Host: Stephen J. Dubner
Stephen J. Dubner explores economics, business and human behavior through interviews and reported stories on Freakonomics Radio.
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Freakonomics Radio
A Freakonomics Radio episode from July 2026 in which Stephen Dubner visits talk show host Dick Cavett, who inspired Dubner's new YouTube show Better in Person. Dubner opens with why he wanted a more intimate kind of conversation, then talks with Cavett about hosting, preparation, the Mailer and Vidal show, his early career, Groucho Marx and Jack Paar, networks that cancelled him, and, in one segment, his own experience of depression and treatment, which is his personal account and not medical advice. The caption text covers the whole episode, including archival clips. Anecdotes and recollections are the speakers' own statements, not independently checked. Captions are automatic with errors. Topics are untimed; metadata follows YouTube. Source: https://youtubetotranscript.com/transcript?v=kv70urMGXaU
Freakonomics Radio
Judy Faulkner and Stephen Dubner discuss leadership, customer commitments and the unusual operating choices at Epic Systems. These notes cover company practices, not medical advice or claims about clinical results. Revenue, staffing and customer-history claims are retrospective statements in the interview, not independently verified figures. AI, policy and litigation passages are not covered. Metadata follows the linked YouTube video; topics are untimed. Source: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/what-makes-judy-faulkner-run/
Freakonomics Radio
A Freakonomics Radio episode from July 2025 in which Stephen Dubner talks with playwright David Adjmi about the Broadway hit Stereophonic, a play about a band recording an album. They discuss decades of difficult, little-seen work, a cast and director bound by a trusting contract, a lawsuit over the play's subject, why the show closed after nine months despite selling out, the economics of Broadway, what theater is for, and Adjmi's plan to write the film version. The caption text covers the whole episode; this summary draws on the main passages rather than every line. Claims about the production, costs and a lawsuit are the guest's and host's statements, not independently checked. Captions are automatic with errors (the guest's surname is mis-transcribed as 'Ame'). Topics are untimed; metadata follows YouTube. Source: https://youtubetotranscript.com/transcript?v=d9KPlcpoWRc
Freakonomics Radio
Adam Moss and Stephen Dubner discuss editing, creative teams and learning through the process of making. Moss draws on magazine work and his later experience as a novice painter and author. These notes focus on creative practice and mentorship, not mental-health interpretations. Views about management and art are his own. Metadata follows the linked YouTube video; topics are untimed. Source: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-make-something-from-nothing/
Freakonomics Radio
Stephen Dubner examines physical retail through Macy's CEO Tony Spring, retail analyst Mark Cohen and bookstore owner Jeff Kinney. Their differing views separate a famous name from a store experience that earns a return visit. These are accounts and opinions recorded in 2024, not a current assessment of Macy's strategy or stock. Selected retail passages only. Metadata follows the linked YouTube video; topics are untimed. Source: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/dying-is-easy-retail-is-hard/
Freakonomics Radio
Stephen Dubner examines advertising measurement with Steve Levitt, Keith Weed and Anna Tuchman. The central question is which purchases an ad causes, rather than which purchases happen alongside it. Research and channel claims come from a 2020 conversation, not a current benchmark. The linked YouTube video was uploaded in 2023. Selected measurement passages only; health-product and policy examples omitted. Topics are untimed. Source: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/does-advertising-actually-work-part-1-tv-ep-440/
