602. Is Screen Time as Poisonous as We Think?
12 September - 40 minsYoung people have been reporting a sharp rise in anxiety and depression. This maps neatly onto the global rise of the smartphone. Some researchers are convinced that one is causing the other. But how strong is the evidence?
SOURCES:David Blanchflower, professor of economics at Dartmouth College.Lauren Oyler, novelist and cultural critic.Andrew Przybylski, professor of human behavior and technology at the University of Oxford.
RESOURCES:"The Declining Mental Health Of The Young And The Global Disappearance Of The Hump Shape In Age In Unhappiness," by David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, and Xiaowei Xu (NBER Working Paper, 2024)."Further Evidence on the Global Decline in the Mental Health...
EXTRA: In Praise of Maintenance (Update)
We revisit an episode from 2016 that asks: Has our culture’s obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact that things also need to be taken care of?
42 mins
16 September Finished
601. Multitasking Doesn’t Work. So Why Do We Keep Trying?
Only a tiny number of “supertaskers” are capable of doing two things at once. The rest of us are just making ourselves miserable, and less productive. How can we put the — hang on a second, I've just got to get this. Come see Stephen Dubner live! “A Questionable Evening: A strategic interrogation from two people who ask questions for a living,” featuring Stephen Dubner and PJ Vogt from Search Engine. Thursday, Sept. 26th, at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-questionable-evening-evening-with-stephen-dubner-and-pj-vogt-tickets-1002544747327
58 mins
5 September Finished
What Is the Future of College — and Does It Have Room for Men? (Update)
Educators and economists tell us all the reasons college enrollment has been dropping, especially for men, and how to stop the bleeding. (Part 3 of our series from 2022, “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”)
49 mins
29 August Finished
EXTRA: Why Quitting Is Usually Worth It
Stephen Dubner appears as a guest on "Fail Better," a new podcast hosted by David Duchovny. The two of them trade stories about failure, and ponder the lessons that success could never teach.
40 mins
26 August Finished
The University of Impossible-to-Get-Into (Update)
America’s top colleges are facing record demand. So why don’t they increase supply? (Part 2 of our series from 2022, “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”)
1 hour 11 mins
22 August Finished