EXTRA: People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is Hard. (Update)
14 July 2024 - 53 minsYou wouldn’t think you could win a Nobel Prize for showing that humans tend to make irrational decisions. But that’s what Richard Thaler has done. In an interview from 2018, the founder of behavioral economics describes his unlikely route to success; his reputation for being lazy; and his efforts to fix the world — one nudge at a time.
SOURCES:Richard Thaler, professor of behavioral science and economics at the University of Chicago.
RESOURCES:“Behavioral Economics,” by Richard Thaler (The Past, Present, and Future of Economics: A Celebration of the 125-Year Anniversary of the JPE and of Chicago Economics, December 2017).Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics, by Richard Thale...
Series Episodes
694. Does Democracy Really Need Elections?
Stephen Dubner recently served on a criminal jury. Twelve strangers — selected randomly and barely paid — took the job seriously. Afterward, he wondered: why can’t our politics work that way? A growing movement, inspired by Athenian democracy, says it can.
1 hour 4 mins
6 November Finished
What Now? with Trevor Noah | Michael Che: The Unspoken Rules of Comedy
SNL writer and Weekend Update anchor Michael Che joins Trevor and Eugene in this episode preview. Watch What Now? with Trevor Noah on Youtube or tune-in anywhere you listen to podcasts.
10 mins
4 November Finished
693. What’s Our Job as Humans Anymore?
It may just be being human. Stephen Dubner interviews A.I. performer Tilly Norwood to find out if we are as replaceable as we fear. (Part two of a two-part series.)
57 mins
30 October Finished
692. What Will A.I. Do to (and for) Human Creativity?
Writers, designers, actors, coders, musicians, thinkers — they’re all worried about being replaced by machines. But what if the A.I.s are actually here to help? (Part one of a two-part series.)
59 mins
23 October Finished
Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy? (Update)
They say they make companies more efficient through savvy management. Critics say they bend the rules to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers and employees. Can they both be right? (Probably not.)
48 mins
20 October Finished
691. Is This What a “Good Billionaire” Looks Like?
David Rubenstein, a product of the old bipartisan D.C., made his fortune in private equity. He’s been spending it on “patriotic philanthropy” and institutions like the Kennedy Center, where Trump fired him as chairman. Now he wonders if the center can hold.
43 mins
16 October Finished
