Some people want the new cannabis economy to look like the craft-beer movement. Others are hoping to build the Amazon of pot. And one expert would prefer a government-run monopoly. We listen in as they fight it out. (Part four of a four-part series.)
Jun 12
677. Can Backgammon Save Us from Ourselves?
It brings strangers together. It teaches probability, strategy, and emotional control. It has even helped N.F.L. teams win the Super Bowl. Stephen Dubner explores why this ancient game is having a renaissance. (Part two of a series, “We Are All Gamers Now.”) SOURCES: Remington Da ... Show More
59m 19s
Jun 10
This Is Your Brain on Pollution (Update)
As the Trump administration rolls back environmental regulations, we revisit a 2022 episode that explored the hidden cost of an invisible threat: air pollution. SOURCES: Angela Duckworth, psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Michael Greenstone, economist at the Univers ... Show More
47m 24s
Aug 2023
Benjamin Y. Fong, "Quick Fixes: Drugs in America from Prohibition to the 21st Century Binge" (Verso, 2023)
Benjamin Y. Fong is author of the new book Quick Fixes: Drugs in America from Prohibition to the 21st Century Binge, which was just released in July, 2023 by Verso Books. Ben is an honors faculty fellow and associate director of the Center for Work & Democracy at Arizona State Un ... Show More
45m 8s
Nov 2024
Daniel J. Mallinson and A. Lee Hannah, "Green Rush: The Rise of Medical Marijuana in the United States" (NYU Press, 2024)
Political Scientists Dan Mallinson and Lee Hannah, both experts on state-level politics and the policy making process, have a new book that focuses on the state-level process of legalization of medical cannabis across the United States. Green Rush: The Rise of Medical Marijuana i ... Show More
52m 7s
Nov 2023
So you want to sell marijuana across state lines
In the state of Oregon, there is a glut of grass. A wealth of weed. A crisis of chronic. And, jokes aside, it's a real problem for people who work in the cannabis industry like Matt Ochoa. Ochoa runs the Jefferson Packing House in Medford, Oregon, which provides marijuana growers ... Show More
23m 49s
Apr 2024
David Pozen, "The Constitution of the War on Drugs" (Oxford UP, 2024)
David Pozen is the Charles Keller Beekman Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and the author of the new book, The Constitution of the War on Drugs (Oxford UP, 2024). An expert in constitutional law, Pozen argues that the drug war has been an unmitigated disaster, in terms of ... Show More
58m 55s
Aug 2023
☠️ “Portnoy’s pirates” – Barstool’s $1 buyback. WeWork’s worth $0. Cannabis’ beer-quisition.
Dave Portnoy sold Barstool Sports to a gambling company for $550M, but just allegedly got it back for free — Because pirates don’t wear ties. WeWork just warned Wall Street that it might go bankrupt — So we did the math, and WeWork is actually worth $0. And Tilray, the $2B cannab ... Show More
18m 39s