No — but he does have a knack for stumbling into the perfect moment, including the recent FTX debacle. In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, we revisit the book that launched the analytics revolution.
Oct 16
691. Is This What a “Good Billionaire” Looks Like?
David Rubenstein, a product of the old bipartisan D.C., made his fortune in private equity. He’s been spending it on “patriotic philanthropy” and institutions like the Kennedy Center, where Trump fired him as chairman. Now he wonders if the center can hold. SOURCES:David Rubenste ... Show More
43m 23s
Oct 9
690. It’s Show Business, Baby!
Podcasting started as a niche-nerd pursuit. Now it’s a $9 billion industry. Is that a lot? The strange economics of this thing we do. SOURCES:Jim Bankoff, chairman and C.E.O. of Vox Media.Ben Davis, head of digital at WME.Will Page, former chief economist at Spotify and author of ... Show More
1h 1m
Oct 2
689. Here’s Why Your Hamburger Just Got So Pricey
An economist calls America’s beef industry a “miracle.” An antitrust scholar calls it “broken.” Maybe they’re both right? SOURCES:Austin Frerick, agriculture antitrust expert, fellow at Yale University, author of Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry ... Show More
49m 25s
Dec 2024
Sports Betting, Challenges Facing Young Men, and The Fall of Sam Bankman-Fried — with Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis, a New York Times bestselling author and the host of the podcast Against the Rules, joins Scott to discuss the state of sports betting, the challenges young men face, and the controversy surrounding his book, Going Infinite, which explores the rise and fall of Sam B ... Show More
46m 1s
Nov 2023
Number Go Up: Crypto Scam, The Crypto Crash, and Zeke Faux's Absurdist Masterpiece
<p><span class= "ui-provider jl og jj cfu cfv cfw cfx cfy cfz cga cgb cgc cgd cge cgf cgg cgh cgi cgj cgk cgl cgm cgn cgo cgp cgq cgr cgs cgt cgu cgv cgw cgx cgy cgz" dir="ltr">In this episode, we review what past events and circumstances have led us to the recent cryptocurrency ... Show More
35m 14s
Feb 2022
14. Why Do Most Ideas Fail to Scale?
In a new book called The Voltage Effect, the economist John List — who has already revolutionized how his profession does research — is trying to start a scaling revolution. In this installment of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, List teaches us how to avoid false positives, how ... Show More
48m 54s
Apr 2022
Michael Lewis: Telling Stories About the Value of Others
On this episode, Donny sits down with the brilliant author of numerous bestselling novels, including Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short, and, most recently, The Premonition, Michael Lewis. Donny and Michael dive right in, starting with his finance background, how stories al ... Show More
1 h
Oct 2023
Bonus: Michael Lewis on FTX & Sam Bankman-Fried
<p>This week, we have a bonus episode for you, live from the FT Due Diligence Forum in London. FT chief features writer Henry Mance sits down with author Michael Lewis to discuss his new book, <em>Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, </em>an all-access account of Sa ... Show More
40m 56s
<p>Peter and Michael discuss Michael Lewis’s bestselling book about the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, a young prodigy whose only flaw was that he dreamed too big.<br/><br/><b>Where to find us: </b></p><ul><li><a href='https://www.fivefourpod.com/'>Peter's other podcast ... Show More
