logo
episode-header-image
Dec 13
49m 9s

Ninety-Eight Years of Economic Wisdom (R...

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode
The late Robert Solow was a giant among economists. When he was 98 years old he told Steve about cracking German codes in World War II, why it’s so hard to reduce inequality, and how his field lost its way. 
Up next
Jan 10
2. Mayim Bialik: “I Started Crying When I Realized How Beautiful the Universe Is”
She’s best known for playing neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory, but the award-winning actress has a rich life outside of her acting career, as a teacher, mother — and a real-life neuroscientist. Steve Levitt tries to learn more about this one-time academic a ... Show More
45m 30s
Jan 3
1. Steven Pinker: "I Manage My Controversy Portfolio Carefully”
By cataloging the steady march of human progress, the Harvard psychologist and linguist has become a very public intellectual. But the self-declared “polite Canadian” has managed to enrage people on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Steve Levitt tries to understand why. Th ... Show More
42m 40s
Dec 20
173. Steve Levitt Says Goodbye to People I (Mostly) Admire
In the last episode of the podcast, Stephen Dubner turns the microphone on Steve Levitt. They talk about Levitt’s favorite — and least favorite — moments from the show’s five-year run, his quest to reform education, and his next podcasting gig. SOURCES:Stephen Dubner, host of Fre ... Show More
51m 2s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2024
Eve Herold, "Robots and the People Who Love Them: Holding on to Our Humanity in an Age of Social Robots" (St. Martin's Press, 2024)
The latest developments in robotics and artificial intelligence and a preview of the coming decades, based on research and interviews with the world's foremost experts. If there’s one universal trait among humans, it’s our social nature. The craving to connect is universal, compe ... Show More
51 m
Aug 2024
208. Can A.I. Companions Replace Human Connection?
tail spinning
35m 31s
Nov 2024
How to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot Apocalypse (Update)
<p>It’s true that robots (and other smart technologies) will kill many jobs. It may also be true that newer collaborative robots (“cobots”) will totally reinvigorate how work gets done. That, at least, is what the economists are telling us. Should we believe them?</p><p> </p><ul> ... Show More
48m 36s
Oct 2024
Technology and artificial intelligence
<p>We start with the world's first general purpose electronic computer, the ENIAC, built in 1946 by a team of female mathematicians including Kathleen Kay McNulty. We speak to Gini Mauchly Calcerano, daughter of Kathleen Kay McNulty, who developed ENIAC.</p><p>Then we hear about ... Show More
50m 52s
May 2017
Robots - More Human than Human?
Robots are becoming present in our lives, as companions, carers and as workers. Adam Rutherford explores our relationship with these machines. Have we made them to be merely more dextrous versions of us? Why do we want to make replicas of ourselves? Should we be worried that they ... Show More
26m 59s
Aug 2019
AI, Robot
Forget what sci-fi has told you about superintelligent robots that are uncannily human-like; the reality is more prosaic. Inside DeepMind’s robotics laboratory, Hannah explores what researchers call ‘embodied AI’: robot arms that are learning tasks like picking up plastic bricks, ... Show More
32m 33s
Sep 2024
Are Robots Going to Take Over the World?!?!?
AI technology is super trendy, but can also be super scary! The 3D Printing Doctor not only makes really fun trinkets and videos with his machines, he is actually a real scientist who specializes in AI and robotics! We asked him if there was any real possibility of robots taking ... Show More
54m 17s
Jan 2025
619. How to Poison the A.I. Machine
<p>When the computer scientist Ben Zhao learned that artists were having their work stolen by A.I. models, he invented a tool to thwart the machines. He also knows how to foil an eavesdropping Alexa and how to guard your online footprint. The big news, he says, is that the A.I. b ... Show More
52m 5s
Oct 2024
605. What Do People Do All Day?
tail spinning
1 h