I have always loved radio. There’s something magical about the combination of listening intimacy and the technology of widespread transmission. Some of my firmest memories are radio memories: as a kid, listening to WGY in Schenectady, N.Y., on snowy mornings to find out if school was closed; hearing the Clash’s “Train in Vain” for the first time and thinking it must have been a mistake, that no radio station could ever play a song so raw and great; learning to
D.J. in college and sending coded messages to a girl I needed to get with.
It is amazing to me that, as much as media has changed in recent decades, the fundamental appeal of radio remains intact — and, in some ways, is much stronger. Technology has helped the cause; podcasts are a radio lover’s heroin.
So it is with great pleasure that I announce the launch of Freakonomics Radio, a podcast. We’re just finishing up our first episode. It’ll be called “What Do NASCAR Drivers, Glenn Beck, and the Hitmen of the NFL Have in Common?” It features interviews with all the people named in the title, along with a good dose of Levitt; I’m the host.
Here’s a brief preview in which we hatch our evil plan to make the podcast. Levitt talks about what the world would be like if economists ran it. Highlights: “unpleasant,” “demented,” but “efficient.” Feedback welcome — especially suggestions for topics or stories you’d like to hear.
[Update: You can now subscribe to the podcast at iTunes here; or get the RSS feed here.]
and 
. You can also watch it on 
unless you fully intend the podcasts as a revenue stream, please skip Itunes, or at least, also place the casts on a website somewhere, so the non-Borg can also enjoy them.
et, all are american men? Pretty sure John Andretti is of Italian descent and Juan Pablo Montoya is from Columbia, among others. (http://www.nascar.com/drivers/list/cup/dps/)
Maybe most of them are, but I think it says more about your perspective, I think.
I agree with DKG.
That music has got to go!
Danica patrick – female nascar driver
Is there an RSS, RDF, ATOM, XML, or other feed URL for the podcast that we can subscribe too? I listen to podcasts directly through Google Reader and don’t even have iTunes installed.
Thanks! It sounds like this is going to be great.
I’m not into bondage. If you stick to iTunes you won’t reach me.
?
I’d love to hear you guys debate the NYT’s plan to put up a paywall and how you think that might impact the Freak-blog or NYT online readership in general. Hopefully, the podcast won’t end up behind the paywall.
I agree the music has to go. It’s awful.
“…there are plenty of Canadian hockey players. ” – Harry
But very few hockey players in the NFL.