38. Sendhil Mullainathan Explains How to Generate an Idea a Minute (Part 2)

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1. 

   E42 · 3 Oct 2026 · 42 min

   42. America’s Math Curriculum Doesn’t Add Up

   A special episode: Steve reports on a passion of his. Most high-school math classes are still preparing students for the Sputnik era. Steve wants to get rid of the “geometry sandwich” and instead have kids learn what they really need in the modern era: data fluency. Originally broadcast on Freakonomics Radio, this episode includes an update from Steve about a project he launched to revamp the education system. This episode originally aired on August 27th, 2021.

2. 

   E41 · 26 Sep 2026 · 40 min

   41. Dr. Bapu Jena on Why Freakonomics Is the Best Medicine

   He’s a Harvard physician and economist who just started a third job: host of the new podcast Freakonomics, M.D. He’s also Steve’s former student. The two discuss why medicine should embrace econ-style research, the ethics of human-challenge trials, and Bapu’s role in one of Steve’s, ahem, less-than-successful experiments. This episode originally aired on August 21st, 2021.

3. 

   23 Sep 2026 · 43 min

   How a Great Architect Thinks, with Bjarke Ingels | Better in Person

   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, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts.

4. 

   E40 · 19 Sep 2026 · 46 min

   40. Harold Pollack on Why Managing Your Money is as Easy as Taking Out the Garbage

   He argues that personal finance is so simple all you need to know can fit on an index card. How will he deal with Steve’s suggestion that Harold’s nine rules for managing money are overly complicated? Harold and Steve also talk about gun violence — a topic Harold researches as a public-policy professor at the University of Chicago — and they propose some radical ideas for reducing it. This episode originally aired on August 13th, 2021.

5. 

   E39 · 12 Sep 2026 · 49 min

   39. Aicha Evans Wants You to Take Your Eyes Off the Road

   She’s the C.E.O. of Zoox, an autonomous vehicle company. Steve asks Aicha about the big promises the A.V. industry hasn’t yet delivered — and the radical bet Zoox is making on a driverless future. Plus, Steve wants to know how she’s maintained her spark. This episode originally aired on August 6th, 2021.

6. 

   E37 · 29 Aug 2026 · 51 min

   37. Sendhil Mullainathan Thinks Messing Around Is the Best Use of Your Time

   He’s a professor of computation and behavioral science at the University of Chicago, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, and author. Steve and Sendhil laugh their way through a conversation about the importance of play, the benefits of change, and why we remember so little about the books we’ve read — and how Sendhil’s new app solves this problem. This episode originally aired on July 23rd, 2021.

7. 

   E36 · 22 Aug 2026 · 42 min

   36. How Rahm Emanuel Would Run the World

   In this interview, Steve talks with the former top adviser to presidents Clinton and Obama, about his record — and his reputation. And Rahm explains that while he believes in the power of the federal government, as former mayor of Chicago, he says that cities are where problems really get solved. This episode originally aired on March 2, 2020 on Freakonomics Radio, and again on July 16th, 2021st on People I Mostly Admire.

8. 

   E35 · 15 Aug 2026 · 49 min

   35. David Epstein Knows Something About Almost Everything

   He’s been an Arctic scientist, a sports journalist, and is now a best-selling author of science books. His latest, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, makes the argument that early specialization does not give you a head start in life. David and Steve talk about why frustration is a good sign, and why the 10,000-hour rule is definitely not a rule. This episode originally aired on July 9th, 2021st.

9. 

   E34 · 8 Aug 2026 · 45 min

   34. Maya Shankar Is Changing People’s Behavior — and Her Own

   She used to run a behavioral unit in the Obama administration, and now has a similar role at Google. Maya and Steve talk about the power (and limits) of behavioral economics and also how people respond to change — the topic of her new podcast A Slight Change of Plans. This episode originally aired on July 2nd, 2021.

10. 

    E33 · 1 Aug 2026 · 45 min

    33. Travis Tygart Is Coming for Cheaters — Just Ask Lance Armstrong

    He’s the C.E.O. of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which, under his charge, exposed the most celebrated American cyclist as a cheater. And Steve’s been studying cheaters for the last 25 years, so he’s also excited to talk to Travis about the incentives to cheat and the advances in testing technology — and offers his services as an anti-doping data detective for the sport of horse racing. This episode originally aired on June 25th, 2021.