logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
34m 38s

222. What Makes an Idea Interesting?

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode

What do Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Malcolm Gladwell have in common? Are interesting theories more significant than true ones? And what has been keeping Angela up at night? Plus: an important announcement about the show. 

 

 

 

Up next
Jul 6
29. How Do You Know When It’s Time to Quit?
Also: why is it so hard to predict success? This episode originally aired on November 29, 2020. 
31m 43s
Jun 29
28. Why Do We Hoard?
Also: do you spend more time thinking about the past, the present, or the future? This episode originally aired on November 22, 2020. 
29m 14s
Jun 22
27. How Should You Ask for Forgiveness?
Also: why is behavior change so darn hard? This episode originally aired on November 15, 2020. 
37m 45s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2024
Your Brain Doesn’t Work the Way You Think
David Eagleman upends myths and describes the vast possibilities of a brainscape that even neuroscientists are only beginning to understand. Steve Levitt interviews him in this special episode of People I (Mostly) Admire. SOURCES:David Eagleman, professor of cognitive neuroscienc ... Show More
47m 53s
Jul 2024
596. Farewell to a Generational Talent
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. SOURCES:Maya Bar-Hillel, professor emeritus of psychology at the H ... Show More
52m 41s
Dec 2024
147. Is Your Gut a Second Brain?
In her book, Rumbles, medical historian Elsa Richardson explores the history of the human gut. She talks with Steve about dubious medical practices, gruesome tales of survival, and the things that medieval doctors may have gotten right. SOURCE:Elsa Richardson, medical historian a ... Show More
57m 34s
Sep 2024
602. Is Screen Time as Poisonous as We Think?
Young people have been reporting a sharp rise in anxiety and depression. This maps neatly onto the global rise of the smartphone. Some researchers are convinced that one is causing the other. But how strong is the evidence? SOURCES:David Blanchflower, professor of economics at Da ... Show More
40m 29s
Sep 2024
601. Multitasking Doesn’t Work. So Why Do We Keep Trying?
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 — hang on a second, I've just got to get this. Come see Stephen Dubner live! “A Questionable Evening: A strate ... Show More
58m 4s
Nov 2021
Trotskyism Today with Ian Parker
Marxist theorist, literary critic, military leader and exiled opponent of Stalin, Leon Trotsky is one of the most important figures of 20th century Marxism. But how are Trotsky's ideas being lived out today by revolutionary socialists? To help us understand Trotskyism, its histor ... Show More
1h 40m
Mar 2024
126. How to Have Great Conversations
The Power of Habit 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. SOURCES:Charles Duhigg, journalist and author. RESOURCES:Supercommunicators: How to Unl ... Show More
47m 31s
May 28
Close Readings: Nietzsche's 'Schopenhauer as Educator'
In this extended extract from their series 'Conversations in Philosophy', part of the LRB's Close Readings podcast, Jonathan Rée and James Wood look at one of Friedrich Nietzsche's early essays, 'Schopenhauer as Educator'. For Nietzsche, Schopenhauer’s genius lay not in his ideas ... Show More
31m 43s
Mar 2025
The philosophy of geopolitics SPECIAL | Donald Trump, Homer's Odyssey, and Korean Web Novels
What do Friedrich Nietzsche, the Korean War, and Homer's Odyssey have in common?Join the team at the IAI for four articles about the history and philosophy of geopolitics, ranging from Nietzsche's impact on Russia's imperialist strategies to the importance of Ancient Greek traged ... Show More
43m 55s
Jul 2020
Jungian Archetypes In 10 Minutes
This video focuses on what are regarded as the four major Jungian Archetypes: The Self, the Persona, the Shadow, and the Anima/Animus.  Few people have had as much influence on modern psychology as Carl Jung.  He was a practicing psychiatrist and is regarded as the founder of ana ... Show More
10 m