Freakonomics Radio

One Yale economist certainly thinks so. But even if he’s right, are economists any better? We find out, in this update of a 2022 episode. SOURCES:James ChoiMorgan Housel RESOURCES:The Art of Spending Money: Simple Choices for a Richer Life, Popular Personal Financial Advice versus the ProfessorsJournal of Economic Perspectives, Media Persuasion and Consumption: Evidence from the Dave Ramsey ShowSSRN, The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness, In Bogle Family, It’s Either Passive or AggressiveWall Street Journal, EXTRAS: Harold Pollack on Why Managing Your Money Is as Easy as Taking Out the GarbagePeople I (Mostly) Admire People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is HardFreakonomics Radio Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Money (But Were Afraid to Ask)Freakonomics Radio The Stupidest Thing You Can Do With Your MoneyFreakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Behavioral scientists have been exploring whether a psychological reset can lead to lasting change. In this update of a 2021 episode, we survey evidence from the London Underground, Major League Baseball, and New Year’s resolutions to look at accidental fresh starts, forced fresh starts, fresh starts that backfire — and the ones that succeed. SOURCES:Katy MilkmanAndy ByfordFerdinand RauchHengchen DaiBob Tewksbury RESOURCES:A Large-Scale Experiment on New Year’s Resolutions: Approach-Oriented Goals are More Successful than Avoidance-Oriented GoalsPLOS ONEA Double-Edged Sword: How and Why Resetting Performance Metrics Affects Motivation and PerformanceOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision ProcessesThe Benefits of Forced Experimentation: Striking Evidence from the London Underground NetworkFraming the Future: The Risks of Pre-Commitment Nudges and Potential of Fresh Start MessagingNBERThe Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational BehaviorManagement Science, Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym: An Evaluation of Temptation BundlinManagement Science, The Resolution Solution: Longitudinal Examination of New Year’s Change AttemptsJournal of Substance Abuse, EXTRAS:How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A series of academic studies suggest that the wealthy are, to put it bluntly, selfish jerks. It’s an easy narrative to embrace — but is it true? As part of GiveDirectly’s “Pods Fight Poverty” campaign, we revisit a 2017 episode. SOURCES:Jim AndreoniNikos NikiforakisPaul PiffJan Stoop RESOURCES:Are the Rich More Selfish Than the Poor, or do They Just Have More Money? A Natural Field ExperimentNational Bureau of Economic Research,Exploring the Psychology of Wealth, 'Pernicious' Effects of Economic InequalityPBS NewsHour, Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function(Science,Higher Social Class Predicts Increased Unethical Behavior(PNAS, 2011).Relative Earnings and Giving in a Real-Effort Experiment(American Economic Review,Experimenter Demand Effects in Economic Experiments(Experimental Economics,Impure Altruism and Donations to Public Goods: A Theory of Warm-Glow Giving(The Economic Journal,Privately Provided Public Goods in a Large Economy: The Limits of Altruism(Journal of Public Economics,A Positive Model of Private Charity and Public Transfers(Journal of Political Economy,Pods Fight Poverty Campaign on Give Directly. EXTRAS:How to Raise Money Without Killing a KittenFreakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

All sorts of people have put their mark on Messiah, and it has been a hit for nearly 300 years. How can a single piece of music thrive in so many settings? You could say it’s because Handel really knew how to write a banger. (Part three of “Making Messiah.”) SOURCES:Charles KingJane GloverKatharine HoggSusannah HeschelMark RisingerMichael MarissenTainted Glory in Handel’s Messiah: The Unsettling History of the World’s Most Beloved Choral Work. RESOURCES:Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel’s Messiah, Why These Christmas Songs Could Only Be Written in America(The Free Press,Reflections on Bernstein’s 1956 “Messiah(Leonard Bernstein Office,Handel in London: The Making of a Genius, Tainted Glory in Handel's Messiah: The Unsettling History of the World's Most Beloved Choral Work, Handel’s Messiah EXTRAS:Making MessiahFreakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the 18th century, Handel relied on royal patronage. Today, it’s donors like Gary Parr who keep the music playing. In this bonus episode of our “Making Messiah” series, Parr breaks down the economics of the New York Philharmonic. SOURCES:Gary Parr RESOURCES:A Notoriously Jinxed Concert Hall Is Reborn, Again(New York Times,Apollo’s New Guy Is a Legend in Banking, a Novice in Buyouts(Bloomberg,Handel’s MessiahRacial/Ethnic and Gender Diversity in the Orchestra Field(League of American OrchestrasParr Prize for Excellence in Teaching Shakespeare EXTRAS:Making Messiah,Freakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When he wrote Messiah (in 24 days), Handel was past his prime and nearly broke. One night in Dublin changed all that. (Part two of “Making Messiah.”) SOURCES:Charles KingEllen HarrisMark RisingerPhilip RushforthProinnsías Ó Duinn RESOURCES:Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah, Arnaud du Sarrat and the international music trade in Halle and Leipzig c.1700(Early Music,George Frideric Handel: A Life with FriendsHandel (Composers Across Cultures), Georg Händel (1622–97): The Barber-Surgeon Father of George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)(Journal Of Medical Biography,Handel's Messiah: A Celebration: A Richly Illustrated History of the Music and Its Eighteenth-Century Background, Handel's Messiah The Advent Calendar. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why does an 18th-century Christian oratorio lend such comfort to our own turbulent times? Stephen Dubner sets out for Dublin to tell the story of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. (Part one of “Making Messiah.”) SOURCES:Charles KingKatrine SørensenHandel's Messiah - The Advent Calendar.Mark RisingerProinnsías Ó DuinnStuart Kinsella RESOURCES:Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah, Two Men Wrote ‘Messiah.’ You Know One of Them.(New York Times,On Fishamble Street, family lives among four centuries of relatives’ keepsakes(Dublin Inquirer,Hallelujah: The Story of a Musical Genius & the City That Brought His Masterpiece, George Frideric Handel: A Life with FriendsHandel: The Man & His Music,Handel's MessiahHandel's Messiah The Advent Calendar. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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, first published in 2024) SOURCES:Mark CohenWill CossJeff KinneyTony Spring RESOURCES:How Macy’s CEO Tony Spring Is Turning the Retailer Around(The Wall Street Journal,NBC Ready to Pay Triple to Gobble Up Thanksgiving Parade Broadcast RightsThe Wall Street Journal, How Macy’s Set Out to Conquer the Department Store Business — and LostRetail Dive, An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café EXTRAS:Can the Macy’s Parade Save Macy’s?Freakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The iconic department store 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: when it comes to parade economics, Macy’s is famously tight-lipped. In this 2024 episode, we try to loosen them up. (Part one of a two-part series.) SOURCES:Will CossJeff KinneyKevin LynchTony SpringJessica TischDawn Tolson RESOURCES:Macy’s: The Store. The Star. The Story., History of Macy’s of New York, 1853-1919: Chapters in the Evolution of the Department StoreMacy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade EXTRAS:HeliumThe Economics of Everyday Things Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A Trump executive order is giving retail investors more access to private markets. Is that a golden opportunity — or fool’s gold? SOURCES:Elisabeth de Fontenay,Steven Kaplan RESOURCES:Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors(The White House,The (Heterogeneous) Economic Effects of Private Equity BuyoutsRisk-Adjusted Returns of Private Equity Funds: A New ApproachThe Review of Financial StudiesThe Effects of Management Buyouts on Operating Performance and Value(Journal of Financial Economics, EXTRAS:The Biden Policy That Trump Hasn't TouchedFreakonomics RadioShould Companies Be Owned by Their Workers?Freakonomics RadioDo You Know Who Owns Your Vet?Freakonomics RadioAre Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy?Freakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Thoroughbred auction prices keep setting records. But tracks are closing, gambling revenues are falling, and the sport is increasingly reliant on subsidies. Is that the kind of long shot anybody wants? (Part three of a series, “The Horse Is Us.”) SOURCES:Anne Archer HinkleCormac BreathnachEmily PlantMark TaylorMarshall GrammRichard MiglioreSean FeldThomas Lambert RESOURCES:Death of a Racehorse: An American Story, State of the States 2025: The AGA Analysis of the Commercial Casino Industry(American GamingAssociation, An Empirical Analysis of Reputation Effects and Network Centrality in a Multi-Agency Context(University of Kentucky,Calculated Bets: Computers, Gambling, and Mathematical Modeling to Win (Outlooks), Bill Oppenheim and Emily Plant's Thoroughbred Market ReportsHorseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The world has changed a good bit since Freakonomics was first published. In this live anniversary episode, Stephen Dubner tells Geoff Bennett of PBS NewsHour everything he has learned since then. Happy birthday, Freakonomics. SOURCES:Geoff Bennett RESOURCES:Freakonomics Twentieth Anniversary Edition: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How does Kentucky keep itself atop the thoroughbred industry? Is a champion stallion really worth $200,000 per date? And how many hands can one jockey have? (Part two of a series, “The Horse Is Us.”) SOURCES:Emily PlantJill StoweMark TaylorOscar GonzalezRichard Migliore RESOURCES:Horse racing industry braces for crackdown on illegal immigration(NPR,Conceptualizing the Kentucky Horse Industry as an Economic Cluster(Bluegrass Equine Digest, 2009). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For most of human history, horsepower made the world go. Then came the machines. So why are there still seven million horses in America? (Part one of a series, “The Horse Is Us.”) SOURCES:Ann N. GreeneConstance HunterMark PaulPeter Frankopan RESOURCES:2023 Economic Impact Study of the U.S. Horse IndustryAmerican Horse Council FoundationRiding to Arms, The Horse in the City, Horses at Work, Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Spotify, Oracle, and Comcast have each recently announced they’re going with co-C.E.O.s. In this 2023 episode, we dig into the research and hear firsthand stories of triumph and disaster. Also: lessons from computer programmers, Simon and Garfunkel, and bears versus alligators. SOURCES:Jim BalsillieMike Cannon-BrookesScott FarquharMarc FeigenJeffrey SonnenfeldLaurie Williams RESOURCES:Scott Farquhar to resign as joint CEO of Atlassian(The Guardian,Is It Time to Consider Co-C.E.O.s?Harvard Business Review, The Costs and Benefits of Pair ProgrammingStrengthening the Case for Pair ProgrammingIEEE Software, EXTRAS:The Secret Life of a C.E.O.Freakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The U.S. has a physician shortage, created in part by a century-old reform that shut down bad medical schools. But why haven’t we filled the gap? Why are some physicians so unhappy? And which is worse: a bad doctor or no doctor at all? SOURCES:Karen ClayRochelle Walensky RESOURCES:Medical School Closures, Market Adjustment, and Mortality in the Flexner Report Era(National Bureau of Economic Research,Application Overload — A Call to Reduce the Burden of Applying to Medical School(New England Journal of Medicine,Challenges to the Future of a Robust Physician Workforce in the United States(New England Journal of Medicine,The first step to addressing the physician shortage(STAT,Physician Workforce: Projections, 2022-2037(National Center for Health Workforce Analysis,Projected Estimates of African American Medical Graduates of Closed Historically Black Medical SchoolsJAMA Network, Medical Education in the United States and Canada(The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, EXTRAS:Is the Air Traffic Control System Broken?Freakonomics Radio Are You Ready for the Elder Swell?Freakonomics Radio Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy?Freakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For the 20th anniversary of Freakonomics, Debbie Millman of Design Matters interviews Stephen Dubner about his upbringing, his writing career, and why it's important to “swing your swing.” Plus: a sneak peek at a new project. SOURCES:Debbie MillmanDesign Matters with Debbie Millman. RESOURCES:Stephen J. DubnerDesign Matters with Debbie Millman Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son's Return To His Jewish FamilyChoosing My Religion(New York Times, EXTRAS:In Search of the Real Adam SmithFreakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Arthur Brooks, an economist and former head of the American Enterprise Institute, believes that there is only one remedy for our political polarization: love. In this 2021 episode, we ask if Brooks is a fool for thinking this — and if perhaps you are his kind of fool? SOURCES:Arthur Brooks RESOURCES:Vital Statistics on CongressBrookings Institute, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence,Reading Too Much Political News Is Bad for Your Well-BeingThe Atlantic,Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt,This 75-Year Harvard Study Found the 1 Secret to Leading a Fulfilling LifeInc.,The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America,Grin and Bear It: The Influence of Manipulated Facial Expression on the Stress ResponsePsychological Science, EXTRAS:Why Is U.S. Media So Negative?Freakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Soccer leagues around the world use a promotion-and-relegation system to reward the best teams and punish the worst. We ask whether American sports fans would enjoy a similar system. (Part two of a two-part series.) SOURCES:Domonique FoxworthStefan SzymanskiVictor Matheson RESOURCES:Root, root, root for the home team" did TV kill minor league baseball in the 1950s?(University of Michigan, European and North American Sports Differences (?): A Quarter Century on(Principles and Paradoxes of Sports Economics,National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer, EXTRAS:When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee? (Update)Freakonomics Radio The Longest Long ShotFreakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The N.F.L. is a powerful cartel with imperial desires. College football is about to undergo a financial reckoning. So maybe they should team up? (Part one of a two-part series.) SOURCES:DeMaurice SmithDomonique FoxworthJeffrey KesslerOliver LuckVictor Matheson RESOURCES:Turf Wars: The Fight for the Soul of America's Game, Is there a Case for Subsidizing Sports Stadiums?Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, EXTRAS:America’s Hidden DuopolyFreakonomics Radio Should the U.S. Merge With Mexico?Freakonomics Radio Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.