Oct 23

The Startup End Game

Building a startup is often framed as a race to scale. But what happens after growth—and how early should you plan for the ending? In the 2022 book Exit Path: How to Win the Startup End Game, Touraj Parang explains why founders should start with the end in mind, preserve their op ... Show More

31m 14s

Oct 22

Hierarchy Is Broken. Here's How to Fix It.

Why do workplace hierarchies so often fail the people inside them? In Level Up: Why Hierarchies Are Broken and How to Fix Them, Stanford organizational psychologist Nir Halevy examines how rank and power distort organizations—and what people at every level can do about it. Then, ... Show More

36m 30s

Oct 21

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Overload

What if feeling better isn’t about finding the next new thing, but remembering what we’ve stopped doing? In The Great Remembering: Powerful Ancient Practices—And the New Science Bringing Them Back, TED Talks co-creator June Cohen explores how movement, shared rituals, and time in ... Show More

31m 4s

Sep 2024

William T. Taylor, "Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History" (U California Press, 2024)

From the Rockies to the Himalayas, the bond between horses and humans has spanned across time and civilizations. In this archaeological journey, William T. Taylor explores how momentous events in the story of humans and horses helped create the world we live in today. Tracing the ... Show More

1h 1m

Mar 2025

Horses

Horses—majestic, powerful, and deeply woven into the fabric of human history. From wild herds roaming ancient plains to their role in shaping civilizations, horses have carried us through battles, journeys, and everyday life. How did this bond between humans and horses begin, and ... Show More

50m 7s

Oct 2025

651. The Ultimate Dance Partner

For most of human history, horsepower made the world go. Then came the machines. So why are there still seven million horses in America? (Part one of a series, “<a href="https://freakonomics.com/the-horse-is-us/">The Horse Is Us</a>.”) <ul><li>SOURCES:</stro ... Show More

1h 8m

Jun 2023

Origins of Horse Riding

Human and Horse relationships have long be intertwined; from the ancient Eurasian plain, through to modern cowboys. But how did these huge, independent creatures become domesticated - and what was the original intention behind such an act? Originally tamed for their meat and m ... Show More

44m 9s

Apr 2023

How Horses Conquered America (Twice)

Horses have been a bulwark of American culture and society for centuries. Think of cowboys in the Mid-West or Native Americans riding bareback on the Great Plains. But new, ground-breaking archeological evidence has emerged to suggest horses were present in the Americas more t ... Show More

25m 18s

Jun 2023

Hooves Up!

The girlies investigate a beloved middle school archetype — the horse girl. They explain the history of The American Horse™️, the women who protected them from extinction, and why love stories between girls and horses are so much more empowering than the heteronormative script ... Show More

1h 20m

Oct 2021

Wendy Doniger, "Winged Stallions and Wicked Mares: Horses in Indian Myth and History" (U Virginia Press, 2021)

Raj Balkaran speaks with Wendy Doniger about her new book Winged Stallions and Wicked Mares: Horses in Indian Myth and History (University of Virginia Press, 2021), along with her translation of the final four books of the Mahābhārata's Critical Edition translation project, the p ... Show More

1h 3m

Is Playing It Safe Holding You Back?