Freakonomics Radio

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 complicated than it looks. He gave us the grand tour.  (Part three of a four-part series.) SOURCES:Chris Bennett, operations manager at Berkshire Mountain Distillers.Luca Boldrini, head of cultivation at The Pass.Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.Chris Weld, founder and owner of Berkshire Mountain Distillers. RESOURCES:"As America’s Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the Harms," by Megan Twohey, Danielle Ivory, and Carson Kessler (The New York Times, 2024)."Evaluation of Dispensaries’ Cannabis Flowers for Accuracy of Labeling of Cannabinoids Content," by Mona M. Geweda, Chandrani G. Majumdar, Mahmoud A. ElSohly, et al. (Journal of Cannabis Research, 2024)."The Complicated, Risky — but Potentially Lucrative — Business of Selling Cannabis," by James R. Hagerty (The Wall Street Journal, 2023)."Marijuana Content Labels Can’t Be Trusted," by Shira Schoenberg (CommonWealth Beacon, 2022)."Growing Cannabis Indoors Produces a Lot of Greenhouse Gases — Just How Much Depends on Where It’s Grown," by Jason Quinn and Hailey Summers (The Conversation, 2021)."Blood and Urinary Metal Levels Among Exclusive Marijuana Users in NHANES (2005-2018)," by Katlyn E. McGraw, Anne E, Nigra, Tiffany R. Sanchez, et al. (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2018)."The Carbon Footprint of Indoor Cannabis Production," by Evan Mills (Energy Policy, 2012). EXTRAS:"Cannabis Is Booming, So Why Isn’t Anyone Getting Rich?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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 economics at Amherst College. RESOURCES:“The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime Over the Last Two Decades,” by John J. Donohue and Steven D. Levitt (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 2019).“The Demise of the Death Penalty in Connecticut,” by John J. Donohue (Stanford Law School Legal Aggregate, 2016).“Environmental Policy as Social Policy? The Impact of Childhood Lead Exposure on Crime,” by Jessica Wolpaw Reyes (The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2007).“The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime,” by John J. Donohue and Steven D. Levitt (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2001).“State Abortion Rates: The Impact of Policies, Providers, Politics, Demographics, and Economic Environment,” by Rebecca M. Blank, Christine C. George, and Rebecca A. London (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 1994). EXTRAS:"John Donohue: 'I’m Frequently Called a Treasonous Enemy of the Constitution,'" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).

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 at Carnegie Mellon University.Adam Goers, senior vice president of The Cannabist Company and chairperson of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform.Precious Osagie-Erese, founder and C.E.O. of Precious Canna Co.Nikesh Patel, C.E.O. of Mammoth Distribution.Nikesh Patel, director of the San Francisco Office of Cannabis.Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist. RESOURCES:"Most Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana for Medical, Recreational Use," (Pew Research Center, 2024)."Whitney Economics U.S. Legal Cannabis Forecast - 2024 - 2035," by Beau Whitney (Whitney Economics, 2024)."Beer Sellers Use a Loophole to Break Into Weed Drinks Market," by Redd Brown (Bloomberg, 2024)."Cannabis Producer Seeks Boston Beer Merger," by Lauren Thomas (The Wall Street Journal, 2024)."California's 'Apple Store of Weed' Declares Bankruptcy With $410M in Debt," by Lester Black (SFGate, 2024)."Is the State Democratic Chair Influencing Who Can Sell Legal Weed in this N.J. City?" by Jelani Gibson (NJ.com, 2023)."When Prohibition Works: Comparing Fireworks and Cannabis Regulations, Markets, and Harms," by Jonathan P. Caulkins and Kristina Vaia Reimer (International Journal of Drug Policy, 2023)."Did Minnesota Accidentally Legalize Weed?" by Paul Demko (Politico, 2022). EXTRAS:"Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."The Economics of Sports Gambling," by Freakonomics Radio (2019).

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 at Carnegie Mellon University.Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.Michael Siegel, professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University.Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist.Ryan Stoa, associate professor of law at Louisiana State University. RESOURCES:"Cannabis Tops Alcohol as Americans’ Daily Drug of Choice," by Christina Caron (The New York Times, 2024)."Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use — United States, 2016–2021," by Marissa B. Esser, Adam Sherk, Yong Liu, and Timothy S. Naimi (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2024)."Nixon Started the War on Drugs. Privately, He Said Pot Was ‘Not Particularly Dangerous,'" by Ernesto Londoño (The New York Times, 2024)."A Brief Global History of the War on Cannabis," by Ryan Stoa (The MIT Press Reader, 2020).Craft Weed: Family Farming and the Future of the Marijuana Industry, by Ryan Stoa (2018)."How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat," by Anahad O’Connor (The New York Times, 2016)."The Perils of Ignoring History: Big Tobacco Played Dirty and Millions Died. How Similar Is Big Food?" by Kelly D. Brownell and Kenneth E. Warner (The Milbank Quarterly, 2009).A History Of The World In Six Glasses, by Tom Standage (2005)."Cancer and Coronary Artery Disease Among Seventh-Day Adventists," by E. L. Wynder, F. R. Lemon, and I. J. Bross (Cancer, 1959). EXTRAS:"Why Is the Opioid Epidemic Still Raging?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Daron Acemoglu on Economics, Politics, and Power," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024)."Let’s Be Blunt: Marijuana Is a Boon for Older Workers," by Freakonomics Radio (2021)."What’s More Dangerous: Marijuana or Alcohol?" by Freakonomics Radio (2014).

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. RESOURCES:"A Trump Dictatorship Won’t Happen," by Eric Posner (Project Syndicate, 2023).The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump, by Eric Posner (2020)."The Long History of Political Betting Markets: An International Perspective," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman Strumpf (The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Gambling, 2013)."Manipulating Political Stock Markets: A Field Experiment and a Century of Observational Data," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf (Working Paper, 2007)."Historical Presidential Betting Markets," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf (Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2004). EXTRAS:"Has the U.S. Presidency Become a Dictatorship? (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).“Does the President Matter as Much as You Think?” by Freakonomics Radio (2020)."How Much Does the President Really Matter?" by Freakonomics Radio (2010).

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 two-part series.) SOURCE:Eric Posner, professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School.   RESOURCES:"Presidential Leadership and the Separation of Powers," by Eric Posner (Daedalus, 2016).The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic, by Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule (2010). EXTRA:"Does the President Matter as Much as You Think?" by Freakonomics Radio (2020).

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 York Times.Ellen Griesedieck, artist and president of the American Mural Project.Adina Lichtman, co-host of the Our Friends Are Smart party.Avi Popack, co-host of the Our Friends Are Smart party.Huck Scarry, author and illustrator.James Suzman, anthropologist and author.Ben Varon, rabbi and chaplain at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn . RESOURCES:"New Frontiers: The Origins and Content of New Work, 1940–2018," by David Autor, Caroline Chin, Anna Salomons, and Bryan Seegmiller (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2024).Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots, by James Suzman (2020).Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, by Studs Terkel (1974).What Do People Do All Day?, by Richard Scarry (1968)."Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren," by John Maynard Keynes (1930).American Mural Project. EXTRAS:"Will the Democrats 'Make America Great Again'?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."How to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot Apocalypse," by Freakonomics Radio (2021)."Did China Eat America’s Jobs?" by Freakonomics Radio (2017).People I (Mostly) Admire.

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, professor of economics at Harvard University. RESOURCES:"How to Make Up the Covid Learning Loss," by Roland Fryer (Wall Street Journal, 2022)."Roland Fryer on Better Alternatives to Defunding the Police," by Roland Fryer (The Economist, 2020)."Harvard Suspends Roland Fryer, Star Economist, After Sexual Harassment Claims," by Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley (The New York Times, 2019)."Why Diversity Programs Fail: And What Works Better," by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev (Harvard Business Review, 2016)."An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force," by Roland G. Fryer, Jr (NBER Working Paper, 2016)."Getting Beneath the Veil of Effective Schools: Evidence from New York City," by Will Dobbie and Roland G. Fryer (American Economics Journal, 2013)."Financial Incentives and Student Achievement: Evidence From Randomized Trials," by Roland G. Fryer (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2011)."Toward a Unified Theory of Black America," by Stephen J. Dubner (The New York Times, 2005).Equal Opportunity Ventures.Intus Care.Reconstruction.Sigma Squared. EXTRAS:"Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."The True Story of the Gender Pay Gap," by Freakonomics Radio (2016)."Does “Early Education” Come Way Too Late?" by Freakonomics Radio (2015).

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.Christopher Rider, professor of entrepreneurial studies at the University of Michigan.Jim Rooney, author and co-partner of Rooney Consulting.Scott Shephard, general counsel at the National Center for Public Policy Research. RESOURCES:The Social Impact Advantage: Win Customers and Talent By Harnessing Your Business For Good, by Tynesia Boyea-Robinson (2022).A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney’s Story from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule, by Jim Rooney (2019)."If There’s Only One Woman in Your Candidate Pool, There’s Statistically No Chance She’ll Be Hired," by Stefanie K. Johnson, David R. Hekman and Elsa T. Chan (Harvard Business Review, 2016)."Racial Disparity in Leadership: Performance-Reward Bias in Promotions of National Football League Coaches," by Christopher I. Rider, James Wade, Anand Swaminathan, and Andreas Schwab (SSRN, 2016).Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL, by N. Jeremi Duru (2010). EXTRAS:"Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring? (Part 1)," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).“When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee?” by Freakonomics Radio (2023).“How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy? (Replay),” by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

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 University.Herm Edwards, former N.F.L. player and head coach.Jim Rooney, author and co-partner of Rooney Consulting. RESOURCES:A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney's Story from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule, by Jim Rooney (2019)."For ASU's Herm Edwards, Sports Bubble Helped to Overcome Racism Growing Up," by Jeff Metcalfe (The Arizona Republic, 2018).Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL, by N. Jeremi Duru (2010)."Differences in the Success of NFL Coaches by Race, 1990-2002: Evidence of Last Hire, First Fire," by Janice Madden (Journal of Sports Economics, 2004). EXTRAS:"When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy? (Replay)," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

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, professor of economics at Harvard University.Chris Lacinak, founder and president of AVPreserve.Andrew Russell, provost of SUNY Polytechnic Institute.Lawrence Summers, professor and president emeritus of Harvard University; former Secretary of the Treasury and former director of the National Economic Council.Lee Vinsel, professor of science, technology, and society at Virginia Tech. RESOURCES:“Hail the Maintainers," by Andrew Russell and Lee Vinsel (Aeon, 2016).“A Lesson on Infrastructure From the Anderson Bridge Fiasco,” by Lawrence Summers and Rachel Lipson (The Boston Globe, 2016).Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier, by Edward Glaeser (2008).More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave, by Ruth Schwartz Cowan (1983). EXTRAS:"Freakonomics Radio Takes to the Skies," series by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Edward Glaeser Explains Why Some Cities Thrive While Others Fade Away," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021)."Why Larry Summers Is the Economist Everyone Hates to Love," by Freakonomics Radio (2017).

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 Przybylski, professor of human behavior and technology at the University of Oxford. RESOURCES:"The Declining Mental Health Of The Young And The Global Disappearance Of The Hump Shape In Age In Unhappiness," by David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, and Xiaowei Xu (NBER Working Paper, 2024)."Further Evidence on the Global Decline in the Mental Health of the Young," by David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, Anthony Lepinteur, and Alan Piper (NBER Working Paper, 2024).No Judgment: Essays, by Lauren Oyler (2024)."To What Extent are Trends in Teen Mental Health Driven by Changes in Reporting?" by Adriana Corredor-Waldron and Janet Currie (Journal of Human Resources, 2024).The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt (2024)."Global Well-Being and Mental Health in the Internet Age," by Matti Vuorre and Andrew K. Przybylski (Clinical Psychological Science, 2023)."Are Mental Health Awareness Efforts Contributing to the Rise in Reported Mental Health Problems? A Call to Test the Prevalence Inflation Hypothesis," by Lucy Foulkes and Jack L. Andrews (New Ideas in Psychology, 2023)."The Association Between Adolescent Well-Being and Digital Technology Use," by Amy Orben and Andrew K. Przybylski (Nature Human Behaviour, 2019).iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood — and What That Means for the Rest of Us, by Jean M. Twenge (2017). EXTRAS:"Are You Caught in a Social Media Trap?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Are We Getting Lonelier?" by No Stupid Questions (2023)."Is Facebook Bad for Your Mental Health?" by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022)."Why Is U.S. Media So Negative? (Replay)," by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

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,” featuring Stephen Dubner and PJ Vogt from Search Engine.Thursday, Sept. 26th, at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-questionable-evening-evening-with-stephen-dubner-and-pj-vogt-tickets-1002544747327 SOURCES:Olivia Grace, senior product manager at Slack.Gloria Mark, professor of computer science at the University of California, Irvine.David Strayer, professor of cognition and neural science at the University of Utah. RESOURCES:"Immersion in Nature Enhances Neural Indices of Executive Attention," by Amy S. McDonnell and David L. Strayer (Nature: Scientific Reports, 2024)."Contribution to the Study on the ‘Right to Disconnect’ From Work. Are France and Spain Examples for Other Countries and E.U. Law?" by Loïc Lerouge and Francisco Trujillo Pons (European Labour Law Journal, 2022)."Task Errors by Emergency Physicians Are Associated With Interruptions, Multitasking, Fatigue and Working Memory Capacity: A Prospective, Direct Observation Study," by Johanna I. Westbrook, Magdalena Z. Raban, Scott R. Walter, and Heather Douglas (BMJ Quality & Safety, 2018)."Supertaskers: Profiles in Extraordinary Multitasking Ability," by Jason M. Watson and David L. Strayer (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2010)."The Effects of Video Game Playing on Attention, Memory, and Executive Control," by Walter R. Boot, Arthur F. Kramer, Daniel J. Simons, Monica Fabiani, and Gabriele Gratton (Acta Psychologica, 2008)."'Constant, Constant, Multi-Tasking Craziness': Managing Multiple Working Spheres," by Victor M. González and Gloria Mark (Proceedings of the 2004 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI, 2004). EXTRAS:"Why Is the U.S. So Good at Killing Pedestrians?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Why Did You Marry That Person?" by Freakonomics Radio (2022)."How Much Should We Be Able to Customize Our World?" by No Stupid Questions (2021).

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 Economic Research.D'Wayne Edwards, founder and President of Pensole Lewis College.Catharine Hill, former president of Vassar College; trustee at Yale University; and managing director at Ithaka S+R.Pano Kanelos, founding president of the University of Austin.Amalia Miller, professor of economics at the University of Virginia.Donald Ruff, president and C.E.O. of the Eagle Academy Foundation.Morton Schapiro, professor of economics and former president of Northwestern University.Ruth Simmons, former president of Smith College, Brown University, and Prairie View A&M University.Miguel Urquiola, professor of economics at Columbia University. RESOURCES:"What Gay Men’s Stunning Success Might Teach Us About the Academic Gender Gap," by Joel Mittleman (The Washington Post, 2022)."We Can't Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We're Starting a New One," by Pano Kanelos (Common Sense, 2021)."Academic Freedom in Crisis: Punishment, Political Discrimination, and Self-Censorship," by Eric Kaufmann (Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, 2021).“A Generation of American Men Give Up on College: ‘I Just Feel Lost’,” by Douglas Belkin (The Wall Street Journal, 2021)."Community Colleges and Upward Mobility," by Jack Mountjoy (NBER Working Paper, 2021)."Elite Schools and Opting In: Effects of College Selectivity on Career and Family Outcomes," by Suqin Ge, Elliott Isaac, and Amalia Miller (NBER Working Paper, 2019)."Leaving Boys Behind: Gender Disparities in High Academic Achievement," by Nicole M. Fortin, Philip Oreopoulos, and Shelley Phipps (NBER Working Paper, 2013). EXTRAS:"Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School," series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).“'If We’re All in It for Ourselves, Who Are We?'” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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, 2020)."Rick Reilly: ‘Donald Trump Will Cheat You on the Golf Course and Then Buy You Lunch,'" by Donald McRae (The Guardian, 2019)."How The X-Files Invented Modern Television," by Emily St. James (Vox, 2018)."Happiness & the Gorilla," by Scott Galloway (No Mercy/No Malice, 2018). EXTRAS:Fail Better with David Duchovny, podcast by Lemonada Media (2024)."How to Succeed at Failing," series by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Annie Duke Thinks You Should Quit," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022)."The Upside of Quitting," by Freakonomics Radio (2011).

America’s top colleges are facing record demand. So why don’t they increase supply? (Part 2 of our series from 2022, “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”) SOURCES:Peter Blair, professor of education at Harvard University and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.Zachary Bleemer, assistant professor of economics at Princeton University and faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.Amalia Miller, professor of economics at the University of Virginia.Morton Schapiro, professor of economics and former president of Northwestern University.Miguel Urquiola, professor of economics at Columbia University. RESOURCES:“Elite Schools and Opting In: Effects of College Selectivity on Career and Family Outcomes,” by Suqin Ge, Elliott Isaac, and Amalia Miller (Journal of Labor Economics, 2022).“Why Don’t Elite Colleges Expand Supply?” by Peter Q. Blair & Kent Smetters (NBER Working Paper, 2021).“Lori Loughlin Pleads Guilty via Zoom in College Admissions Case,” by Kate Taylor (The New York Times, 2020).Markets, Minds, and Money: Why America Leads the World in University Research, by Miguel Urquiola (2020).“To Cheat and Lie in L.A.: How the College-Admissions Scandal Ensnared the Richest Families in Southern California,” by Evgenia Peretz (Vanity Fair, 2019).The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money, by Bryan Caplan (2018).“The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone,” by Bryan Caplan (The Atlantic, 2018).“Are Tenure Track Professors Better Teachers?” by David N. Figlio, Morton O. Schapiro, and Kevin B. Soter (NBER Working Paper, 2013).“Estimating the Payoff to Attending a More Selective College: An Application of Selection on Observables and Unobservables,” by Stacy Berg Dale and Alan Krueger (NBER Working Paper, 1999)."Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action," by the Kalven Committee (1967). EXTRAS:"What Exactly Is College For? (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

We think of them as intellectual enclaves and the surest route to a better life. But U.S. colleges also operate like firms, trying to differentiate their products to win market share and prestige points. In the first episode of a special series originally published in 2022, we ask what our chaotic system gets right — and wrong. (Part 1 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”) SOURCES:Peter Blair, faculty research Fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research and professor of education at Harvard University.Catharine Hill, former president of Vassar College; trustee at Yale University; and managing director at Ithaka S+R.Morton Schapiro, professor of economics and former president of Northwestern University.Ruth Simmons, former president of Smith College, Brown University, and Prairie View A&M University.Miguel Urquiola, professor of economics at Columbia University. RESOURCES:"Progressivity of Pricing at U.S. Public Universities," by Emily E. Cook and Sarah Turner (NBER Working Paper, 2022)."Community Colleges and Upward Mobility," by Jack Mountjoy (NBER Working Paper, 2021)."How HBCUs Can Accelerate Black Economic Mobility," (McKinsey & Company, 2021).Markets, Minds, and Money: Why America Leads the World in University Research, by Miguel Urquiola (2021)."Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility," by Raj Chetty, John N. Friedman, Emmanuel Saez, Nicholas Turner, and Danny Yagan (NBER Working Paper, 2017). EXTRAS:"'If We’re All in It for Ourselves, Who Are We?'" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."'A Low Moment in Higher Education,'" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."The $1.5 Trillion Question: How to Fix Student-Loan Debt?" by Freakonomics Radio (2019)."Why Larry Summers Is the Economist Everyone Hates to Love," by Freakonomics Radio (2017).

There are a lot of factors that go into greatness, many of which are not obvious. As the Olympics come to a close, we revisit a 2018 episode in which top athletes from a variety of sports tell us how they made it, and what they sacrificed. SOURCES:Lance Armstrong, former professional cyclist.David Canton, director of African American studies and professor of history at the University of Florida.David Epstein, science journalist and author.Domonique Foxworth, former professional football player.Justin Humphries, former professional baseball player.Andre Ingram, professional basketball player.Shawn Johnson, former professional gymnast and Olympian.Steve Levitt, professor of economics at the University of Chicago.Simone Manuel, professional swimmer and Olympian.Brandon McCarthy, former professional baseball player.Mike McGlinchey, offensive tackle for the Denver Broncos.Daryl Morey, president of basketball operations of the Philadelphia 76ers.Lauren Murphy, professional mixed martial artist.Kim Ng, advisor with Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball, former general manager of the Miami Marlins.JJ Redick, head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.Mikaela Shiffrin, professional alpine ski racer and Olympian.Mark Teixeira, former professional baseball player.Sudhir Venkatesh, professor of sociology at Columbia University.Kerri Walsh-Jennings, professional beach volleyball player and Olympian. RESOURCES:"Compromising Talent: Issues in Identifying and Selecting Talent in Sport," by Joseph Baker, Jörg Schorer, and Nick Wattie (Quest, 2017)."Practice and Play in the Development of German Top-Level Professional Football Players," by Manuel Hornig, Friedhelm Aust, and Arne Güllich (European Journal of Sport Science, 2016).The Sports Gene, by David Epstein (2013)."The Effect of Deliberate Play on Tactical Performance in Basketball," by Pablo Greco, Daniel Memmert, and Juan Carlos Pérez Morales (Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2010). EXTRAS:"The Hidden Side of Sports," series by Freakonomics Radio (2018).“How to Become Great at Just About Anything” Freakonomics Radio (2016).

Tania Tetlow, a former federal prosecutor and now the president of Fordham University, thinks the modern campus could use a dose of old-fashioned values. SOURCE:Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham University. RESOURCES:"Not a Priest, Not a Man, but Ready to Run Fordham," by David Waldstein (The New York Times, 2024)."Tech Glitch Upends Financial Aid for About a Million Students," by Oyin Adedoyin and Melissa Korn (The Wall Street Journal, 2024)."Where Protesters on U.S. Campuses Have Been Arrested or Detained," by The New York Times (The New York Times, 2024)."15 Arrested as NYPD Clears Protester Encampment at Fordham's Lincoln Center Campus," (NBC News, 2024)."Inside the Week That Shook Columbia University," by Nicholas Fandos and Sharon Otterman (The New York Times, 2024)."Address of his Holiness Pope Francis to the Members of the Blanquerna — Universitat Ramón Llull Foundation, Barcelona," by Pope Francis (The Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 2024)."Why Don’t Elite Colleges Expand Supply?" by Peter Q. Blair and Kent Smetters (NBER Working Paper, 2021). EXTRAS:"Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

It’s not oil or water or plutonium — it’s human hours. We've got an idea for putting them to use, and for building a more human-centered economy. But we need your help. SOURCES:Nathan Dietz, research director at the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland.Al Roth, professor of economics at Stanford University.Krista Wyatt, C.E.O. of Timebanks.org.Andrew Yang, co-chair of the Forward Party and former U.S. presidential candidate. RESOURCES:"The Employment Effects of a Guaranteed Income: Experimental Evidence from Two U.S. States," by Eva Vivalt, Elizabeth Rhodes, Alexander W. Bartik, David E. Broockman, and Sarah Miller (NBER Working Paper, 2024)."Where Are America's Volunteers," by Nathan Dietz and Robert T. Grimm Jr. (Do Good Institute, 2018)."Believe in People," talk by Edgar Cahn at TEDxAshokaU (2010).The Pencil, by Allan Ahlberg (2008).No More Throw-Away People: The Co-Production Imperative, by Edgar S. Cahn (2000).Time Dollars: The New Currency That Enables Americans to Turn Their Hidden Resource-Time-Into Personal Security and Community Renewal, by Edgar S. Cahn and Jonathan Rowe (1992). EXTRAS:"Why Don’t We Have Better Candidates for President?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).“Andrew Yang Is Not Giving Up on Politics — or the U.S. — Yet,” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).“The Future of New York City Is in Question. Could Andrew Yang Be the Answer?” by Freakonomics Radio (2021).“Why Is This Man Running for President? (Update),” by Freakonomics Radio (2019)."Make Me a Match," by Freakonomics Radio (2015).