Best Dubner Productions Podcasts (2025)

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631. Will "3 Summers of Lincoln" Make It to Broadway? 46:19

1d ago46:19

46:19

It’s been in development for five years and has at least a year to go. On the eve of its out-of-town debut, the actor playing Lincoln quit. And the producers still need to raise another $15 million to bring the show to New York. There really is no business like show business. (Part three of a three-part series.) SOURCES: Christopher Ashley, artisti…

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Is It a Theater Piece or a Psychological Experiment? (Update) 37:13

4d ago37:13

37:13

In an episode from 2012, we looked at what Sleep No More and the Stanford Prison Experiment can tell us about who we really are. SOURCES: Felix Barrett, artistic director of Punchdrunk. Steven Levitt, professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus at Stanford University. RESOURCES: “Philip Zimbardo, the psy…

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630. On Broadway, Nobody Knows Nothing 1:01:30

8d ago1:01:30

1:01:30

A hit like Hamilton can come from nowhere while a sure bet can lose $20 million in a flash. We speak with some of the biggest producers in the game — Sonia Friedman, Jeffrey Seller, Hal Luftig — and learn that there is only one guarantee: the theater owners always win. (Part two of a three-part series.) SOURCES: Debby Buchholz, managing director of…

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629. How Is Live Theater Still Alive? 59:43

15d ago59:43

59:43

It has become fiendishly expensive to produce, and has more competition than ever. And yet the believers still believe. Why? And does the world really want a new musical about ... Abraham Lincoln?! (Part one of a three-part series.) SOURCES: Christopher Ashley, artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse. Quentin Darrington, actor. Joe DiPietro, playwr…

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Policymaking Is Not a Science — Yet (Update) 45:28

17d ago45:28

45:28

Why do so many promising solutions in education, medicine, and criminal justice fail to scale up into great policy? And can a new breed of “implementation scientists” crack the code? SOURCES: Patti Chamberlain, senior research scientist at the Oregon Social Learning Center. John List, professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Lauren Supp…

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628. Sludge, Part 2: Is Government the Problem, or the Solution? 48:31

22d ago48:31

48:31

There is no sludgier place in America than Washington, D.C. But there are signs of a change. We’ll hear about this progress — and ask where Elon Musk and DOGE fit in. (Part two of a two-part series.) SOURCES: Benjamin Handel, professor of economics at UC Berkeley. Neale Mahoney, professor of economics at Stanford University. Jennifer Pahlka, founde…

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627. Sludge, Part 1: The World Is Drowning in It 54:34

29d ago54:34

54:34

Insurance forms that make no sense. Subscriptions that can’t be cancelled. A never-ending blizzard of automated notifications. Where does all this sludge come from — and how much is it costing us? (Part one of a two-part series.) SOURCES: Benjamin Handel, professor of economics at UC Berkeley. Neale Mahoney, professor of economics at Stanford Unive…

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Should America Be Run by … Trader Joe’s? (Update) 48:01

1M ago48:01

48:01

The quirky little grocery chain with California roots and German ownership has a lot to teach all of us about choice architecture, efficiency, frugality, collaboration, and team spirit. SOURCES: Kirk DesErmia, facilities manager in Seward, Alaska. Mark Gardiner, journalist and author. Sheena Iyengar, professor of business at Columbia Business Schoo…

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626. Ten Myths About the U.S. Tax System 1:03:55

1M ago1:03:55

1:03:55

Nearly everything that politicians say about taxes is at least half a lie. They are also dishonest when it comes to the national debt. Stephen Dubner finds one of the few people in Washington who is willing to tell the truth — and it’s even worse than you think. SOURCES: Jessica Riedl, senior fellow in budget, tax, and economic policy at the Manhat…

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625. The Biden Policy That Trump Hasn’t Touched 1:03:14

2M ago1:03:14

1:03:14

Lina Khan, the youngest F.T.C. chair in history, reset U.S. antitrust policy by thwarting mega-mergers and other monopolistic behavior. This earned her enemies in some places, and big fans in others — including the Trump administration. Stephen Dubner speaks with Khan about her tactics, her track record, and her future. SOURCES: Lina Khan, former c…

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EXTRA: The Downside of Disgust (Update) 44:28

2M ago44:28

44:28

It’s a powerful biological response that has preserved our species for millennia. But now it may be keeping us from pursuing strategies that would improve the environment, the economy, even our own health. So is it time to dial down our disgust reflex? You can help fix things — as Stephen Dubner does in this 2021 episode — by chowing down on some d…

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624. The Animal No One Loves, Until They Do 45:19

2M ago45:19

45:19

To most people, the rat is vile and villainous. But not to everyone! We hear from a scientist who befriended rats and another who worked with them in the lab — and from the animator who made one the hero of a Pixar blockbuster. (Part three of a three-part series, “Sympathy for the Rat.”) SOURCES: Bethany Brookshire, author of Pests: How Humans Crea…

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623. Can New York City Win Its War on Rats? 50:23

2M ago50:23

50:23

Even with a new rat czar, an arsenal of poisons, and a fleet of new garbage trucks, it won’t be easy — because, at root, the enemy is us. (Part two of a three-part series, “Sympathy for the Rat.”) SOURCES: Kathy Corradi, director of rodent mitigation for New York City. Robert Corrigan, urban rodentologist and pest consultant for New York City. Ed G…

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The Show That Never Happened 13:49

2M ago13:49

13:49

A brief meditation on loss, relativity, and the vagaries of show business. RESOURCES: Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry, documentary (2021) Genius & Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947, by Norman Lebrecht (2019) The War Room, documentary (1993) EXTRAS: “Is San Francisco a Failed State? (And Other Questions You Shouldn’t Ask the …

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622. Why Does Everyone Hate Rats? 41:23

2M ago41:23

41:23

New York City’s mayor calls them “public enemy number one.” History books say they caused the Black Death — although recent scientific evidence disputes that claim. So is the rat a scapegoat? And what does our rat hatred say about us? (Part one of a three-part series.) SOURCES: Bethany Brookshire, author of Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains.…

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621. Is Professional Licensing a Racket? 55:15

3M ago55:15

55:15

Licensing began with medicine and law; now it extends to 20 percent of the U.S. workforce, including hair stylists and auctioneers. In a new book, the legal scholar Rebecca Allensworth calls licensing boards “a thicket of self-dealing and ineptitude” and says they keep bad workers in their jobs and good ones out — while failing to protect the publi…

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When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee? (Update) 1:08:38

3M ago1:08:38

1:08:38

In 2023, the N.F.L. players’ union conducted a workplace survey that revealed clogged showers, rats in the locker room — and some insights for those of us who don’t play football. Today we’re updating that episode, with extra commentary from Omnipresent Football Guy (and former Philadelphia Eagle) Jason Kelce. SOURCES: Tom Garfinkel, vice chairman,…

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620. Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore? 1:01:21

3M ago1:01:21

1:01:21

They used to be the N.F.L.’s biggest stars, with paychecks to match. Now their salaries are near the bottom, and their careers are shorter than ever. We speak with an analytics guru, an agent, some former running backs (including LeSean McCoy), and the economist Roland Fryer (a former Pop Warner running back himself) to understand why. SOURCES: Bri…

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619. How to Poison the A.I. Machine 52:05

3M ago52:05

52:05

When the computer scientist Ben Zhao learned that artists were having their work stolen by A.I. models, he invented a tool to thwart the machines. He also knows how to foil an eavesdropping Alexa and how to guard your online footprint. The big news, he says, is that the A.I. bubble is bursting. SOURCES: Erik Brynjolfsson, professor of economics at …

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Is San Francisco a Failed State? (And Other Questions You Shouldn’t Ask the Mayor) 59:01

3M ago59:01

59:01

Stephen Dubner, live on stage, mixes it up with outbound mayor London Breed, and asks economists whether A.I. can be “human-centered” and if Tang is a gateway drug. SOURCES: London Breed, former mayor of San Francisco. Erik Brynjolfsson, professor of economics at Stanford University Koleman Strumpf, professor of economics at Wake Forest University …

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618. Are Realtors Having an Existential Crisis? 53:07

3M ago53:07

53:07

Their trade organization just lost a huge lawsuit. Their infamous commission model is under attack. And there are way too many of them. If they go the way of travel agents, will we miss them when they’re gone? SOURCES: Sonia Gilbukh, assistant professor of real estate at CUNY Baruch College. Kevin Sears, 2025 president of the National Association o…

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617. Are You Really Allergic to Penicillin? 1:03:50

4M ago1:03:50

1:03:50

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 Blumenthal, allergist-immunologist and r…

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Highway Signs and Prison Labor 38:36

4M ago38:36

38:36

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 Appleman, professor of law at Willamette University. Christopher Barnes, inmate at the F…

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Can Academic Fraud Be Stopped? (Update) 1:08:57

4M ago1:08:57

1:08:57

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 Bazerman, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. Leif Nelson, professor of business administration at the University of Californi…

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Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia? (Update) 1:15:08

4M ago1:15:08

1:15:08

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 Bazerman, professor of business admin…

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Your Brain Doesn’t Work the Way You Think 47:53

4M ago47:53

47:53

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, professor of cognitive neuroscience at Stanford University and C.E.O. of Neosensory. RESOURCES: Livewir…

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616. How to Make Something from Nothing 48:12

4M ago48:12

48:12

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, magazine editor and author. RESOURCES: The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothi…

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615. Is Ozempic as Magical as It Sounds? 56:49

5M ago56:49

56:49

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 po…

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How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Update) 38:53

5M ago38:53

38:53

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 Effland, former Senior Economist for the Office of Chief Economist in the U.S.D.A. Shane …

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614. Is the U.S. Sleeping on Threats from Russia and China? 51:24

5M ago51:24

51:24

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: …

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613. Dying Is Easy. Retail Is Hard. 1:01:34

5M ago1:01:34

1:01:34

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 Cohen, former professor and director of retail studies at Columbia Business School. Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios. Je…

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612. Is Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Its Most Valuable Asset? 53:18

5M ago53:18

53:18

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/surv…

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How to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot Apocalypse (Update) 48:36

5M ago48:36

48:36

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 Autor, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technolog…

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611. Fareed Zakaria on What Just Happened, and What Comes Next 59:13

5M ago59:13

59:13

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, journalist and author. RESOURCES: "The Most Dangerous Moment Since the Cold War," by Fareed Zakaria (The Washington Post, 2024). "America’s Failed Approach to Iran Can’t Re…

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610. Who Wins and Who Loses Once the U.S. Legalizes Weed? 43:21

6M ago43:21

43:21

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 Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon Univer…

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609. What Does It Take to Run a Cannabis Farm? 40:08

6M ago40:08

40:08

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 com…

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Abortion and Crime, Revisited (Update) 54:46

6M ago54:46

54:46

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 Donohue, professor of law at Stanford Law School. Steve Levitt, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago and host of People I (Mostly) Admire. Jessica Wolpaw Reyes, professor of …

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608. Cannabis Is Booming, So Why Isn’t Anyone Getting Rich? 50:50

6M ago50:50

50:50

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 Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy a…

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607. Is America Switching From Booze to Weed? 46:08

6M ago46:08

46:08

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 Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy…

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606. How to Predict the Presidency 55:38

7M ago55:38

55:38

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 Posner, professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School. Koleman Strumpf, professor of economics at Wake Forest University. RESOURC…

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Has the U.S. Presidency Become a Dictatorship? (Update) 46:59

7M ago46:59

46:59

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 t…

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605. What Do People Do All Day? 1:00:48

7M ago1:00:48

1:00:48

Sixty percent of the jobs that Americans do today didn’t exist in 1940. What happens as our labor becomes more technical and less physical? And what kinds of jobs will exist in the future? SOURCES: David Autor, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Paula Barmaimon, manager of coverage and audience analytics at The New…

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EXTRA: Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America (Update) 1:00:29

7M ago1:00:29

1:00:29

His research on police brutality and school incentives won him acclaim, but also enemies. He was suspended for two years by Harvard, during which time he took a hard look at corporate diversity programs. As a follow-up to our recent series on the Rooney Rule, we revisit our 2022 conversation with the controversial economist. SOURCE: Roland Fryer, p…

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604. Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring? (Part 2) 47:19

7M ago47:19

47:19

What happened when the Rooney Rule made its way from pro football to corporate America? Some progress, some backsliding, and a lot of controversy. (Second in a two-part series.) SOURCES: Tynesia Boyea-Robinson, president and C.E.O. of CapEQ. N. Jeremi Duru, professor of law at American University. Herm Edwards, former N.F.L. player and head coach. …

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603. Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring? (Part 1) 47:51

7M ago47:51

47:51

The biggest sports league in history had a problem: While most of its players were Black, almost none of its head coaches were. So the N.F.L. launched a hiring policy called the Rooney Rule. In the first episode of a two-part series, we look at how the rule succeeded — until it failed. SOURCES: N. Jeremi Duru, professor of law at American Universit…

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EXTRA: In Praise of Maintenance (Update) 42:37

7M ago42:37

42:37

We revisit an episode from 2016 that asks: Has our culture’s obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact that things also need to be taken care of? SOURCES: Martin Casado, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Ruth Schwartz Cowan, professor emerita of history and sociology of science at University of Pennsylvania. Edward Glaeser, profess…

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602. Is Screen Time as Poisonous as We Think? 40:29

8M ago40:29

40:29

Young people have been reporting a sharp rise in anxiety and depression. This maps neatly onto the global rise of the smartphone. Some researchers are convinced that one is causing the other. But how strong is the evidence? SOURCES: David Blanchflower, professor of economics at Dartmouth College. Lauren Oyler, novelist and cultural critic. Andrew P…

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601. Multitasking Doesn’t Work. So Why Do We Keep Trying? 58:04

8M ago58:04

58:04

Only a tiny number of “supertaskers” are capable of doing two things at once. The rest of us are just making ourselves miserable, and less productive. How can we put the — hang on a second, I've just got to get this. Come see Stephen Dubner live! “A Questionable Evening: A strategic interrogation from two people who ask questions for a living,” fea…

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What Is the Future of College — and Does It Have Room for Men? (Update) 49:17

8M ago49:17

49:17

Educators and economists tell us all the reasons college enrollment has been dropping, especially for men, and how to stop the bleeding. (Part 3 of our series from 2022, “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”) SOURCES: Zachary Bleemer, assistant professor of economics at Princeton University and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of …

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EXTRA: Why Quitting Is Usually Worth It 40:04

8M ago40:04

40:04

Stephen Dubner appears as a guest on Fail Better, a new podcast hosted by David Duchovny. The two of them trade stories about failure, and ponder the lessons that success could never teach. SOURCES: David Duchovny, actor, director, writer, and musician. RESOURCES: "Martin Seligman and the Rise of Positive Psychology," by Peter Gibbon (Humanities, 2…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Dubner Productions Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen