logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
29m 34s

5. What Do Tom Sawyer and the Founder of...

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode

Also: is there such a thing as too much science?

Plus, our special guest, Luis von Ahn, an inventor of CAPTCHA and a pioneer of free online language learning. This episode originally aired on June 14, 2020.

Up next
Oct 5
42. How Does When You Are Born Affect Who You Are?
Also: how did Angela do with her no-sugar challenge? This episode originally aired on March 7, 2021. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. 
38m 35s
Sep 28
41. Why Are We So Attracted to Fame?
Also: do we subconsciously lie about our major influences? This episode originally aired on February 28, 2021. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. 
35m 41s
Sep 21
40. Have We All Lost Our Ability to Compromise?
Also: is it better to be right or “not wrong”? This episode originally aired on February 21, 2021. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. 
36m 15s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2
How to make learning as addictive as social media | Luis von Ahn (re-release)
When technologist Luis von Ahn was building the popular language-learning platform Duolingo, he faced a big problem: Could an app designed to teach you something ever compete with addictive platforms like Instagram and TikTok? He explains how Duolingo harnesses the psychological ... Show More
13m 52s
Aug 2
How to make learning as addictive as social media | Luis von Ahn (re-release)
When technologist Luis von Ahn was building the popular language-learning platform Duolingo, he faced a big problem: Could an app designed to teach you something ever compete with addictive platforms like Instagram and TikTok? He explains how Duolingo harnesses the psychological ... Show More
13m 52s
Jul 2024
Let's Build A Language
Rerun: Linguist L. L. Zamenhof published ‘Dr. Esperanto's International Language’ on 26th July, 1887 - and in so doing launched Esperanto, the most popular ‘constructed language’ on Earth. Thanks to apps like Duolingo, there are still around 2 million esperantists today.It was o ... Show More
10m 59s
Jan 2019
#40 Ignacio Anaya on discovering your valuable skills
Ignacio Anaya is a Full Stack Developer at the company BloqInc, a Tech Trainer and a Speaker from Argentina. He's Passionate about code, teaching and field hockey. He mostly works with JavaScript, Vue.js and Blockchain but likes to contribute to many dev communities and Open ... Show More
43m 54s
Dec 2024
Pedro Pascal: Living the Dream | 255
Pedro Pascal is a testament to persistence. When he was just a baby, his family fled Chile for America. As a young man, he decided he wanted to be a movie star, and began that journey. But the obstacles and hardships he faced on that path were more than those of the typical strug ... Show More
43m 53s
Jan 2025
What If: Alexander the Great had Died at the Granicus River?
How would history look different if Alexander the Great had died in 334 BC? Would Macedonia still have conquered most of Asia?Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by P ... Show More
32m 54s
Apr 2025
Emmanuel Orssaud (Duolingo) | April Fool's Day Measured in Smiles
Happy April Fools! To celebrate the spirit of first day of April, Jim welcomes to the show one of Duo the Owl’s best friends, Emmanuel Orssaud, the Chief Marketing Officer of Duolingo, one of the hottest growth brands in the world with one of the hottest mascots in the world. Duo ... Show More
49m 56s
Aug 6
S8E8: Luis von Ahn Is Making Screen Time Count
Luis von Ahn was a tenured professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University who had sold a company to Google. “You were pretty set, a lot of us would say, so why were you so hungry to build something new with Duolingo?” asks Ayesha Karnik, MBA ’25. “For the first time ... Show More
57m 51s