680. Can Universities Win Back Our Trust?

Governments started the space age. Now, billionaires and private firms are reinventing it. Guest host Steve Levitt explores what the past can teach us about a high-stakes future. (Part two of a two-part series.)   SOURCES: Blaise Agüera y Arcas, vice president and fellow at Google, C.T.O. of technology and society. Rosanna Hoffman, head of space law, policy, and sustainability at the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Alex Macdonald, former first chief economist at NASA, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Will Marshall, co-founder and C.E.O. of Planet Labs.   RESOURCES: "The mission to create a searchable database of Earth's surface," by Will Marshall (TED, 2018). The Long Space Age, by Alex Macdonald (2017). Planet Labs A.I.    EXTRAS: "Should A.I. Move to Space?," series by Freakonomics Radio (2026). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gary and Stephen talk about creativity, recovery, getting fired, and holding grudges. They also get outside and play basketball, which is a big part of how Gary stays well.   If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At first it sounds ridiculous. But it might be inevitable. Guest host Steve Levitt talks to a team that hopes to push A.I. infrastructure off the planet. Part one of a two-part series.)   SOURCES: Blaise Agüera y Arcas, vice president and fellow at Google, C.T.O. of technology and society. Travis Beals, senior director of product management at Google, Project Suncatcher lead. Will Marshall, co-founder and C.E.O. of Planet Labs.   RESOURCES: What Is Intelligence?, by Blaise Agüera y Arcas (2025). "Towards a future space-based, highly scalable AI infrastructure system design," by Blaise Agüera y Arcas, Travis Beals, Maria Biggs, Jessica V. Bloom, Thomas Fischbacher, Konstantin Gromov, Urs Köster, Rishiraj Pravahan, and James Manyika (Google, 2025). Reason, by Isaac Asimov (1941).   EXTRAS:  "Are Our Tools Becoming Part of Us?," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hillary Sterling was a Brooklyn kid raised on cream cheese sandwiches and canned potatoes. So how did she become one of New York City's best chefs? The Ci Siamo executive chef explains on the second episode of Better in Person.   If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Like tens of millions of people, Stephen Dubner thought he had a penicillin allergy. Like the vast majority, he didn’t. This misdiagnosis costs billions of dollars and causes serious health problems, so why hasn’t it been fixed? We find out in this update of a 2025 episode.   SOURCES: Kimberly Blumenthal, allergist-immunologist and researcher at the Mayo Clinic. Theresa MacPhail, associate professor of science and technology studies at Stevens Institute of Technology. Thomas Platts-Mills, professor of medicine at the University of Virginia. Elena Resnick, allergist and immunologist at Mount Sinai Hospital.   RESOURCES: Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World, by Theresa MacPhail (2023). "Evaluation and Management of Penicillin Allergy: A Review," by Erica S. Shenoy, Eric Macy, and Theresa Rowe (JAMA, 2019). "The Allergy Epidemics: 1870–2010," by Thomas Platts-Mills (The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2016). "Randomized Trial of Peanut Consumption in Infants at Risk for Peanut Allergy," by George Du Toit, Graham Roberts, et al. (The New England Journal of Medicine, 2015).   EXTRAS: "The Freakonomics Radio Guide to Getting Better," series by Freakonomics Radio (2026). "Doctors Know They Prescribe Too Many Antibiotics. Why Don’t They Stop?" by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Is the oxymoron really “the secret sauce to everything”? That’s the case Ingels makes in this debut episode of our new video show Better in Person, filmed in Stephen Dubner’s living room.   If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Stephen Dubner had an idea for a new project. So he drove to Connecticut and knocked on the door of the master. Dubner’s new TV talk show Better in Person launches July 14 on the Freakonomics YouTube channel.   SOURCES: Dick Cavett, writer, former talk show host.   RESOURCES: Eye on Cavett, by Dick Cavett and Christopher Porterfield (1983). Cavett, by Dick Cavett and Christopher Porterfield (1974). "The Dick Cavett Show" YouTube Channel. "Better in Person" Trailer. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dartmouth president Sian Beilock, a psychologist by training, made her name studying why people choke. Now she’s applying those insights to one of the most scrutinized jobs in America. No pressure!   SOURCES: Sian Beilock, president of Dartmouth College.   RESOURCES: "Growing share of Americans say the U.S. higher education system is headed in the wrong direction," by Kim Parker (Pew Research Center, 2025). "Standardized Test Scores and Academic Performance at Ivy-Plus Colleges," by John N. Friedman, Bruce Sacerdote, Douglas O. Staiger, and Michele Tine (NBER, 2025). "Americans’ Trust in One Another," by Laura Silver, Scott Keeter, Stephanie Kramer, Jordan Lippert, Sofia Hernandez Ramones, Alan Cooperman, Chris Baronavski, and Bill Webster (Pew Research Center, 2025). Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To, by Sian Beilock (2011)   EXTRAS: "Why Does Vanderbilt Keep Winning?" by Freakonomics Radio (2026). "'A Low Moment in Higher Education,'" by Freakonomics Radio (2024). "'If We’re All in It for Ourselves, Who Are We?'" by Freakonomics Radio (2024). "Why We Choke Under Pressure (and How Not To)," 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.

It’s a hard time to run a university: public trust is low, political pressure is high, and finances are fragile. But Daniel Diermeier, who trained as a political scientist, has Vanderbilt humming. How? He says the key is choosing magnets over wedges.   SOURCES: Daniel Diermeier, chancellor of Vanderbilt University.   RESOURCES: "Higher Ed’s New Crisis Managers," by Lee Gardner (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2026). "Professors Need to Diversify What They Teach," by Jon Shields, Yuval Avnur, and Stephanie Muravchik (Persuasion, 2025). "A Call for Constructive Engagement," (American Association of Colleges and Universities, 2025). "2020 Statement on Anthropology and Human Rights," (American Anthropological Association, 2020). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander (2010). "Kalven Committee: Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action," (The University of Chicago, 1967).   EXTRAS: Sign up here to pre-screen our new video show. "'A Low Moment in Higher Education,'" by Freakonomics Radio (2024). "'If We’re All in It for Ourselves, Who Are We?'" by Freakonomics Radio (2024). "Do Boycotts Work?" by Freakonomics Radio (2016). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Insurance forms that make no sense. Subscriptions that can’t be cancelled. A never-ending blizzard of automated notifications. In this update of a 2025 episode, Stephen Dubner discovers where all this sludge comes from — and how much it’s costing us.   SOURCES: Benjamin Handel, professor of economics at UC Berkeley. Neale Mahoney, professor of economics at Stanford University. Richard Thaler, professor of economics at The University of Chicago.   RESOURCES: "Selling Subscriptions," by Liran Einav, Ben Klopack, and Neale Mahoney (Stanford University, 2023). "The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok," by Cory Doctorow (WIRED, 2023). "Dominated Options in Health Insurance Plans," by Chenyuan Liu and Justin Sydnor (American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2022). Nudge: The Final Edition, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein (2021). "Frictions or Mental Gaps: What’s Behind the Information We (Don’t) Use and When Do We Care?" by Benjamin Handel and Joshua Schwartzstein (Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2018). "Adverse Selection and Switching Costs in Health Insurance Markets: When Nudging Hurts," by Benjamin Handel (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011).   EXTRAS: "Sludge," series by Freakonomics Radio (2025). "People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is Hard. (Update)" by Freakonomics Radio (2024). "All You Need is Nudge," by Freakonomics Radio (2021). "How to Fix the Hot Mess of U.S. Healthcare," by Freakonomics Radio (2021). "Should We Really Behave Like Economists Say We Do?" by Freakonomics Radio (2015). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.