In this episode of No Stupid Questions — a Freakonomics Radio Network show launched earlier this year — Stephen Dubner and Angela Duckworth debate why we watch, read, and eat familiar things during a crisis, and if it might in fact be better to try new things instead. Also: is a little knowledge truly as dangerous as they say?
Jul 17
Are You Really Allergic to Penicillin? (Update)
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
1h 5m
Jul 14
How a Great Architect Thinks, with Bjarke Ingels | Better in Person
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
43m 27s
Jul 9
681. How to Host a Talk Show, with Dick Cavett
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
43m 27s
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
Jul 2023
Asking the Dumb Questions
<p>The girlies get down to business and confront the questions society is too scared to ask: are mosquitoes tiny terrorists? Should I be getting preventative rabies shots? WHAT IS GLASS?? And so, so much more. This episode involves minimal reseach, maximum questioning, and radica ... Show More
1h 15m
May 2022
ReThinking: Is Emotional Intelligence Really So Important? | No Stupid Questions
Today, something a little different. We're sharing an episode of No Stupid Questions, a podcast about human behavior hosted by Adam’s colleague and friend Angela Duckworth—a worldwide expert on grit—and Stephen Dubner, host of Freakonomics Radio. In this episode, Angela and Steph ... Show More
33m 28s
<p>Also: why can't humans handle uncertainty already?</p><p>We’re replaying No Stupid Questions, starting here with the very first episode, from May 17, 2020.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for infor ... Show More
