Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior.
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Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
687. Are Prediction Markets the Best Forecasting Tool Ever — or Just Another Casino?
#20 trending · All Podcasts
The promise is that they can beat the experts at predicting inflation, elections, and FDA approvals. But right now, roughly 90 percent of the action is sports. Is this a
Sep 18 48 min
How to Be a Double Unicorn, with John Urschel | Better in Person
#15 trending · Documentary
He was thriving in the N.F.L., but then he decided to focus on mathematics — a subject he now teaches at M.I.T. John walks Stephen Dubner through the whole story, teaches
Sep 16 32 min
686. Why Is It So Hard to Find an NFL Quarterback?
#17 trending · Documentary
For decades, teams have tried (and mostly failed) to predict which college quarterbacks will thrive in the pros. Is the science finally catching up? Stephen Dubner speaks
Sep 11 58 min
Amazon Was Supposed to Kill the Bookstore. James Daunt Had Other Plans | Better in Person
He started with one small shop in London. He has since resuscitated both Barnes & Noble and Waterstones. He tells Stephen Dubner exactly how he does it.
If you'd like
Sep 9 32 min
685. How to Survive the A.I. Shock
#43 trending · Documentary
Gina Raimondo, a former commerce secretary and governor, thinks A.I. will create plenty of jobs in the long run. She also thinks a poorly managed transition could tear th
Sep 4 57 min
How to Run an Institution in an Anti-Institution Era | Better in Person
Anne Pasternak (Brooklyn Museum) and Michael Roth (Wesleyan University) tell Stephen Dubner how they keep the peace in the middle of a culture war.
If you'd like to s
Sep 2 37 min
How to Return Stolen Art (Update)
Museums are purging their collections of looted treasures. Can they also get something in return? And what does it mean to be a museum in the 21st century? (Part 3 of an
Aug 28 50 min
“I Trust Almost Anyone More Than Myself” | Better in Person
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jennifer Egan talks about confidence, luck, and why it takes 35 drafts to get to the finish line.
If you'd like to see the video vers
Aug 26 42 min
Is a Museum Just a Trophy Case? (Update)
The world’s great museums are full of art and artifacts that were plundered during an era when plunder was the norm. Now there’s a push to return these works to their rig
Aug 21 52 min
Meet Warren Zanes, the Author and Rocker Behind the Springsteen Movie | Better in Person
When he joined the Del Fuegos, his big brother’s band, all Warren knew how to play was a record player. Things went great for a while — and then it all fell apart. So how
Aug 19 50 min
The Case of the $4 Million Gold Coffin (Update)
How did a freshly looted Egyptian antiquity end up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art? Why did it take Kim Kardashian to crack the case? And how much of what you see in an
Aug 14 54 min
What if Being a Stranger Is Actually Your Superpower? | Better in Person
Angela Buchdahl was the first Asian American to be ordained as a rabbi, and now she is among the most influential rabbis in the world. She and Stephen Dubner talk about b
Aug 12 34 min
684. He Helped Clean Up the Last Crash. Does He See Another One Coming?
Former S.E.C. chair Gary Gensler has had a front-row seat to numerous financial booms and busts. How does he feel about America’s massive bet on A.I.? “Something has to g
Aug 7 1 h 06 min
Does it Take a Twisted Mind to Write Twisted Stories? | Better In Person
Harlan Coben doesn’t think so. The mega-best-selling author talks suburbia, impostor syndrome, and what he learned from his college friend David Foster Wallace.
If you'd
Aug 5 44 min
683. In the New Space Race, Who Makes the Rules?
Governments started the space age. Now, billionaires and private firms are reinventing it. Guest host Steve Levitt explores what the past can teach us about a high-stakes
Jul 31 56 min
How Gary Gulman Turned Depression Into Comedy Gold | Better in Person
Gary and Stephen talk about creativity, recovery, getting fired, and holding grudges. They also get outside and play basketball, which is a big part of how Gary stays wel
Jul 29 47 min
682. Should A.I. Move to Space?
At first it sounds ridiculous. But it might be inevitable. Guest host Steve Levitt talks to a team that hopes to push A.I. infrastructure off the planet. Part one of a tw
Jul 24 48 min
Why Cooking is Caregiving, with Chef Hillary Sterling | Better in Person
Hillary Sterling was a Brooklyn kid raised on cream cheese sandwiches and canned potatoes. So how did she become one of New York City's best chefs? The Ci Siamo executive
Jul 22 42 min
Are You Really Allergic to Penicillin? (Update)
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 ca
Jul 17 1 h 05 min
How a Great Architect Thinks, with Bjarke Ingels | Better in Person
Is the oxymoron really “the secret sauce to everything”? That’s the case Ingels makes in this debut episode of our new video show Better in Person, filmed in Stephen Dubn
Jul 14 43 min
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Position in the overall Apple Podcasts chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#99#197JunJulAugSep
#33
all-time peak
28
days in the top 50 since Nov 2024
Chart positions
Where Freakonomics Radio ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 19, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
Always has topics to deep dive on. Agree or disagree, it is nice to dive deep on a single topic and hear from people that dedicate their lives to a single topic. You make things I would otherwise be bored to sleep by interesting. A nice non political informative podcast.
Celeste652 · Aug 2026
These two interviews were so interesting for different reasons. I learned so much from Fareed Zakaria and want to follow his work now. He is so incredibly knowledgeable about a geopolitical situation that affects us all daily in one way or another.
The interview with Werner Herzog had me captivated—you kept probing his thought process. THANK YOU for asking if he believed in God! That same question had been brewing in my mind while listening to him! Love this show.
Milly PS · Jun 2026
I haven't enjoyed the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this much in years, lol. Love all the behind the scenes insights and context.
Dyingh3578 · Nov 2024
Listening to this show always is time we’ll spent. It’s genuine journalism. So thorough, deep, and fun too. Dubner and team always treats their audience like able, interesting, thinking grown ups. An honest spirit of inquiry underpins every episode. So good.
hmerino13 · Nov 2024
The fraudulent papers are not important in the field, and there are other drugs focused on amyloid with better results. The scientific picture is not as shallow and narrow as this author presents it as. This is a flashy headline that feeds the right wing attack on science. Ongoing research, and the state of knowledge in the field is much more complex and sophisticated, including the study of many factors and the cascade of events that lead to symptoms, than this interview implies. There is no question, backed by decades of valid research, and hundreds of studies, that amyloid is critical in the development of the disease. The best target for treatment may depend on stage of the disease, maybe is upstream in the cascade, or a factor that interacts with amyloid. Science is hard and takes time, and answers are rarely simple or obvious. And the brain is one of the most complex things in the universe. I expected better journalism from this show.
guz42 · Apr 2026
Couldn’t believe the unabashed touting of U.S. as the “good guy” in the 20th century, without the slightest objection! Pointing fingers everywhere, only to forget that imperialism didn’t disappear after WWII, just euphemised as “interventions”, fervently carried out by our government, well into the 21st century. “Free-market” and “globalization” are co-opted as the cover for resource exploitation, and used to impose laws to benefit a few. In the name of anti-communism, anti-terrorism, and “democracy”, all the propped-up dictators, assassinations of dissenters, slaughtering of millions of innocents and crushed economies, are deemed acceptable even necessary, in keeping of American hegemony. These and more are conveniently left out of the conversation, so as to avoid any moral dissonance. If this is the kind of media the majority of the public is fed, little wonder of the apathy and bias towards people from those places. “Not very different from commodities and goods”, commented by the host without missing a beat.
Crystalash · Apr 2024
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Daily updated Apple Podcasts rankings for the United States.
Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Freakonomics Radio, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
