676. Has America Lost the Plot?

Another war in the Middle East. A retreat from the international order. A presidency built on self-dealing and arbitrary power. It’s enough to make you think the U.S. is in a steep decline — but Fareed Zakaria thinks otherwise.   SOURCES: Fareed Zakaria, journalist and author.   RESOURCES: "Iran is an imperial trap. America walked right in." by Fareed Zakaria (The Washington Post, 2026). "‘Bomb and hope’ is not a strategy," by Fareed Zakaria (The Washington Post, 2026). Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present, by Fareed Zakaria (2024). The Accidental Superpower: The Next Generation of American Preeminence and the Coming Global Disorder, by Peter Zeihan (2014). The Affluent Society, by Jonathan Galbraith (1958).   EXTRAS:  "Fareed Zakaria on What Just Happened, and What Comes Next," by Freakonomics Radio (2024). "Are We Living Through the Most Revolutionary Period in History?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024). "The Folly of Prediction," by Freakonomics Radio (2011). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In his final years, Richard Feynman's curiosity took him to some surprising places. We hear from his companions on the trips he took — and one he wasn’t able to. (Part three of a three-part series originally published in 2024.)    SOURCES:  Alan Alda, actor and screenwriter. Barbara Berg, friend of Richard Feynman. Helen Czerski, physicist and oceanographer at University College London. Michelle Feynman, photographer and daughter of Richard Feynman. Cheryl Haley, friend of Richard Feynman. Debby Harlow, friend of Richard Feynman. Ralph Leighton, biographer and film producer. Charles Mann, science journalist and author. John Preskill, professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology. Lisa Randall, professor of theoretical particle physics and cosmology at Harvard University. Christopher Sykes, documentary filmmaker. Stephen Wolfram, founder and C.E.O. of Wolfram Research; creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the Wolfram Language.   RESOURCES:  I Love My Wife..., directed by Ian Tierney (2020). Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science, by Lawrence M. Krauss (2011). Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track: Selected Letters of Richard P. Feynman, edited by Michelle Feynman (2005). The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, by Richard Feynman (1999). The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan (1995). Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, by James Gleick (1992). The Quest for Tannu Tuva, by Christopher Sykes (1988) “What Do You Care What Other People Think?” by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1988). The Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Twentieth-century Physics, by Robert Crease and Charles Mann (1986). Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1985). Fun to Imagine, BBC docuseries (1983).   EXTRAS:  “The Curious, Brilliant, Vanishing Mr. Feynman,” series by Freakonomics Radio (2024). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when an existentially depressed and recently widowed young physicist from Queens gets a fresh start in California? We follow Richard Feynman out west, to explore his long and extremely fruitful second act. (Part two of a three-part series originally published in 2024.)   SOURCES: Seamus Blackley, video game designer and creator of the Xbox. Carl Feynman, computer scientist and son of Richard Feynman. Michelle Feynman, photographer and daughter of Richard Feynman. Ralph Leighton, biographer and film producer. Charles Mann, science journalist and author. John Preskill, professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology. Lisa Randall, professor of theoretical particle physics and cosmology at Harvard University. Christopher Sykes, documentary filmmaker. Stephen Wolfram, founder and C.E.O. of Wolfram Research; creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the Wolfram Language. Alan Zorthian, architect.   RESOURCES: "Love After Life: Nobel-Winning Physicist Richard Feynman’s Extraordinary Letter to His Departed Wife," by Maria Popova (The Marginalian, 2017). Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science, by Lawrence M. Krauss (2011). The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, by Richard Feynman (1999). Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, by James Gleick (1992). "G. Feynman; Landscape Expert, Physicist’s Widow," (Los Angeles Times, 1990). "Nobel Physicist R. P. Feynman of Caltech Dies," by Lee Dye (Los Angeles Times, 1988). The Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Twentieth-century Physics, by Robert Crease and Charles Mann (1986). Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1985). Fun to Imagine, BBC docuseries (1983). "Richard P. Feynman: Nobel Prize Winner," by Tim Hendrickson, Stuart Galley, and Fred Lamb (Engineering and Science, 1965). F.B.I. files on Richard Feynman.   EXTRAS: "The Curious Mr. Feynman," by Freakonomics Radio (2024). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From the Manhattan Project to the Challenger investigation, the physicist Richard Feynman loved to shoot down what he called “lousy ideas.” Today, the world is awash in lousy ideas — so maybe it’s time to get some more Feynman in our lives? (Part one of a three-part series originally published in 2024.)   SOURCES: Helen Czerski, physicist and oceanographer at University College London. Michelle Feynman, photographer and daughter of Richard Feynman. Ralph Leighton, biographer and film producer. Charles Mann, science journalist and author. John Preskill, professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology. Stephen Wolfram, founder and C.E.O. of Wolfram Research; creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the Wolfram Language.   RESOURCES: "How Legendary Physicist Richard Feynman Helped Crack the Case on the Challenger Disaster," by Kevin Cook (Literary Hub, 2021). Challenger: The Final Flight, docuseries (2020). Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track: Selected Letters of Richard P. Feynman, edited by Michelle Feynman (2005). The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, by Richard Feynman (1999). Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, by James Gleick (1992). “What Do You Care What Other People Think?” by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1988). "Mr. Feynman Goes to Washington," by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (Engineering & Science, 1987). The Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Twentieth-century Physics, by Robert Crease and Charles Mann (1986). Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1985). "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out," (Horizon S18.E9, 1981). "Los Alamos From Below," by Richard Feynman (UC Santa Barbara lecture, 1975).   EXTRAS: "Exploring Physics, from Eggshells to Oceans," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Not exactly. But their runaway success with games like Wordle says something bigger about the way we live now. (Part one of a series, “We Are All Gamers Now.”)   SOURCES: Alex Hardiman, chief product officer at The New York Times. Jonathan Knight, S.V.P. and general manager for New York Times Games. Eric Zimmerman, game designer, professor of game design at the N.Y.U. Game Center.   RESOURCES: "Wordle Is a Love Story," by Daniel Victor (New York Times, 2022). The Rules We Break: Lessons in Play, Thinking, and Design, by Eric Zimmerman (2022). Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can't Live Without Them, by Adrienne Raphel (2020). The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia, by Bernard Suits (2005). Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, by Katie Salen Tekinbas and Eric Zimmerman (2003). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Great. Then depressed. Then great again. Stephen Dubner gets the full story from David Lang; we also hear from some fans, and the New York Philharmonic’s president. The math and the aftermath of wealth of nations. (Part two of a series.)   SOURCES: David Lang, composer and professor at the Yale School of Music. Matías Tarnopolsky, president and C.E.O. of the New York Philharmonic.   RESOURCES: "Finally, an Opera About Economics," by Stacey Vanek Smith (Bloomberg, 2026). "The Little Match Girl Passion," by David Lang (2023). The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith (1776).   EXTRAS: "David Lang’s the wealth of nations," series by Freakonomics Radio (2026). "In Search of the Real Adam Smith," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Economists and politicians have turned him into a mascot for free-market ideology. Some on the left say the right has badly misread him. In this updated replay of a 2022 episode, we hold a very Smithy tug of war.   SOURCES: Eamonn Butler, co-founder and director of the Adam Smith Institute. Glory Liu, a political scientist and Adam Smith scholar at Georgetown University. Mariana Mazzucato, professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London. Dennis Rasmussen, a professor of political science at Syracuse University. Russ Roberts, president of Shalem College in in Jerusalem; host of the EconTalk podcast; and author. Craig Smith, Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in the Scottish Enlightenment at the University of Glasgow.   RESOURCES: Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism, by Gloria Liu (2022). "Henry and Adam: A Deep and Special Friendship," by Benny Higgins (Adam Smith Panmure House Perspective, 2020). "Rescuing Adam Smith From Myth and Misrepresentation," (The Economist, 2018). The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought, by Dennis C. Rasmussen (2017). How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness, by Russ Roberts (2014). "British Privatization — Taking Capitalism to the People," by John Moore (Harvard Business Review, 1992). Free to Choose: A Personal Statement, by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman (1990). The Essential Adam Smith, edited by Robert L. Heilbroner (1986). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith (1776). The Theory of Moral Sentiments, by Adam Smith (1759).   EXTRAS: "In Search of the Real Adam Smith," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

That’s what the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang wanted to learn. So he turned Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations into an oratorio. We tag along as Lang’s piece heads toward its world premiere with the New York Philharmonic. (Part one of a two-part series.)   SOURCES: Fleur Barron, opera singer and mezzo-soprano. David Lang, composer and professor at the Yale School of Music.   RESOURCES: "Finally, an Opera About Economics," by Stacey Vanek Smith (Bloomberg, 2026). "The Little Match Girl Passion," by David Lang (2023). The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith (1776).   EXTRAS: "In Search of the Real Adam Smith," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Epic Systems manages the electronic health records for hundreds of millions of people. This makes Faulkner a healthcare heavyweight and one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in history. So why haven’t we ever heard much from her? Stephen Dubner travels to Verona, Wisc., to explore the Faulknerverse.   SOURCES: Judy Faulkner, C.E.O. and founder of Epic Systems. Seth Howard, executive vice president of research and development at Epic Systems.   RESOURCES: "Epic Systems (MyChart)," by Acquired (2025). "Federal antitrust lawsuit against Wisconsin-based Epic Systems will move forward," by Joe Schulz (Wisconsin Public Radio, 2025). "Bill Gates meets Willy Wonka: How Epic’s 82-year-old billionaire CEO, Judy Faulkner, built her software factory," by Ashley Capoot (CNBC, 2025). "Epic: The Future of Health Information Technology," by Regina Herzlinger and Brian Walker (Harvard Business School, 2024).   EXTRAS: "Can A.I. Save Your Life?" by Freakonomics Radio (2026). "How to Fix the Hot Mess of U.S. Healthcare," by Freakonomics Radio (2021). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

New York City’s mayor called them “public enemy number one.” History books say they caused the Black Death — although recent scientific evidence disputes that claim. In an updated episode from 2025, we ask: Is the rat a scapegoat? And what does our rat hatred say about us?   SOURCES: Bethany Brookshire, author of Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. Kathy Corradi, senior vice president of resident services, partnerships, and initiatives at the New York City Housing Authority. Ed Glaeser, professor of economics at Harvard University. Nils Stenseth, professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Oslo.   RESOURCES: "On Patrol With the Rat Czar," by Mark Chiusano (Intelligencer, 2024). "How Rats Took Over North America," by Allison Parshall (Scientific American, 2024). "Where Are the Rats in New York City," by Matt Yan (New York Times, 2024). Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire (2022). "Human ectoparasites and the spread of plague in Europe during the Second Pandemic," by Nils Stenseth, Katharine Dean, Fabienne Krauer, Lars Walløe, Ole Christian Lingjærde, Barbara Bramanti, and Boris Schmid (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018).   EXTRAS:  "Freakonomics Radio Live: 'Jesus Could Have Been a Pigeon.'" by Freakonomics Radio (2018). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.