June 26 marks the beginning of PETA’s “Fish Are Friends, Not Food” Week, meant to raise awareness that “fish want to live as much as everyone else does.” But what about deer? In Japan, dwindling tuna stocks have led to venison sushi.
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About Freakonomics
Stephen J. Dubner is an author and journalist who lives in New York City.
Steven D. Levitt is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago.
Their book Freakonomics has sold 3 million copies worldwide. This blog, begun in 2005, is meant to keep the conversation going. Recurring guest bloggers include Ian Ayres, Jessica Hagy, Daniel Hamermesh, Sudhir Venkatesh, and Justin Wolfers.
Annika Mengisen is the site editor.
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Naked Self-Promotion
Freakonomics is bolstering book sales at airports because it’s sexy, reports TheBookseller.com -- with or without its Turkish cover.
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
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November 19
(46 comments)
What Would You Do in the Worst Case? A Freakonomics Quorum
Photo: Jamesfischer
These are the economic times that try men’s souls, and women’s too. In the past few months, a lot of people have seen their net worth fall substantially, and I’m sure more than a few have contemplated what would happen if they lost everything.
So we asked a group of people — Nick Mills, [...]
November 19
(28 comments)
FREAK Shots: Who Are You Calling Third-World?
Blog reader Nick Turner sent along this photo of a Body Shop ad in San Francisco:
Photo: Nick Turner
He was surprised that the ad guarantees fair-labor conditions for workers in Italy:
I thought fair-trade protections were for third-world workers. I
wonder how the Italians feel about this designation.
The ad didn’t outright call Italy third-world; but if it had, [...]
November 19
(153 comments)
Eric Oliver on the “Bigot Belt”
Eric Oliver is a colleague of mine at the University of Chicago. He is the author of the absolutely fantastic book Fat Politics: The Real Story Behind America’s Obesity Epidemic.
He has some new and interesting insights on the “Bigot Belt,” which he has generously written up for the Freakonomics blog.
The Bigot Belt
By Eric Oliver
A [...]
November 19
(23 comments)
Bacon Ice Cream and Intertemporal Choice
Photo: lilivanili and shawnzam
Yesterday I suggested that tastes may not be stable. And then last night, I had the chance to confront the data directly; my local restaurant was serving bacon ice cream.
Bacon: Delicious! Ice cream: My favorite! The combination of bacon and ice cream: a direct threat to my views of economics. [...]
November 19
(3 comments)
The FREAK-est Links
Here are the stats and algorithms that explain why Kevin Garnett is an MVP. (HT: Phil Notick) (Earlier)
Justin Wolfers’s alumni magazine dubs him “The Seeker.” (Earlier)
Who’s making the fat jokes?
Stanley Druckenmiller is happy he didn’t buy the Steelers.
Chicago’s schools have third-world math scores. (Earlier)
Stuff We Weren't Paid to Endorse
1. Go to Hulu.com. 2. Choose Arrested Development. 3. Start with Season 1 and then watch every episode of all three seasons. 4. You can thank me later. (SJD)
I can scarcely tell a scarlet tanager from Scarlett O’Hara, but The Life of the Skies had me transfixed from the first page. Jonathan Rosen -- who happens to be a friend of mine -- writes with astounding insight, wit, and compassion. The story he tells here is the best kind of odyssey, an outward journey that ends up highlighting the beauty and daring that live inside of us. Here's a Times review of the book, and here's an earlier blog post about the book and the power of suggestion. (SJD)
Even if you don’t have a son fighting in Iraq, even if you don’t read poetry, even if you think you are immune to the power of a mother’s lament – pick up The Warrior and read it right away. Fran Richey has written some of the most powerful stories I’ve ever encountered. It is obvious that her life was changed by living these poems; yours may well be changed by reading them. (SJD)
From the Opinion Blogs
Necessary Steps
Inching Along the Edge of the World
In his last walk of the series, the author manages to avoid stepping out into thin air.
Abstract City
New York Cheat Sheets
All New Yorkers develop tricks that allow them to stay ahead of the pack in daily life. Here I offer some of mine in a couple of handy charts.
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10 Comments
this reminds me of an episode described in Franklin’s autobiography: he was a vegetarian for most of his life- one day, he goes on a fishing boat- they catch a big fish and slice it open- apparently, it had recently eaten- some small fish spill out onto the deck- Franklin then begins to eat meat, cuz he figures ethically speaking, nature intends for life to feed on life (any tool fans out there?)
— frankendufAs soon as the fish agree to stop eating other animals, I’ll stop eating fish.
— mgrovesWhat?!? No promotional tie in with Discovery Channel’s Shark Week?
— gradys_kitchenIf God didn’t want us to eat fish, they wouldn’t be so delicious…
— bjefreakWhere can I get some venison sushi? I want to try that!
http://lethologicalreader.blogspot.com/2007/06/deer-sushi.html
— LiteraryMonkeyQuick, someone come up with a witty reference and link to Swift’s *A Modest Proposal*. (I’m too lazy and dull-witted.)
— majikthiseA Not so Modest Proposal
My hate for deer spans my days
— egretmanI cannot stand their evil ways
They eat almost every flower
There’s nothing they won’t devour
The garden is a loss
Nothing left but moss
Japan is our last best hope
If they can suck the continental slope
Search the seas and laguna
To exterminate the tuna
Then it might be a good battle plan.
To just ship our deer to Japan
And if PETA unwisely dares to object
We’ll ship them too as part of the project
Kurt Cobain sang “Its okay to eat fish, cause they don’t have any feelings”
Cobain makes a good point.
— JMoney999They are cold blooded
— JMoney999PETA- People for the Eating of Tasty Animals?
— suntzusjb