Is There an Upside to Poverty?
Director Renzo Martens’s fascinating and controversial documentary Enjoy Poverty “investigates the emotional and economic value of Africa’s fastest-growing and most lucrative export-product.” That is: poverty. As he travels throughout the Congo, Martens instructs wedding photographers to try earning more money by photographing malnourished children; he posts a large neon sign reading “Enjoy Poverty” in various villages; and encourages locals to capitalize on their poverty. Read More »
What Are the Odds That a Given Cow Will Make It to the Super Bowl?
We blogged last fall about the Book of Odds, an interesting site that generates “odds statements” of all sorts. Now, David Gassko and Ian Stanczyk of the Book of Odds have written a guest post which answers just the kind of question we like to ask around here: What are the odds that a given cow will make it to the Super Bowl? Read More »
A Good Reason to Fly Southwest
I earned two free one-way coupons on Southwest Airlines. I tried to redeem them for a round-trip flight in March, but there were no coupon seats on the return flight. So I redeemed one coupon, and have one left over. That’s a clever strategy by Southwest, as I will now use the other coupon as part of a second round trip. Read More »
Introducing Freakonomics Radio: A Podcast About the Hidden Side of Everything
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. Read More »
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