America’s Hidden Duopoly (Rebroadcast)

Like tens of millions of people, Stephen Dubner thought he had a penicillin allergy. Like the vast majority, he didn’t. This misdiagnosis costs billions of dollars and causes serious health problems, so why hasn’t it been fixed? We find out in this update of a 2025 episode. SOURC ... Show More

Is the oxymoron really “the secret sauce to everything”? That’s the case Ingels makes in this debut episode of our new video show Better in Person, filmed in Stephen Dubner’s living room. If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, watch it on YouTube or Apple Pod ... Show More

Stephen Dubner had an idea for a new project. So he drove to Connecticut and knocked on the door of the master. Dubner’s new TV talk show Better in Person launches July 14 on the Freakonomics YouTube channel. SOURCES: Dick Cavett, writer, former talk show host. RESOURCES: Eye on ... Show More

We talk a lot on this show about the problems with American political institutions. But what if all those problems are actually just one problem: the two-party system. Lee Drutman is a political scientist, senior fellow in the Political Reform program at New America, co-host of ... Show More

Katherine Gehl, a former CEO and the founder of the Institute for Political Innovation, and Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School, apply his Five Forces framework to explain why U.S. politics are dysfunctional. They argue that the Republican and Democratic partie ... Show More

Are you sick of Republicans and the conservative media focusing on these quasi-cultural flash points but then agreeing with Democrats on all the policy outcomes? Be sure to tune in today. In this blockbuster episode, I cram as much health care policy into one show as I possibly ... Show More

<p>Lobbying is an entrenched part of American politics and one that many people think is breaking government. But petitioning the government is protected in the Constitution. How can this system be fixed? join Josh and Chuck as they explore the topic in this classic episode.</p>< ... Show More

<p>The tone of American politics can be...nasty. But is this nastiness really worse than in previous eras, and if so, what does that mean for our democracy? Historian David Moss takes the long view — arguing that American democracy is much more resilient than we realize. This wee ... Show More

<p>Our election model <a href="https://www.economist.com/mid-terms-2022?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sug ... Show More

<p>Has democracy unraveled in America?  And if so, what can leaders on both sides of the aisle do to save it? Former Secretary of Transportation and 2020 Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg joins Trevor and Eugene in this wide-ranging discussion.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecas ... Show More

<p>Is money a form of free speech? This question has plagued US politics for decades, prompting frenzied debates about the role of big business and private wealth in the process -- or industry -- of writing laws. In the second part of this two-part series, the guys dive into rece ... Show More