Freakonomics Radio

Like tens of millions of people, Stephen Dubner thought he had a penicillin allergy. Like the vast majority, he didn’t. This misdiagnosis costs billions of dollars and causes serious health problems, so why hasn’t it been fixed? And how about all the other things we think we’re allergic to? SOURCES:Kimberly BlumenthalTheresa MacPhailThomas Platts-MillsElena Resnick RESOURCES:Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World, Evaluation and Management of Penicillin Allergy: A ReviewJAMA, The Allergy Epidemics: 1870–2010The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Randomized Trial of Peanut Consumption in Infants at Risk for Peanut AllergyThe New England Journal of Medicine, EXTRAS:Freakonomics, M.D.

Incarcerated people grow crops, fight wildfires, and manufacture everything from prescription glasses to highway signs — often for pennies an hour. Zachary Crockett takes the next exit, in this special episode of The Economics of Everyday Things. SOURCES:Laura ApplemanLee BlackmanGene HawkinsLouis Southall RESOURCES:Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, 11th EditionPrisoners in the U.S. Are Part of a Hidden Workforce Linked to Hundreds of Popular Food BrandsAP News, Ex-Prisoners Face Headwinds as Job Seekers, Even as Openings AboundThe New York Times, Bloody Lucre: Carceral Labor and Prison ProfitWisconsin Law Review, The Road to ClarityThe New York Times Magazine, Correction Enterprises EXTRAS:Do People Pay Attention to Signs?No Stupid Questions The Economics of Everyday Things.

Probably not — the incentives are too strong. But a few reformers are trying. We check in on their progress, in an update to an episode originally published last year. (Part 2 of 2) SOURCES:Max BazermanLeif NelsonBrian NosekIvan OranskyThe TransmitterRetraction Watch.Joseph SimmonsUri SimonsohnSimine VazirePsychological Science. RESOURCES:How a Scientific Dispute Spiralled Into a Defamation LawsuitThe New Yorker, The Harvard Professor and the BloggersThe New York Times, They Studied Dishonesty. Was Their Work a Lie?The New Yorker, Evolving Patterns of Extremely Productive Publishing Behavior Across SciencebioRxiv, Hindawi Reveals Process for Retracting More Than 8,000 Paper Mill ArticlesRetraction Watch, Exclusive: Russian Site Says It Has Brokered Authorships for More Than 10,000 ResearchersRetraction Watch, How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey DataPLOS One, Lifecycle Journal EXTRAS:Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia? (Update)Freakonomics Radio Freakonomics Goes to College, Part 1Freakonomics Radio

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 BazermanLeif NelsonBrian NosekJoseph SimmonsUri SimonsohnSimine VazirePsychological Science. RESOURCES:More Than 10,000 Research Papers Were Retracted in 2023 — a New RecordNature, Data Falsificada (Part 1): 'ClusterfakeData Colada, Fabricated Data in Research About Honesty. You Can't Make This Stuff Up. Or, Can You?Planet Money, Complicit: How We Enable the Unethical and How to Stop, Evidence of Fraud in an Influential Field Experiment About DishonestyData Colada, False-Positive Psychology: Undisclosed Flexibility in Data Collection and Analysis Allows Presenting Anything as SignificantPsychological Science, EXTRAS:Why Do We Cheat, and Why Shouldn’t We?No Stupid Questions Is Everybody Cheating These Days?No Stupid Questions

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 RESOURCES:Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain, Why Do We Dream? A New Theory on How It Protects Our BrainsTIME, Prevalence of Learned Grapheme-Color Pairings in a Large Online Sample of SynesthetesPLoS One,Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, The vOICe appNeosensory EXTRAS:Feeling Sound and Hearing ColorPeople I (Mostly) Admire What’s Impacting American Workers?People I (Mostly) Admire This Is Your Brain on PodcastsFreakonomics Radio

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 RESOURCES:The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing, Goodbye, New York. Adam Moss Is Leaving the Magazine He Has Edited for 15 YearsThe New York Times, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, EXTRAS:David Simon Is On Strike. Here’s WhyPeople I (Mostly) Admire Samin Nosrat Always Wanted to Be FamousFreakonomics Radio What’s Wrong with Being a One-Hit Wonder?Freakonomics Radio

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 RESOURCES:Obesity Drugs Would Be Covered by Medicare and Medicaid Under Biden ProposalThe New York Times, International Coverage of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: A Review and Ethical Analysis of Discordant ApproachesThe Lancet, The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma, The Significance of Blockbusters in the Pharmaceutical IndustryNature Reviews Drug Discovery, Reinventing American Health Care: How the Affordable Care Act Will Improve Our Terribly Complex, Blatantly Unjust, Outrageously Expensive, Grossly Inefficient, Error Prone System, Why I Hope to Die at 75The AtlanticDirect-to-Consumer Advertising of PharmaceuticalsThe American Journal of Medicine, Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family, Bounds in Competing Risks Models and the War on CancerEconometrica, EXTRAS:How to Fix Medical ResearchPeople I (Mostly) Admire The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm EmanuelFreakonomics Radio Ari Emanuel Is Never IndifferentFreakonomics Radio Who Pays for Multimillion-Dollar Miracle Cures?Freakonomics, M.D. Who Gets the Ventilator?Freakonomics Radio

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 EfflandShane HamiltonPeter TimmerAudra Wolfe RESOURCES:Freedom’s Laboratory: The Cold War Struggle for the Soul of ScienceSupermarket USA: Food and Power in The Cold War Farms RaceAssociation of Higher Consumption of Foods Derived From Subsidized Commodities With Adverse Cardiometabolic Risk Among US AdultsJAMA Internal MedicineThe Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil WarHow the Mechanical Tomato Harvester Prompted the Food MovementUC Davis Department of Plant Sciences Newsletter EXTRAS:Is the U.S. Sleeping on Threats from Russia and China?Freakonomics Radio

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 RESOURCES:Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Lines of Russia's War Against the West, The ‘Deathonomics’ Powering Russia’s War MachineThe Wall Street Journal, War, On the Record: The U.S. Administration’s Actions on RussiaBrookings, Why Economic Sanctions Still Do Not WorkInternational Security, EXTRAS:The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm EmanuelFreakonomics Radio

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.) SOURCES:Mark CohenWill CossJeff KinneyTony Spring RESOURCES:Macy’s Discovers Employee Hid Millions in Delivery ExpensesThe New York Times, 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 EXTRA:Can the Macy's Parade Save Macy's?Freakonomics Radio

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.) Please take our audience survey at freakonomics.com/survey. 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 EXTRA:The Economics of Everyday Things.

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 AutorJames RosenmanKaren EgglestonYong Suk Lee RESOURCES:Robots and Labor in Nursing HomesNBER Working Paper, Global Robotics Race: Korea, Singapore and Germany in the LeadUnmet Need for Equipment to Help With Bathing and Toileting Among Older US AdultsJAMA Internal Medicine, Robots and Labor in the Service Sector: Evidence from Nursing Homes,(NBER Working Papers, The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent MachinesRobots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor MarketsUniversity of Chicago Press,The Slowdown in Productivity Growth and Policies That Can Restore ItThe Hamilton Project,The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade,NBER Working Papers, Deregulation at Heart of Japan's New Robotics RevolutionReuters, EXTRAS:What Do People Do All Day?Freakonomics Radio Did China Eat America’s Jobs?Freakonomics Radio

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 RESOURCES: The Most Dangerous Moment Since the Cold WarThe Washington Post,America’s Failed Approach to Iran Can’t Really Be Called a StrategyThe Washington Post,Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present, EXTRAS: Are We Living Through the Most Revolutionary Period in History?Freakonomics RadioAre Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy?Freakonomics Radio

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.) SOURCES:Jon CaulkinsAdam GoersYasmin HurdJared PolisRyan Stoa RESOURCES:Prevalence of and Trends in Current Cannabis Use Among U.S. Youth and Adults, 2013–2022Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, Colorado’s Weed Market Is Coming Down Hard and It’s Making Other States NervousPolitico, Reducing Alcohol Consumption, the Nordic Way: Alcohol Monopolies, Marketing Bans and Higher TaxationEconomic Benefits and Social Costs of Legalizing Recreational MarijuanaFederal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Research Working Paper, Competition in the Markets for Beer, Wine, and SpiritsAlcohol MonopoliesScottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in AmericaThe Atlantic, Marijuana Discontinuation, Anxiety Symptoms, and Relapse to MarijuanaAddictive Behaviors, EXTRAS:Is America Switching from Booze to Weed?Freakonomics Radio Why Do Your Eyeglasses Cost $1,000?Freakonomics Radio Should You Trust Private Equity to Take Care of Your Dog?Freakonomics Radio Is Dialysis a Test Case of Medicare for All?Freakonomics Radio

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.) SOURCES:Yasmin HurdChris Weld RESOURCES:As America’s Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the HarmsThe New York Times, Evaluation of Dispensaries’ Cannabis Flowers for Accuracy of Labeling of Cannabinoids ContentJournal of Cannabis Research, The Complicated, Risky — but Potentially Lucrative — Business of Selling CannabisThe Wall Street Journal, Marijuana Content Labels Can’t Be TrustedCommonWealth Beacon, Growing Cannabis Indoors Produces a Lot of Greenhouse Gases — Just How Much Depends on Where It’s GrownThe Conversation, Blood and Urinary Metal Levels Among Exclusive Marijuana Users in NHANES (2005-2018)Environmental Health Perspectives, The Carbon Footprint of Indoor Cannabis ProductionEnergy Policy, EXTRAS:Cannabis Is Booming, So Why Isn’t Anyone Getting Rich?Freakonomics Radio Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?Freakonomics Radio

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 DonohueSteve LevittPeople I (Mostly) AdmireJessica Wolpaw Reyes RESOURCES:The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime Over the Last Two DecadesThe National Bureau of Economic ResearchThe Demise of the Death Penalty in Connecticut(Stanford Law School Legal AggregateEnvironmental Policy as Social Policy? The Impact of Childhood Lead Exposure on CrimeThe B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & PolicyThe Impact of Legalized Abortion on CrimeThe Quarterly Journal of EconomicsState Abortion Rates: The Impact of Policies, Providers, Politics, Demographics, and Economic EnvironmentThe National Bureau of Economic Research EXTRAS:John Donohue: 'I’m Frequently Called a Treasonous Enemy of the Constitution,'People I (Mostly) Admire

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.) SOURCES:Jon CaulkinsAdam GoersPrecious Osagie-EreseNikesh PatelNikesh PatelTom StandageThe Economist. RESOURCES:Most Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana for Medical, Recreational UseWhitney Economics U.S. Legal Cannabis Forecast - 2024 - 2035Whitney Economics, Beer Sellers Use a Loophole to Break Into Weed Drinks MarketBloomberg, Cannabis Producer Seeks Boston Beer MergerThe Wall Street Journal, California's 'Apple Store of Weed' Declares Bankruptcy With $410M in DebtSFGate, Is the State Democratic Chair Influencing Who Can Sell Legal Weed in this N.J. City?NJ.com, When Prohibition Works: Comparing Fireworks and Cannabis Regulations, Markets, and HarmsInternational Journal of Drug Policy, Did Minnesota Accidentally Legalize Weed?Politico, EXTRAS:Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?Freakonomics Radio The Economics of Sports GamblingFreakonomics Radio

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.) SOURCES:Jon CaulkinsYasmin HurdMichael SiegelTom StandageThe Economist.Ryan Stoa RESOURCES:Cannabis Tops Alcohol as Americans’ Daily Drug of ChoiceThe New York Times, Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use — United States, 2016–2021Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Nixon Started the War on Drugs. Privately, He Said Pot Was ‘Not Particularly DangerousThe New York Times, A Brief Global History of the War on CannabisThe MIT Press Reader, Craft Weed: Family Farming and the Future of the Marijuana Industry, How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to FatThe New York Times, The Perils of Ignoring History: Big Tobacco Played Dirty and Millions Died. How Similar Is Big Food?The Milbank Quarterly, A History Of The World In Six Glasses, Cancer and Coronary Artery Disease Among Seventh-Day AdventistsCancer, EXTRAS:Why Is the Opioid Epidemic Still Raging?Freakonomics Radio Daron Acemoglu on Economics, Politics, and PowerPeople I (Mostly) Admire Let’s Be Blunt: Marijuana Is a Boon for Older WorkersFreakonomics Radio What’s More Dangerous: Marijuana or Alcohol?Freakonomics Radio

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.) SOURCES:Eric PosnerKoleman Strumpf RESOURCES:A Trump Dictatorship Won’t HappenProject Syndicate, The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump, The Long History of Political Betting Markets: An International PerspectiveThe Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Gambling, Manipulating Political Stock Markets: A Field Experiment and a Century of Observational DataHistorical Presidential Betting MarketsJournal of Economic Perspectives, EXTRAS:Has the U.S. Presidency Become a Dictatorship? (Update)Freakonomics Radio Does the President Matter as Much as You Think?Freakonomics Radio How Much Does the President Really Matter?Freakonomics Radio

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.) SOURCE:Eric Posner RESOURCES:Presidential Leadership and the Separation of PowersDaedalus, The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic, EXTRA:Does the President Matter as Much as You Think?Freakonomics Radio