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Freakonomics Radio
Thursday at 3pm and Sunday at Noon

Freakonomics Radio ferrets out connections between seemingly unrelated things. The program explores the riddles of everyday life and the weird wrinkles of human nature-from cheating and crime to parenting and sports-using the tools of economics to explore real-world behavior.

Booksavers of Virginia and Gift and Thrift are proud to sponsor Freakonomics Radio on WMRA.

Credit Audrey S. Bernstein
Stephen Dubner - Host of Freakonomics Radio

Host Stephen J. Dubner discovers the hidden side of everything in interviews with Nobel laureates and provocateurs, social scientists and entrepreneurs-and with his "Freakonomics" co-author Steve Levitt.

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  • Economists have discovered an odd phenomenon: many people who use social media (even you, maybe?) wish it didn’t exist. But that doesn’t mean they can escape. The post Season 13, Episode 30 appeared first on Freakonomics.
  • What surprises lurk in our sewage? How did racist city planners end up saving Black lives? Why does Arizona grow hay for cows in Saudi Arabia? Three strange stories about the most fundamental substance we all take for granted. The post Season 13, Episode 29 appeared first on Freakonomics.
  • We conclude our series on Richard Feynman. And later: Google used to feel like magic. Now it can feel like a set of cheap tricks. Is the problem with Google — or with us? And is Google Search finally facing a real rival, in the form of A.I.-powered “answer engines”? The post Season 13, Episode 28 appeared first on Freakonomics.
  • In his final years, Richard Feynman’s curiosity took him to some surprising places. We hear from his companions on the trips he took — and one he wasn’t able to. (Part three of a series.) The post Season 13, Episode 27 appeared first on Freakonomics.
  • What happens when an existentially depressed and recently widowed young physicist from Queens gets a fresh start in California? We follow Richard Feynman out west, to explore his long and extremely fruitful second act. (Part two of a series.) The post Season 13, Episode 26 appeared first on Freakonomics.
  • From the Manhattan Project to the Challenger investigation, the physicist Richard Feynman loved to shoot down what he called “lousy ideas.” Today, the world is awash in lousy ideas — so maybe it’s time to get some more Feynman in our lives? (Part one of a series.) The post Season 13, Episode 25 appeared first on Freakonomics.
  • Michael Roth of Wesleyan University doesn’t hang out with other university presidents. He also thinks some of them have failed a basic test of good sense and decency. It’s time for a conversation about college, and courage. The post Season 13, Episode 24 appeared first on Freakonomics.
  • We conclude our series on academic fraud. And later: We all like to throw around terms that describe human behavior — “bystander apathy” and “steep learning curve” and “hard-wired.” Most of the time, they don’t actually mean what we think they mean. But don’t worry — the experts are getting it wrong, too. The post Season 13, Episode 23 appeared first on Freakonomics.
  • Can academic fraud be stopped? Probably not — the incentives are too strong. Scholarly publishing is a $28 billion global industry, with misconduct at every level. But a few reformers are gaining ground. The post Season 13, Episode 22 appeared first on Freakonomics.
  • Some of the biggest names in behavioral science stand accused of faking their results. Last year, an astonishing 10,000 research papers were retracted. We talk to whistleblowers, reformers, and a co-author who got caught up in the chaos. The post Season 13, Episode 21 appeared first on Freakonomics.
  • Most travelers want the cheapest flight they can find. Airlines, meanwhile, need to manage volatile fuel costs, a pricey workforce, and complex logistics. So how do they make money — and how did America’s grubbiest airport suddenly turn into a palace? (Part 3 of “Freakonomics Radio Takes to the Skies.”) The post Season 13, Episode 20 appeared first on Freakonomics.
  • Thanks to decades of work by airlines and regulators, plane crashes are nearly a thing of the past. Can we do the same for cars? (Part 2 of “Freakonomics Radio Takes to the Skies.”) The post Season 13, Episode 19 appeared first on Freakonomics.