People I (Mostly) Admire, Steve Levitt talks to the best-selling author of "Sapiens" and "Homo... more

Labor exploitation! Corporate profiteering! Government corruption! The 21st century can look a lot like the 18th. In the final episode... more

Economists and politicians have turned him into a mascot for free-market ideology. Some on the left say the right has... more