An all-star team of behavioral scientists discovers that humans are stubborn (and lazy, and sometimes dumber than dogs). We also hear about binge drinking, humblebragging, and regrets. Recorded live in Philadelphia with guests including Richard Thaler, Angela Duckworth, Katy Milkman, and Tom Gilovich.
Mar 27
668. Do Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny Have Blood on Their Hands?
As one researcher told us: “We’ve engineered a world where the most distracting device ever made is also the one we use to listen to music in the car." A new study tries to measure the cost. SOURCES: Bapu Jena, economist, physician, and professor at Harvard Medical School. Chris ... Show More
53m 58s
Mar 25
In a Driverless World, Who Loses and Who Wins?
In blue cities across the country, unions and politicians want to ban self-driving cars. In this episode from the Search Engine podcast, PJ Vogt visits Boston to sort the facts from the propaganda. (Part two of a two-part series.) SOURCES: Carl Richardson, ADA coordinator for the ... Show More
1h 5m
Apr 2020
Introducing "No Stupid Questions"
<p>Stephen Dubner, the host of <em>Freakonomics Radio</em>, and Angela Duckworth, the psychologist and author of <em>Grit</em>, explore the weird and wonderful ways in which humans behave. In each episode, they take turns asking each other questions, with conversations ranging fr ... Show More
2m 15s
Apr 2024
Kant today, Spice Girls Reunited, Impersonating an Animal
Marshmallows and Kant, ideas about girl power from Mary Wollstonecraft (born April 27th 1759) to the Spice girls; and galloping horses, sea-gull sounds and life as a goat. On today's Free Thinking Shahidha Bari is joined by literary historian Alexandra Reza, philosophers Angela B ... Show More
57m 4s
Oct 2013
Episode 33: Monkeys, Smurfs, and Human Conformity (With Laurie Santos)
<p>Special guest Laurie Santos (Psychology, Yale) joins us to talk about what animal cognition can tell us about human nature. Why are other primates better at resisting the misleading influence of others than humans? Is conformity a byproduct of our sophisticated cultural learni ... Show More
57m 10s
Dec 2012
Episode 9: Social Psychology, Situationism, and Moral Character
<p>After discussing some listener feedback about the movie Swingers, Tamler and David talk about two classic experiments in social psychology: the Milgram Experiments and the Zimbardo Prison experiment. They discuss the power of the situation, its influence on recent philosophy, ... Show More
1h 8m