Archives for Freakonomics podcast



What Makes a Donor Donate? Full Transcript

This is a full transcript for the Freakonomics Radio podcast, “What Makes a Donor Donate?”.

Kai Ryssdal: Time now for a little Freakonomics Radio– that moment every couple of weeks when we hear from Stephen Dubner, the co-author of the books and the blog of the same name. It’s the hidden side of everything. This week — in the spirit of the season — Dubner weaves a tale of charitable giving — as only Freaknomics can do.

Stephen Dubner: Today, we begin in Australia, with the story of Dick Smith.

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Dick Smith made a lot of money with his chain of electronics stores. Now, he says, he gives 20 percent of his income to charity. Smith says Australians don’t give nearly enough. So he’s started a campaign to convince them to give more. Read More »



Risk = Hazard + Outrage: A Conversation with Risk Consultant Peter Sandman

In our recent podcast “The Truth is Out There… Isn’t It?,” we hear from professional skeptics, former UFO investigators, and “social incompetence” experts. One fascinating interview that didn’t make the final cut was with Peter Sandman, a “risk-communication consultant” whose work was also cited in Freakonomics. (Here is how he came to be what he is.)

Sandman breaks his work into three areas: scaring people who are ignoring something that is legitimately dangerous and risky; calming down people who are freaking out over something that’s not risky; and guiding people who are freaking out over something that is legitimately risky. To accomplish all this, Sandman came up with a useful equation: Risk = Hazard + Outrage. Here are some excerpts from Stephen Dubner’s interview with Sandman, which ranges from the perceived risk of WMD’s in Iraq to the debate over climate change. Read More »



The Truth Is Out There…Isn’t It?: Full Transcript

This is a full transcript for the Freakonomics Radio podcast, “The Truth Is Out There… Isn’t It?”.

 

[CASH REGISTER]

Stephen GREENSPAN: Yes, life was pretty good until I got a phone call from my broker.

Stephen J. DUBNER: That’s Stephen Greenspan. He’s an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Connecticut.

GREENSPAN: Hi Katherine.

WELLS: Hey.

DUBNER: And this is Katherine Wells. She’s one of the producers on our show. Hi Katherine.

Katherine WELLS: Hi Stephen.

DUBNER: So you are here with a story for us, yes?

KWELLS: Right. A story about Stephen Greenspan. He has an interesting specialty: he’s an expert in what he calls “social incompetence.”

DUBNER: I have some of that.

WELLS: Which, you know, we all feel. What he means is he studies why people do dumb things.

DUBNER: Presumably that means … why smart people do dumb things?

WELLS: Right, that included.

DUBNER: And when he told you there that “life was pretty good,” what did he mean? What was so good exactly? Read More »



The Truth Is Out There…Isn’t It? A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast

Our latest Freakonomics Radio podcast is called “The Truth Is Out There…Isn’t It?” (You can download/subscribe at iTunes, get the RSS feed, listen live via the media player above, or read the transcript below.) In it, we try to answer a few fundamental questions: how do we know that what we believe is true? How do we decide which information to trust? And how do we quantify risk — from climate change to personal investments?

The program begins with Stephen Greenspan, a psychologist and an expert on “social incompetence” and gullibility. He knows from personal experience that even the smartest people can be duped into bad risk assessments, especially on the advice of people they trust. Read More »



Unnatural Turkeys: Full Transcript

This is the full transcript for the Freakonomics Radio Marketplace podcast, “Unnatural Turkeys.”

Kai Ryssdal: Time now for a little Freakonomics Radio. It’s that moment every two weeks where we talk to Stephen Dubner, the co-author of the books and the blog of the same name. It’s about the hidden side of everything. Dubner, welcome back.

Stephen Dubner: Hey Kai, thanks. I’ve got a little Thanksgiving quiz for you. Are you up for that?

Ryssdal: No, I don’t do quizzes. It’s my show. All right, what?

Dubner: Well, I’m going to force you to.

Ryssdal: All right.

Dubner: All right, here we go. Americans will probably eat about 40 million turkeys this month. Now, I hope this doesn’t kill your appetite, but what percentage of those 40 million birds do you think were the product of artificial insemination? Read More »



Ed Rendell on the Rules of Booing

In our most recent Freakonomics Radio podcast, “Boo…Who?”, we talk to former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell about Philadelphia’s reputation as the city with the meanest sports fans. Philadelphians are passionate, Rendell argues, but they don’t make exceptions for poor performance, not even for Santa Claus.

Still, sometimes things can go too far, which is why Rendell came up with his rules for booing. Sort of an Emily Post handbook for rowdy sports fans. Since Rendell’s rules are aimed mostly at the sports crowd, we decided to expand and ask him a few some non-sports booing questions. He has replied with direct answers. Read More »



Wildfires, Cops, and Keggers: A New Marketplace Podcast on Election-Time Mischief

Next week, dutiful voters will head to the polls for elections. Among the jobs up for grabs are the Kentucky and Mississippi governorships, the mayorship of San Francisco, and a smattering of municipal and state positions across the country. In many of these races, incumbents are fighting to keep their seats.

In our latest Freakonomics Radio on Marketplace podcast (you can download/subscribe at iTunes, get the RSS feed, listen live via the media player above, or read the transcript), we examine the side effects that elections sometimes produce. Steve Levitt wrote about one such effect several years ago (here is the original study, and here’s an update): in mayoral and gubernatorial election years, police forces tend to grow and crime tends to fall.

As Stephen Dubner explains to Kai Ryssdal, incumbents’ incentives change when they run for re-election. They might try to perform better, hiring more police or lowering taxes. But they also might cater more to special interests, giving out election-time favors and even enabling illegal activities.

We went out in search of various election-year anomalies and found some pretty interesting stuff. Read More »



Wildfires, Cops, and Keggers: Full Transcript

This is the full transcript for the Freakonomics Radio Marketplace podcast, “Wildfires, Cops, and Keggers.”

Kai Ryssdal: It’s time now for a little bit ofFreakonomics Radio. It’s that moment of your lives every couple weeks when we talk to Stephen Dubner, co-author of the books and blog about the hidden side of everything. Welcome back, Dubner.

Stephen Dubner: Hey Kai. I sent you a little something this week. Want to open it up?

Ryssdal: Here we go. It’s heavy. Also in a bag. Oh get out of here! It’s Heineken, a little mini-keg of Heineken. You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to put it in the Marketplace refrigerator.

Dubner: Don’t thank me too much, Kai — I’m actually just trying to save myself a little money. Because, as you know, Election Day is next week.

Ryssdal: Fine, but as much as I like my beer, what does Election Day have to do with it?

Dubner: Well, as it turns out, Election Day and beer inflation sometimes travel together. Here’s Jeffrey Kubik, an economist at Syracuse University: Read More »



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