EXTRA: People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is Hard....

One possibility: a leading hypothesis pursued by researchers (and funders) was built on science that now appears to be fraudulent. Stephen Dubner speaks with the scientist and the journalist who blew the whistle. SOURCES: Charles Piller, investigative journalist for Science, auth ...  Show more

How do beekeepers make a living? Why is there so much honey fraud? And why did billions of bees suddenly disappear? To find out, guest host Steve Levitt activates his hive mind. SOURCES: Alex Sapoznik, historian, reader in late medieval history at King’s College London. Chris Hia ...  Show more

We make a countless number of decisions every day – but unfortunately, we often choose unwisely. Behavioral economist Richard Thaler has dedicated his life's work to understanding why that is. In 2017, Thaler received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for ...

Revisiting Steve’s 2021 conversation with the economist and MacArthur “genius” about how to make memories stickier, why change is undervalued, and how to find something new to say on the subject of scarcity.

Why do some nations flourish while others remain trapped in poverty? This year’s Nobel Prize in Economics goes to three economists whose groundbreaking work explores this question. Join us as we dive into the theories and insights of Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Ro ...  Show more

Stefanie Stantcheva’s approach seemed like career suicide. In fact, it won her the John Bates Clark Medal. She talks to fellow winner Steve Levitt about why she uses methods that most of the profession dismisses — and what she’s found that can’t be learned any other way.