Can Academic Fraud Be Stopped? (Update)

One possibility: a leading hypothesis pursued by researchers (and funders) was built on science that now appears to be fraudulent. Stephen Dubner speaks with the scientist and the journalist who blew the whistle. SOURCES: Charles Piller, investigative journalist for Science, auth ... Show More

How do beekeepers make a living? Why is there so much honey fraud? And why did billions of bees suddenly disappear? To find out, guest host Steve Levitt activates his hive mind. SOURCES: Alex Sapoznik, historian, reader in late medieval history at King’s College London. Chris Hia ... Show More

Nearly everything that politicians say about taxes is at least half a lie. They are also dishonest when it comes to the national debt. In this update of an episode from 2025, Stephen Dubner finds one of the few people in Washington who is willing to tell the truth — and it’s even ... Show More

<p>Uri Simonsohn is a behavioral science professor who wants to improve standards in his field — so he’s made a sideline of investigating fraudulent academic research. He tells Steve Levitt, who's spent plenty of time rooting out cheaters in other fields, how he does it.</p><p> < ... Show More

Dr. Sinan Aral is the David Austin Professor of Management and Professor, Information Technology and Marketing at MIT. He’s a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Northwestern University. He has Master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and Harvard University. And he has a PhD f ... Show More

We face a disciplinary crisis as the twin pillars of Game Theory and Gurometry are called into question.The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (1 hour, 35 minutes).Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusSupplementary Material 3500:05 Introduction 01:52 ... Show More

Professor Theresa Gannon is a Professor of Forensic Psychology at University of Kent and has worked in forensic psychology practice for nearly two decades in NHS and prison settings. She has published widely in the areas of rehabilitation, sexual offending and fire setting and ha ... Show More

Peter Boghossian is the first one to tell you: he's no victim of cancel culture. The philosophy professor has long had a taste for stoking debate, questioning orthodoxies, and exposing the brokenness of an academic system that values identity-based grievances over scholarship. He ... Show More

There aren’t many Ivy League professors as bold as Dave Collum. It’s amazing he still has a job. (00:00) How Collum Predicted the 2008 Financial Crisis (11:00) Collum’s Mission to Uncover the Truth About Covid (19:36) Government Experiments Being Conducted on Foster Care Children ... Show More

Scientists and philosophers sometimes advocate pretty outrageous-sounding ideas about the fundamental nature of reality. (Arguably I have been guilty of this.) It shouldn't be surprising that reality, in regimes far away from our everyday experience, fails to conform to common se ... Show More

<p>This episode was recorded on November 8th, 2024. </p> <p>Dr. Martin Makary is a highly distinguished professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, renowned for his work in the re-design of healthcare and expert author of three New York Times bestsellers, including ... Show More