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Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior.

To get every show in the Freakonomics Radio Network without ads and a monthly bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio, start a free trial for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Freakonomics Radio

For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine. Whale meat was also on a few menus. But today, demand for whale products is at a historic low. And yet some countries still have a whaling industry. We find out why. (Part 2 of “Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.”)

 

SOURCES:Jay Alabaster • , doctoral student at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.
Bjorn Basberg • , professor emeritus of economic history at the Norwegian School of Economics.
Eric Hilt • , professor of economics at Wellesley College.
Kate O’Connell • , senior policy consultant for the marine life program at the Animal Welfare Institute.
Paul Watson • , environmental activist and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

 

RESOURCES: • “
The Soviet Union Killed an Appalling Number of Whales. I Wanted to Know Why • ,” by Ryan Tucker Jones (
Slate, • 2022).
 • “
Behind the Smile: The Multi-Billion Dollar Dolphin Entertainment Industry • ,” by World Animal Protection (2019).
 • “
Japan to Resume Commercial Whaling, Defying International Ban • ,” by Daniel Victor (
The New York Times, • 2018).
 • “
Why Is There Not More Outrage About Japan’s Barbaric Practice of Whaling? • ” by Boris Johnson (
The Telegraph, • 2018).
 • “
Margarine Once Contained a Whole Lot More Whale • ,” by Sarah Laskow (
Gastro Obscura, • 2017).
 • “
3 Million Whales Were Killed in the 20th Century: Report • ,” (
N.B.C. News, • 2015).
 • “
The Spectacular Rise and Fall of U.S. Whaling: An Innovation Story • ,” by Derek Thompson (
The Atlantic, • 2012).
In Pursuit of Leviathan: Technology, Institutions, Productivity, and Profits in American Whaling, 1816-1906 • , by Lance E. Davis, Robert E. Gallman, and Karin Gleiter (1997).
 • “
Norway Is Planning to Resume Whaling Despite World Ban • ,” by Craig R. Whitney (
The New York Times, • 1992).

 

EXTRAS: • “
The First Great American Industry • ,” by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2023).

Why Do People Still Hunt Whales? (Update)

Whaling was, in the words of one scholar, “early capitalism unleashed on the high seas.” How did the U.S. come to dominate the whale market? Why did whale hunting die out here — and continue to grow elsewhere? And is that whale vomit in your perfume? (Part 1 of “Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.”)

 

SOURCES:Eric Hilt • , professor of economics at Wellesley College.
Nathaniel Philbrick • , writer and historian.
Paul Watson • , environmental activist and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

 

RESOURCES: • “
Calls From the Deep: Do We Need to Save the Whales All Over Again? • ” by Sophy Grimshaw (
The Guardian, • 2020).
 • “
The Very Small World of V.C. • ,” by Avi Asher-Schapiro (
The New Republic, • 2019).
 • “
How Nantucket Came to Be the Whaling Capital of the World • ,” by Nathaniel Philbrick (
Smithsonian Magazine, • 2015).
 • “
Fin-tech • ,” (
The Economist, • 2015).
 • “
The Spectacular Rise and Fall of U.S. Whaling: An Innovation Story • ,” by Derek Thompson (
The Atlantic, • 2012).
Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, • by Eric Jay Dolin (2007).
 • “
Incentives in Corporations: Evidence from the American Whaling Industry • ,” by Eric Hilt (
NBER Working Papers, • 2004).
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, • by Nathaniel Philbrick (2000).
 • “
Productivity in American Whaling: The new Bedford Fleet in the Nineteenth Century • ,” by Lance Davis, Robert Galiman, and Teresa Hutchins (
NBER Working Paper, • 1987).

 

EXTRAS: • “
Is Venture Capital the Secret Sauce of the American Economy? • ” by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2021).
 • “
Is the Future of Farming in the Ocean? • ” by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2021).

The First Great American Industry (Update)

It’s a haphazard way of paying workers, and yet it keeps expanding. With federal tax policy shifting in a pro-tip direction, we revisit an episode from 2019 to find out why.

 

SOURCES:John List • , economist at the University of Chicago.
Michael Lynn • , professor of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.
Uri Gneezy • , economist at the University of California, San Diego’s Rady School of Management.
Danny Meyer • , founder of Union Square Hospitality Group, and founder and chairman of the board of Shake Shack.

 

RESOURCES: • "
How ‘No Tax on Tips’ Will Affect Waiters, Drivers and Diners • ," by Julia Moskin 
(New York Times, • 2025).
 • “
The Drivers of Social Preferences: Evidence from a Nationwide Tipping Field Experiment • ,” by Bharat Chandar, Uri Gneezy, John List, and Ian Muir (
The • 
National Bureau of Economic Research • , 2019).
 • “
Design and Analysis of Cluster-Randomized Field Experiments in Panel Data Settings • ,” by Bharat Chandar, Ali Hortacsu, John List, Ian Muir, and Jeffrey Wooldridge (
The National Bureau of Economic Research, • 2019)
. • “
The Effects of Tipping on Consumers’ Satisfaction with Restaurants • ,” by Michael Lynn (
The Journal of Consumer Affairs • , 2018).
 • “
The Importance of Being Marginal: Gender Differences in Generosity • ,” Stefano DellaVigna, John List, Ulrike Malmendier, and Gautam Rao (
The • 
American Economic Review • , 2013).
 • “
Restaurant Tipping and Service Quality: A Tenuous Relationship • ,” by Michael Lynn (
The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly • , 2001).

 

EXTRAS: • “
The No-Tipping Point • ,” by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2016).
 • “
Should Tipping Be Banned? • ” by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2013).

Why Does Tipping Still Exist? (Update)

They should have died out when the lightbulb was invented. Instead they’re a $10 billion industry. What does it mean that we still want tiny fires inside our homes?

 

SOURCES:Tim Cooper • , professor emeritus of sustainable design and consumption at Nottingham Trent University.
Gökçe Günel • , professor of anthropology at Rice University.
Steve Horenziak • , president of the National Candle Association.
Meik Wiking • , Danish happiness researcher, C.E.O. of the Happiness Research Institute.

 

RESOURCES: • "
The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy • ," by Markus Krajewski 
(IEEE Spectrum, • 2024).
 • "
The Obsolescence Issue • ," edited by Townsend Middleton, Gökçe Günel, and Ashley Carse 
(Limn, • 2024).
More and More and More, • by Jean-Baptiste Fressoz (2024).
 • "
What Yankee Candle reviews can tell us about COVID • ," by Manuela López Restrepo, Christopher Intagliata, Ailsa Chang, and Sacha Pfeiffer 
(NPR, • 2022).
Spaceship in the Desert, • by Gökçe Günel (2019).
 • "
The Birth of Planned Obsolescence • ," by Livia Gershon 
(JSTOR Daily, • 2017).
 • "
Beeswax for the Ages • ," by G. Jeffrey MacDonald 
(The Living Church, • 2016).
The Waste Makers, • by Vance Packard (2011).

 

EXTRAS: • "
Why Do People Still Hunt Whales? • " by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2023).
 • "
How to Be Happy • ," by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2018).

643. Why Do Candles Still Exist?

The former secretary of state isn’t a flamethrower, but he certainly has strong opinions. In this wide-ranging conversation with Stephen Dubner, he gives them all: on Israel, Gaza, China, Iran, Russia, Biden, Trump — and the rest of the world.

 

SOURCES:Antony Blinken • , former Secretary of State.

 

RESOURCES: • "
Evaluating the impact of two decades of USAID interventions and projecting the effects of defunding on mortality up to 2030: a retrospective impact evaluation and forecasting analysis • ," by Daniella Cavalcanti, Lucas de Oliveira Ferreira de Sales, Andrea Ferreira da Silva, Elisa Basterra, Daiana Pena, Caterina Monti, Gonzalo Barreix, Natanael Silva, Paula Vaz, Francisco Saute, Gonzalo Fanjul, Quique Bassat, Denise Naniche, James Macinko, and Davide Rasella 
(The Lancet, • 2025).
 • "
What Bombs Can’t Do in Iran • ," by Karim Sadjadpour 
(New York Times, • 2025).
 • "
A New Palestinian Offer for Peace With Israel • ," by Elliot Kaufman 
(Wall Street Journal, • 2025).
 • "
America’s Strategy of Renewal • ," by Antony Blinken 
(Foreign Affairs, • 2024).

642. How to Wage Peace, According to Tony Blinken

Until recently, Delaware was almost universally agreed to be the best place for companies to incorporate. Now, with Elon Musk leading a corporate stampede out of the First State, we revisit an episode from 2023 that asked if Delaware’s “franchise” is wildly corrupt, wildly efficient … or both?

 

SOURCES:John Cassara • , retired Special Agent detailee to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Terrorism Finance and Financial Intelligence.
Doneene Damon • , director with Richards, Layton, and Finger.
Travis Laster • , Vice Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Dan Nielson • , professor of government at the University of Texas.
Hal Weitzman • , professor of behavioral science, editor-in-chief of 
Chicago Booth Review, • and executive director for intellectual capital at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

 

RESOURCES: • “
A Silicon Valley Giant Calls for a Delaware Exodus • ,” by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bernhard Warner, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced, and Danielle Kaye (
New York Times, • 2025).
 • "
Financial Secrecy Index • ," by Tax Justice Network (2025).
 • "
Annual Report Statistics • ," by Delaware Division of Corporations (2023).
What’s the Matter with Delaware? How the First State Has Favored the Rich, Powerful, and Criminal — and How It Costs Us All, • by Hal Weitzman (2022).
Global Shell Games: Experiments in Transnational Relations, Crime, and Terrorism, • by Michael G. Findley, Daniel L. Nielson, and J. C. Sharman (2014).
 • "
The FATF Recommendations • ," by the Financial Action Task Force (2012).

 

EXTRAS: • "
Will the Democrats 'Make America Great Again'? • " by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2023).

Why Does One Tiny State Set the Rules for Everyone? (Update)

For years, the playwright David Adjmi was considered “polarizing and difficult.” But creating Stereophonic seems to have healed him. Stephen Dubner gets the story — and sorts out what Adjmi has in common with Richard Wagner.

 

SOURCES:David Adjmi • , author and playwright.

 

RESOURCES: • "
The West End is enjoying a theatre revival. Can Broadway keep up? • " by Daniel Thomas 
(Financial Times, • 2025).
Lot Six: A Memoir, • by David Adjmi (2020).
Stereophonic, • (2023).

 

EXTRAS: • "
How Is Live Theater Still Alive? • " by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2025).
 • "
How to Make the Coolest Show on Broadway • ," by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2024).

641. What Does It Cost to Lead a Creative Life?

The Gulf States and China are spending billions to build stadiums and buy up teams — but what are they really buying? And can an entrepreneur from Cincinnati make his own billions by bringing baseball to Dubai?

 

SOURCES:Simon Chadwick • , professor of afroeurasian sport at Emlyon Business School.
Derek Fisher • , high school basketball coach, former N.B.A. coach and player.
Kash Shaikh • , chairman, C.E.O., and co-founder of Baseball United.
Rory Smith • , football correspondent at The Observer.

 

RESOURCES: • "
China Keeps Building Stadiums in Africa. But at What Cost? • " by Elian Peltier 
(New York Times, • 2024).
 • "
Manchester Off-Shored: A Public Interest Report on the Manchester Life Partnership Between Manchester City Council + The Abu Dhabi United Group • ," by Richard Goulding, Adam Leaver, and Jonathan Silver 
(Centripetal Cities, • 2022).
 • "
Manchester City's Cozy Ties to Abu Dhabi: Sponsorship Money – Paid for by the State • ," by Rafael Buschmann, Nicola Naber, and Christoph Winterbach 
(Spiegel International, • 2022).
 • "
China Renews Its ‘Belt and Road’ Push for Global Sway • ," by Keith Bradsher 
(New York Times, • 2020).

 

EXTRAS: • "
What Is Sportswashing — and Does It Work? (Update) • ," by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2024).

640. Why Governments Are Betting Big on Sports

Before she decided to become a poker pro, Maria Konnikova didn’t know how many cards are in a deck. But she did have a Ph.D. in psychology, a brilliant coach, and a burning desire to know whether life is driven more by skill or chance. She found some answers in poker — and she’s willing to tell us everything she learned.

 

SOURCES:Maria Konnikova • , author of 
The Biggest Bluff.
 

RESOURCES: • “
Gender Differences in Performance Predictions: Evidence from the Cognitive Reflection Test • ,” by Patrick Ring, Levent Neyse, Tamas David-Barett, and Ulrich Schmidt (
Frontiers in Psychology, • 2016).
 • “
The headwinds/tailwinds Asymmetry: An Availability Bias in Assessments of Barriers and Blessings • ,” by Shai Davidai and Thomas Gilovich (
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, • 2016).
 • “
The Two Settings of Kind and Wicked Learning Environments • ,” by Robin M. Hogarth, Tomás Lejarraga, and Emre Soyer (
Current Directions in Psychological Science, • 2015).
 • "
The Limits of Self-Control: Self-Control, Illusory Control, and Risky Financial Decision Making • ,” by Maria Konnikova (
Columbia University, • 2013).
 • “
Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement • ” by J.B. Rotter (
Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, • 1966).

 

EXTRAS:The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win, • by Maria Konnikova.
Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, • by Maria Konnikova.
The Confidence Game, • by Maria Konnikova.
Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, • by John Von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern.
 • "
This Year’s World Series Of Poker Is Different • ," by 
Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova • (2025).

How to Make Your Own Luck (Update)

Cory Booker on the politics of fear, the politics of hope, and how to split the difference.

 

 • SOURCES:
Cory Booker • , senior United States Senator from New Jersey.

 

 • RESOURCES:
 • "
'When Are More Americans Going to Speak Up? • '" by 
The New Yorker Radio Hour • (2025).
 • "
Cory Booker’s Marathon Floor Speech • ," (2025).
 • "
Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show • ," by Georgia Wells, Jeff Horwitz, and Deepa Seetharaman 
(Wall Street Journal, • 2021).
 • "
Tucked Into the Tax Bill, a Plan to Help Distressed America • ," by Jim Tankersley 
(New York Times, • 2018).
United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good, • by Cory Booker (2017).
 • "
But What Did Cory Booker Actually Accomplish in Newark? • " by J.B. Wogan 
(Governing, • 2013).

 

 • EXTRAS:
 • "
Ten Myths About the U.S. Tax System • ," by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2025).
 • "
The United States of Cory Booker • ," by 
Freakonomics Radio • (2016).

639. “This Country Kicks My Ass All the Time”

People who are good at their jobs routinely get promoted into bigger jobs they’re bad at. We explain why firms keep producing incompetent managers — and why that’s unlikely to change.

Why Are There So Many Bad Bosses?

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