416. How Do You Reopen a Country?

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

Dartmouth president Sian Beilock, a psychologist by training, made her name studying why people choke. Now she’s applying those insights to one of the most scrutinized jobs in America. No pressure! SOURCES: Sian Beilock, president of Dartmouth College. RESOURCES: "Growing share o ... Show More

It’s a hard time to run a university: public trust is low, political pressure is high, and finances are fragile. But Daniel Diermeier, who trained as a political scientist, has Vanderbilt humming. How? He says the key is choosing magnets over wedges. SOURCES: Daniel Diermeier, ch ... Show More

Health experts and listeners from Ghana, the US, Canada, China, Switzerland and Italy share their views of life in a post-pandemic world. 

Can the world come together to beat diseases with pandemic potential? We've spoken to four expert witnesses, including a doctor who helped to eradicate one of the world's oldest diseases and a man who discovered one of the world's newest ones. 

We talk to individuals from a variety of sectors to learn how they’ve been affected by coronavirus and to find out more about the new values and principles that the pandemic has helped to foster. 

Ever since the pandemic started, we’ve heard the same refrain: we need to get back to normal. But what does “normal” even mean after such a history-changing event? Bill and Rashida discuss how COVID-19 will forever change our workplaces, our schools, and even our social lives. Th ... Show More

COVID-19 exposed the flaws in our society and the human species. Do we leave old ways behind and build our defenses for the pandemics to come and what will our economic fortunes look like? Does human behaviour really change in the long run? Hear from Dr Mei Ling Doery, Global Aff ... Show More

Covid: Laurie Taylor explores the financial impact of the coronavirus & asks if it represents an opportunity, as well as a crisis. He's joined by Lisa Suckert, Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, whose recent study examines the way ... Show More

Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Mihir Desai discuss how and why countries have differed in their responses to Covid-19, with a particular emphasis on their public health and economic responses. They also debate whether or not the recent U.S. stimulus package, including the bailouts, is ... Show More

After a year of lockdowns and Covid restrictions, Manuela Saragosa and Devina Gupta take a global look at jobs, pay and financial wellbeing. They look at the support packages from governments around the world and revisit some of those who spoke to the programme a year ago. How ha ... Show More