logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2020
53m 50s

416. How Do You Reopen a Country?

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode
We speak with a governor, a former C.D.C. director, a pandemic forecaster, a hard-charging pharmacist, and a pair of economists — who say it’s all about the incentives. (Pandemillions, anyone?) 
Up next
Today
690. It’s Show Business, Baby!
Podcasting started as a niche-nerd pursuit. Now it’s a $9 billion industry. Is that a lot? The strange economics of this thing we do. SOURCES:Jim Bankoff, chairman and C.E.O. of Vox Media.Ben Davis, head of digital at WME.Will Page, former chief economist at Spotify and author of ... Show More
1h 1m
Oct 2
689. Here’s Why Your Hamburger Just Got So Pricey
An economist calls America’s beef industry a “miracle.” An antitrust scholar calls it “broken.” Maybe they’re both right? SOURCES:Austin Frerick, agriculture antitrust expert, fellow at Yale University, author of Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry ... Show More
49m 25s
Sep 25
688. When Is a Bet Not a Bet?
That’s the question at the heart of a battle between Kalshi and state gambling regulators. As prediction markets boom, there are other questions, too — about insider trading, market manipulation, and whether the public has turned against them. (Part two of a two-part series.) SOU ... Show More
50m 32s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2014
Are Pandemics Inevitable?
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. 
23m 22s
Jun 2020
The New Normal
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. 
34m 56s
Nov 2020
EP 1: What will the world look like after COVID-19?
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
43m 57s
May 2020
Season 1, Ep 1 - Creative Destruction
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
33m 21s
Oct 2021
Covid
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
28m 30s
Apr 2020
The Varying International Responses to Covid-19, and the U.S. Stimulus Package
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
37m 2s
May 2020
Episode 2: WHO let the bats out?
Dapo Akande, Marko Milanovic, Sarah Nouwen and Philippa Webb are joined by Gian Luca Burci, former Legal Counsel of the World Health Organization, to discuss international health law and pandemics. They discuss the obligations arising under the WHO's International Health Regulati ... Show More
39m 43s