Today

Why Smart Groups Make Bad Decisions

Smart people can make terrible decisions—or brilliant ones. What makes the difference? In Goodthink: The New Science of Collective Intelligence, Damon Centola, a University of Pennsylvania professor who directs the Network Dynamics Group, shares two decades of research showing th ... Show More

35m 57s

Yesterday

When the Cost is Higher Than the Price

Same product. Same store. A different price—just for you? Lindsay Owens, author of Gouged: The End of a Fair Price—and What That Means for Your Wallet, explores how companies use algorithms and personal data to figure out what we’ll tolerate paying. But a tilted marketplace isn’t ... Show More

34m 18s

Oct 9

Why Are You Working So Hard?

Hard work is often treated as a virtue with no downside—but what if the story we tell about work keeps us from living well? Journalist Adam Chandler questions the American self-reliance myth in 99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life, and how work shap ... Show More

20m 26s

Sep 2024

William T. Taylor, "Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History" (U California Press, 2024)

From the Rockies to the Himalayas, the bond between horses and humans has spanned across time and civilizations. In this archaeological journey, William T. Taylor explores how momentous events in the story of humans and horses helped create the world we live in today. Tracing the ... Show More

1h 1m

Mar 2025

Horses

Horses—majestic, powerful, and deeply woven into the fabric of human history. From wild herds roaming ancient plains to their role in shaping civilizations, horses have carried us through battles, journeys, and everyday life. How did this bond between humans and horses begin, and ... Show More

50m 7s

Oct 2025

651. The Ultimate Dance Partner

For most of human history, horsepower made the world go. Then came the machines. So why are there still seven million horses in America? (Part one of a series, “<a href="https://freakonomics.com/the-horse-is-us/">The Horse Is Us</a>.”) <ul><li>SOURCES:</stro ... Show More

1h 8m

Jun 2023

Origins of Horse Riding

Human and Horse relationships have long be intertwined; from the ancient Eurasian plain, through to modern cowboys. But how did these huge, independent creatures become domesticated - and what was the original intention behind such an act? Originally tamed for their meat and m ... Show More

44m 9s

Apr 2023

How Horses Conquered America (Twice)

Horses have been a bulwark of American culture and society for centuries. Think of cowboys in the Mid-West or Native Americans riding bareback on the Great Plains. But new, ground-breaking archeological evidence has emerged to suggest horses were present in the Americas more t ... Show More

25m 18s

Jun 2023

Hooves Up!

The girlies investigate a beloved middle school archetype — the horse girl. They explain the history of The American Horse™️, the women who protected them from extinction, and why love stories between girls and horses are so much more empowering than the heteronormative script ... Show More

1h 20m

Oct 2021

Wendy Doniger, "Winged Stallions and Wicked Mares: Horses in Indian Myth and History" (U Virginia Press, 2021)

Raj Balkaran speaks with Wendy Doniger about her new book Winged Stallions and Wicked Mares: Horses in Indian Myth and History (University of Virginia Press, 2021), along with her translation of the final four books of the Mahābhārata's Critical Edition translation project, the p ... Show More

1h 3m

The Horse: A Galloping History of Humani...