logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2024
37m 11s

220. Is Your Attention Span Shrinking?

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode
Does a surplus of information create a shortage of attention? Are today’s young people really unable to focus? And do goldfish need better PR? 
Up next
Yesterday
49. How Does Facing Death Change Your Life?
<p>Also: why are we so bad at assessing risk? This episode originally aired on April 25, 2021.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for adverti ... Show More
39m 1s
Nov 16
48. Do Good Deeds Invite More Bad Ones?
<p>Also: what is the most significant choice you will ever make? This episode originally aired on April 18, 2021.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of person ... Show More
33m 58s
Nov 9
47. Is Laziness Real?
<p>Also: why do we dislike being alone in public? This episode originally aired on April 11, 2021.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for adv ... Show More
32m 35s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2024
596. Farewell to a Generational Talent
<p>Daniel Kahneman left his mark on academia (and the real world) in countless ways. A group of his friends and colleagues recently gathered in Chicago to reflect on this legacy — and we were there, with microphones.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="ht ... Show More
52m 41s
Sep 2024
601. Multitasking Doesn’t Work. So Why Do We Keep Trying?
<p>Only a tiny number of “supertaskers” are capable of doing two things at once. The rest of us are just making ourselves miserable, and less productive. How can we put the — <i>hang on a second, I've just got to get this</i>.</p><p><br />Come see Stephen Dubner live! </p><p>“A Q ... Show More
58m 4s
May 2025
How to Succeed at Failing, Part 3: Grit vs. Quit (Update)
<p>Giving up can be painful. That's why we need to talk about it. Today: stories about glitchy apps, leaky paint cans, broken sculptures — and a quest for the perfect bowl of ramen. (Part three of a <a href="https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/how-to-succeed-at-failing/">four-pa ... Show More
1h 3m
May 2024
Your Mind Is Being Fracked
<p>The steady dings of notifications. The 40 tabs that greet you when you open your computer in the morning. The hundreds of unread emails, most of them spam, with subject lines pleading or screaming for you to click. Our attention is under assault these days, and most of us are ... Show More
1h 12m
Dec 2024
Michael Garfield — Play the (Mind) Jazz (EP.246)
<p>My guest today is Michael Garfield, a paleontologist, futurist, writer, podcast host and strategic advisor whose "mind-jazz" performances — essays, music and fine art — bridge the worlds of art, science and philosophy.</p> <p>This year, Michael received a <a href= "https://new ... Show More
1h 19m
Oct 15
How Can We Break Our Addiction to Contempt? (Update)
<p>Arthur Brooks, an economist and former head of the American Enterprise Institute, believes that there is only one remedy for our political polarization: love. In this 2021 episode, we ask if Brooks is a fool for thinking this — and if perhaps you are his kind of fool?</p><p> < ... Show More
40m 23s
Mar 2025
EXTRA: The Downside of Disgust (Update)
<p>It’s a powerful biological response that has preserved our species for millennia. But now it may be keeping us from pursuing strategies that would improve the environment, the economy, even our own health. So is it time to dial down our disgust reflex?  You can help fix things ... Show More
44m 28s
Aug 22
MAHA Is a Bad Answer to a Good Question
<p>“Make America Healthy Again” is a great idea — somebody should try it.</p><p>A lot of the concerns animating the MAHA movement — chronic disease, the unhealthiness of the American diet, how profits warp our health care system — are serious issues. But Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ... Show More
1h 22m
Sep 20
How to Have Great Conversations (Update)
<p><i>The Power of Habit </i>author Charles Duhigg wrote his new book in an attempt to learn how to communicate better. Steve shares how the book helped him understand his own conversational weaknesses.</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://www.char ... Show More
44m 24s
Apr 2025
#411 — The Victimhood Pandemic
<p>Sam Harris speaks with Scott Barry Kaufman about Scott's new book, <em><a href="https://amzn.to/42Is3JI">Rise Above: Overcome a Victim Mindset, Empower Yourself, and Realize Your Full Potential</a></em>. They discuss victimhood culture, narcissism and psychopathy, the personal ... Show More
31m 12s