Is It a Theater Piece or a Psychological Expe...

... 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

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

Are things really as bad as they seem? Has Gen Z given up hope for the world? And why was the father of positive psychology a lifelong pessimist?

Also: are the most memorable stories less likely to be true? Stephen Dubner chats with Angela Duckworth in this classic episode from July 2020.

Do you see yourself the same way others see you? What’s the difference between self-perception and self-awareness? And why do Mike and Angela both hate fishing?

What makes ordinary people do evil things? It was a question that long fascinated the psychologist Philip Zimbardo, who died in October. Zimbardo was best known for the controversial Stanford prison experiment, in which he created a simulated prison in the basement of a univer ...