logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2020
39m 29s

3. Kerwin Charles: “One Does Not Know Wh...

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode
The dean of Yale’s School of Management grew up in a small village in Guyana. During his unlikely journey, he has researched video-gaming habits, communicable disease, and why so many African-Americans haven’t had the kind of success he’s had. Steve Levitt talks to Charles about his parents’ encouragement, his love of Sports Illustrated, and how he talks to ... Show More
Up next
Sep 12
39. Aicha Evans Wants You to Take Your Eyes Off the Road
She’s the C.E.O. of Zoox, an autonomous vehicle company. Steve asks Aicha about the big promises the A.V. industry hasn’t yet delivered — and the radical bet Zoox is making on a driverless future. Plus, Steve wants to know how she’s maintained her spark. This episode originally a ... Show More
48m 34s
Sep 5
38. Sendhil Mullainathan Explains How to Generate an Idea a Minute (Part 2)
Steve continues his conversation with his good friend, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, and fellow University of Chicago economist. Sendhil breaks down the hypothesis of his book Scarcity, explains why machines aren’t competition for human intelligence, and tells Steve why it’ ... Show More
36m 54s
Aug 29
37. Sendhil Mullainathan Thinks Messing Around Is the Best Use of Your Time
He’s a professor of computation and behavioral science at the University of Chicago, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, and author. Steve and Sendhil laugh their way through a conversation about the importance of play, the benefits of change, and why we remember so little about ... Show More
50m 31s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2020
“One Does Not Know Where an Insight Will Come From” | People I (Mostly) Admire: Kerwin Charles
<p>The dean of Yale’s School of Management grew up in a small village in Guyana. During his unlikely journey, he has researched video-gaming habits, communicable disease, and why so many African-Americans haven’t had the kind of success he’s had. Steve Levitt talks to Charles abo ... Show More
39m 29s
May 2022
Steven Bartlett
Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast tops the charts most weeks. But he rarely goes on other people’s podcasts. Making an exception for Tony he steps into the ring to chat all things anger. We hear about life growing up as the only black kid in a white area of Plymouth, racis ... Show More
56m 17s
Sep 2022
514. Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America
<p>The controversial Harvard economist, recently back from a suspension, “broke a lot of glass early in my career,” he says. His research on school incentives and police brutality won him acclaim — but also enemies. Now he’s taking a hard look at corporate diversity programs. The ... Show More
59m 54s
Oct 2020
You Used to Smile
<p>The smart, opinionated, funny women who raised Saeed Jones—his mother and his grandmother—had a profound influence on his identity. But it was the things they couldn’t talk about that echoed the loudest with Saeed as he began to navigate adulthood, trying to figure out where h ... Show More
42m 1s
Nov 1965
Contemporary Racial Moods
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Robert Gardiner discusses the issues of race in his Reith series entitled 'A World of Peoples'. Born in Ghana, he has worked as the Head of the Ghana Civil Service, is a former Deputy Executive Secretary for ... Show More
29m 37s
Feb 2021
Side Effects of Black Power (with Charles M. Blow)
This week, we speak to author, New York Times columnist, and revolutionary thinker Charles M. Blow about his new book The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto and the pragmatic ways to empower Black folks in America.Watch “Views from AmandaLand” Wed 10a EST at Youtube.com/Aman ... Show More
1h 16m
Nov 2022
Notes from America: 'Blackness (Un)interrupted'
So many of our perceptions of race have to do with color. How does that change if you've lived in both Black and white skin? Our Executive Producer Veralyn Williams, explores this question in conversation with her sister, Lovis. Lovis has vitiligo, a skin disease that causes loss ... Show More
29m 45s
Oct 2020
Blaxit
Why stay where you’re not wanted? Some Black Americans are thinking about moving abroad to escape centuries of racial oppression and marginalization. Historian Kevin Gaines shares the long history behind this phenomenon. Don also speaks with author Tiffanie Drayton about her move ... Show More
34m 59s
Feb 2025
How little experiments can lead to big success | Emmanuel Acho and David Epstein
Are your goals and resolutions actually holding you back from becoming your best self? Emmanuel Acho — a former NFL player, now an author and TV sports analyst — sits down with investigative reporter David Epstein to explore why goal-setting often backfires. They dive into how le ... Show More
53m 45s