logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2017
43m 6s

300. Why Don’t We All Speak the Same Lan...

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode
There are 7,000 languages spoken on Earth. What are the costs — and benefits — of our modern-day Tower of Babel? 
Up next
Mar 4
The Most Powerful People You’ve Never Heard Of (Update)
Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. In this updated episode from 2025, journalists Javier Blas and Jack Farchy help us shine a light on the shadowy realm of c ... Show More
1h 6m
Feb 27
665. Werner Herzog Isn’t Afraid ...
... of bad reviews, meager financing, or artificial intelligence. But he is worried that the world is full of sloppy thinkers who mistake facts for the truth. SOURCES: Werner Herzog, writer, filmmaker, and actor. RESOURCES: The Future of Truth, by Werner Herzog (2025). Every Man ... Show More
49m 8s
Feb 20
664. Are Thousands of Medical Cures Hiding in Plain Sight?
Existing drugs can sometimes be repurposed to treat rare diseases. But making that match can be hard — and the financial incentives are weak. Guest host Steve Levitt tries to solve the puzzle. SOURCES: Chris Snyder, professor of economics at Dartmouth College. David Fajgenbaum, c ... Show More
51m 45s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2017
The Tower of Babel
<p>An ancient people build a tower to touch the heavens. A vengeful god disrupts the project through the splintering of human language. Everyone’s left to pick up the pieces. The Tower of Babel myth resonates out from the Mesopotamian cradle of civilization, but what does it mean ... Show More
1h 22m
Aug 2019
Vol 2 Ep 28 - Indo-European languages
7000 BCE onwards - Proto-Indo-Europeans are believed to have spoken a language ancestral to over four hundred languages of the modern world.  Why do we believe this when there is no firm evidence of a Proto-Indo-European language though? 
37m 28s
Dec 2023
What's it like to be bilingual?
<p>Almost half the people in the world speak at least two languages. And, it turns out, that includes a lot of <em>But Why</em> listeners! In this episode we talk about what it’s like to speak multiple languages and kids from around the world share phrases in many different langu ... Show More
34m 57s
Jun 2023
ORIGINS | The Tower of Babel | Ray Galea with Bart Heiligenberg
What's the link between language and culture? And how can we love one another better by understanding the two? Pastor Ray and Bart discuss the implications of Genesis 11 and the story of the Tower of Babel. 
27m 45s
Nov 2023
Café Brasil 899 - A Torre de Babel
<p>A Torre de Babel é um modelo clássico de orgulho humano e retribuição divina, arrogância escrita em pedra e depois um agente de divisão e incompreensão que vai muito além da mitologia. Ela enfatiza a crença de que Deus pode castigar a arrogância e a busca de poder. É uma das h ... Show More
35m 32s
Nov 2017
Where did language come from?
<p>Where did language come from? Is it possible to know without traveling back in time? And how do babies learn to speak? Plus: We’ll hear how the word “silly” has evolved over the last several hundred years.</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/list ... Show More
29m 13s
Dec 2018
How language shapes the way we think | Lera Boroditsky
There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world -- and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky shares examples of language -- from an Aboriginal community in Australia that uses c ... Show More
14m 17s
Apr 2015
The Tower of Babel
Today's digital world is a reverse tower of Babel. It takes all sorts of different languages to build it. It is this phenomenon that Aleks Krotoski explores in this final edition. 
13m 54s