Freakonomics Radio

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Episodes

Date Title & Description Contributors
2024-07-25

  598. Is Overconsolidation a Threat to Democracy?

That’s the worry. Even the humble eyeglass industry is dominated by a single firm. We look into the global spike in myopia, how the Lemtosh got its name, and what your eye doctor knows that you don’t. (Part two of a two-part series.) SOURCES:Maria Liu,...
  Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher author
2024-07-18

  597. Why Do Your Eyeglasses Cost $1,000?

A single company, EssilorLuxottica, owns so much of the eyewear industry that it’s hard to escape their gravitational pull — or their “obscene” markups. Should regulators do something? Can Warby Parker steal market share? And how did Ray-Bans become a ...
  Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher author
2024-07-15

  EXTRA: People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is Hard. (Update)

You wouldn’t think you could win a Nobel Prize for showing that humans tend to make irrational decisions. But that’s what Richard Thaler has done. In an interview from 2018, the founder of behavioral economics describes his unlikely route to success; h...
  Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher author
2024-07-11

  596. Farewell to a Generational Talent

Daniel Kahneman left his mark on academia (and the real world) in countless ways. A group of his friends and colleagues recently gathered in Chicago to reflect on this legacy — and we were there, with microphones. SOURCES:Maya Bar-Hillel, professor eme...
  Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher author
2024-07-04

  595. Why Don't We Have Better Candidates for President?

American politics is trapped in a duopoly, with two all-powerful parties colluding to stifle competition. We revisit a 2018 episode to explain how the political industry works, and talk to a reformer (and former presidential candidate) who is pushing f...
  Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher author
2024-06-27

  594. Your Brand’s Spokesperson Just Got Arrested — Now What?

It’s hard to know whether the benefits of hiring a celebrity are worth the risk. We dig into one gruesome story of an endorsement gone wrong, and find a surprising result. SOURCES:John Cawley, professor of economics at Cornell University.Elizabeth (Zab...
  Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher author
2024-06-20

  593. You Can Make a Killing, but Not a Living

Broadway operates on a winner-take-most business model. A runaway hit like Stereophonic — which just won five Tony Awards — will create a few big winners. But even the stars of the show will have to go elsewhere to make real money. (Part two of a two-p...
  Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher author
2024-06-17

  EXTRA: The Fascinatingly Mundane Secrets of the World’s Most Exclusive Nightclub

The Berlin dance mecca Berghain is known for its eight-hour line and inscrutable door policy. PJ Vogt, host of the podcast Search Engine, joins us to crack the code. It has to do with Cold War rivalries, German tax law, and one very talented bouncer. S...
  Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher author
2024-06-13

  592. How to Make the Coolest Show on Broadway

Hit by Covid, runaway costs, and a zillion streams of competition, serious theater is in serious trouble. A new hit play called Stereophonic — the most Tony-nominated play in history — has something to say about that. We speak with the people who make ...
  Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher author
2024-06-06

  591. Signs of Progress, One Year at a Time

Every December, a British man named Tom Whitwell publishes a list of 52 things he’s learned that year. These fascinating facts reveal the spectrum of human behavior, from fraud and hypocrisy to Whitwell’s steadfast belief in progress. Should we also be...
  Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher author