Freakonomics Radio

Does College Still Matter? And Other Freaky Questions Answered ...

In our second round of FREAK-quently Asked Questions, Steve Levitt ...

In our second round of FREAK-quently Asked Questions, Steve Levitt answers some queries from listeners and readers.

Smarter Kids at 10 Bucks a Pop

It won’t work for everyone, but there’s a cheap, quick, ...

It won’t work for everyone, but there’s a cheap, quick, and simple way to lift some students’ grades.

Why Can’t We Predict Earthquakes?

We talk to a U.S. Geological Survey physicist about the ...

We talk to a U.S. Geological Survey physicist about the science -- and folly -- of predicting earthquakes. There are lots of known knowns; and, fortunately, not too many unknown unknowns. But it's the known unknowns -- the timing of the next Big One -- t

Death by Fire? Probably Not

Fire deaths in the U.S. have fallen 90 percent over ...

Fire deaths in the U.S. have fallen 90 percent over the past 100 years, a great and greatly underappreciated gain. How did it happen -- and could we ever get to zero?

The Health of Nations

For decades, GDP has been the yardstick for measuring living ...

For decades, GDP has been the yardstick for measuring living standards around the world. Martha Nussbaum would rather use something that actually works.

Is Twitter a Two-Way Street?

To get a lot of followers on Twitter, do you ...

To get a lot of followers on Twitter, do you need to follow a lot of other Tweeps? And if not, why not?

The Power of Poop

Since the beginning of civilization, we’ve thought that human waste ...

Since the beginning of civilization, we’ve thought that human waste was worthless and dangerous. What if we were wrong?

Millionaires vs. Billionaires

Five things you don’t know about the NFL labor standoff

Why Cities Rock

Could it be that cities are "our greatest invention" -- ...

Could it be that cities are "our greatest invention" -- that, despite a reputation as black-soot-spewing engines of doom, they in fact make us richer, smarter, happier and (believe it!) greener?

Bring on the Pain!

It's not about how much something hurts -- it's how ...

It's not about how much something hurts -- it's how you remember the pain. This week, lessons on pain from the New York City subway, the professional hockey rink, and a landmark study of colonoscopy patients. So have a listen; we promise, it won't hurt a