32. What is a Good Death — and Why Do So...

In the newest show from the Freakonomics Radio Network, host Zachary Crockett explores the hidden side of the things around us. This week: One creature’s trash is another’s cash. (Or, how one man found profit in pee.) 

A sneak peek at Bapu's new book, Random Acts of Medicine, available now from Doubleday, and an announcement about the show. 

Couples get divorced for all kinds of reasons. Is having kids one of them? Bapu talks about research that investigates what happens to parents who unexpectedly have twins. Plus, an announcement about the future of the show. 

Palliative physician B.J. Miller asks: Is there a better way to think about dying? And can death be beautiful?  

It's expected now that we will generally live longer, but what really interests people is how to spend their longer life in good health—what to do now in order to set a good foundation. 

It's expected now that we will generally live longer, but what really interests people is how to spend their longer life in good health—and what to do now in order to set a good foundation. 

Have we lost the practical wisdom of what happens as people die? With lessons from a career witnessing thousands of people's final breaths, palliative care expert Kathryn Mannix urges us to demystify the experience of death, sharing how a better understanding of what actually hap ... Show More

How has our relationship with death changed over the last few decades? What is a "good death"? Dr. Richard Smith, Dr. Libby Sallnow, and Dr. M.R. Rajagopal discuss a new Lancet Commission which looks to address questions about how society treats death and dying. You can continue ... Show More

In this special episode of People I (Mostly) Admire, Steve Levitt speaks with the palliative physician B.J. Miller about modern medicine’s goal of “protecting a pulse at all costs.” Is there a better, even beautiful way to think about death and dying? 

Nearly a decade since MPs in Westminster voted against allowing terminally ill people to end their own life, assisted dying is climbing back up the political agenda. The Health and Social Care Committee is due to publish the first report of its kind on the subject after a year-lo ... Show More

Dr. Eben Alexander, is a top neurosurgeon who also wrote the best-selling book, Proof of Heaven. We discuss his experience in the afterlife and what we can all learn to make our lives more worthwhile.   

Where does a medical cure come from? 100 years ago, it wasn't uncommon for scientists to test medicines by taking a dose themselves. As medical technologies get cheaper and more accessible, patients and DIY tinkerers are trying something similar—and mainstream medicine is racing ... Show More