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Freakonomics Radio

Freakonomics Radio

Discover the hidden side of everything with Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of the Freakonomics books. Each week, Freakonomics Radio tells you things you always thought you knew (but didn’t) and things you never thought you wanted to know (but do) — from the economics of sleep to how to become great at just about anything. Dubner speaks with Nobel laureates and provocateurs, intellectuals and entrepreneurs, and various other underachievers.

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55 min•
Yesterday

659. Can Marty Makary Fix the F.D.A.?

It regulates 20 percent of the U.S. economy, and its commissioner has an aggressive agenda — faster drug approvals, healthier food, cures for diabetes and cancer. How much can he deliver? (Part two of “The Freakonomics Radio Guide to Getting Better.”) SOURCES:Marty Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. RESOURCES:"Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health," by Vishal Patel, Michael Liu, and Anupam Jena (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2025)."What the evidence tells us about Tylenol, leucovorin, and autism," by Matthew Herper (STAT, 2025)."I Run the F.D.A. Pharma Ads Are Hurting Americans." by Marty Makary (New York Times, 2025).Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health, by Marty Makary (2024). EXTRAS:"Are You Really Allergic to Penicillin?" by Freakonomics Radio (2025)."How to Fix the Hot Mess of U.S. Healthcare," by Freakonomics Radio (2021)."Bad Medicine, Part 3: Death by Diagnosis," 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.

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53 min•
9 Jan

658. This Is Your Brain on Supplements

We all want to stay sharp, and forestall the cognitive effects of aging. But do brain supplements actually work? Are they safe? And why doesn’t the F.D.A. even know what’s in them? (Part one of “The Freakonomics Radio Guide to Getting Better.”) SOURCES:Marty Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.Peter Attia, physician, author, and host of The Peter Attia Drive.Pieter Cohen, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, physician at the Cambridge Health Alliance. RESOURCES:"Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead," by Paris Martineau (Consumer Reports, 2025)."Accuracy of Labeling of Galantamine Generic Drugs and Dietary Supplements," by Pieter Cohen, Bram Jacobs, Koenraad Van Hoorde, and Céline Vanhee (JAMA, 2024).Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health, by Marty Makary (2024).Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, by Petter Attia (2023)."Revealing the hidden dangers of dietary supplements," by Jennifer Couzin-Frankel (Science, 2015). EXTRAS:"China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers." by Freakonomics Radio (2025)."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.

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48 min•
19 Dec 25

657. Whose “Messiah” Is It Anyway?

All sorts of people have put their mark on Messiah, and it has been a hit for nearly 300 years. How can a single piece of music thrive in so many settings? You could say it’s because Handel really knew how to write a banger. (Part three of “Making Messiah.”) SOURCES:Charles King, political scientist at Georgetown University.Jane Glover, classical music scholar, conductor.Katharine Hogg, musicologist, head librarian at the Foundling Museum.Susannah Heschel, religion professor, chair of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College.Mark Risinger, teacher at St. Bernard’s School.Michael Marissen, professor emeritus of music at Swarthmore College, author of Tainted Glory in Handel’s Messiah: The Unsettling History of the World’s Most Beloved Choral Work. RESOURCES:Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel’s Messiah, by Charles King (2024)."Why These Christmas Songs Could Only Be Written in America," by Eli Lake (The Free Press, 2024)."Reflections on Bernstein’s 1956 “Messiah,”" by Mark Risinger (Leonard Bernstein Office, 2022).Handel in London: The Making of a Genius, by Jane Glover (2018).Tainted Glory in Handel's Messiah: The Unsettling History of the World's Most Beloved Choral Work, by Michael Marissen (2014).“Handel’s Messiah,” performed by The London Symphony Orchestra (2007). EXTRAS:"Making Messiah," series by Freakonomics Radio (2025). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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57 min•
12 Dec 25

656. How Handel Got His Mojo Back

When he wrote Messiah (in 24 days), Handel was past his prime and nearly broke. One night in Dublin changed all that. (Part two of “Making Messiah.”) SOURCES:Charles King, political scientist at Georgetown University.Chris Scobie, curator of music, manuscripts, and archives at the British Library.Ellen Harris, musicologist and professor emeritus at MIT.Mark Risinger, teacher at St. Bernard's School.Philip Rushforth, organist and master of the choristers at the Chester Cathedral.Proinnsías Ó Duinn, conductor and music director of Our Lady's Choral Society. RESOURCES:Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah, by Charles King (2024)."Arnaud du Sarrat and the international music trade in Halle and Leipzig c.1700," by Tomasz Górny (Early Music, 2023).George Frideric Handel: A Life with Friends, by Ellen Harris (2014).Handel (Composers Across Cultures), by Donald Burrows (2012)."Georg Händel (1622–97): The Barber-Surgeon Father of George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)," by Aileen Adams and B. Hofestädt (Journal Of Medical Biography, 2005).Handel's Messiah: A Celebration: A Richly Illustrated History of the Music and Its Eighteenth-Century Background, by Richard Luckett (1995).Handel's Messiah The Advent Calendar, podcast series. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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56 min•
5 Dec 25

655. “The Greatest Piece of Participatory Art Ever Created”

Why does an 18th-century Christian oratorio lend such comfort to our own turbulent times? Stephen Dubner sets out for Dublin to tell the story of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. (Part one of “Making Messiah.”) SOURCES:Charles King, political scientist at Georgetown University.Katrine Nyland Sørensen, Danish broadcaster, host of Handel's Messiah - The Advent Calendar.Mark Risinger, teacher at St. Bernard's School.Michael and Aileen Casey, Dublin conservationists.Proinnsías Ó Duinn, conductor and music director of Our Lady's Choral Society.Stuart Kinsella, tenor soloist and consort singer. RESOURCES:Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah, by Charles King (2024)."Two Men Wrote ‘Messiah.’ You Know One of Them." by Charles King (New York Times, 2024)."On Fishamble Street, family lives among four centuries of relatives’ keepsakes," by Zuzia Whelan (Dublin Inquirer, 2018).Hallelujah: The Story of a Musical Genius & the City That Brought His Masterpiece, by Jonathan Bardon (2016).George Frideric Handel: A Life with Friends, by Ellen Harris (2014).Handel: The Man & His Music, by Jonathan Keates (2010)."Handel's Messiah," performed by The London Symphony Orchestra (2007).Handel's Messiah The Advent Calendar, podcast series. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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1 hr, 3 min•
21 Nov 25

654. Is the Public Ready for Private Equity?

A Trump executive order is giving retail investors more access to private markets. Is that a golden opportunity — or fool’s gold? SOURCES:Elisabeth de Fontenay, professor of law at Duke University.Steven Kaplan, professor of entrepreneurship and finance at the University of Chicago. RESOURCES:"Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors," (The White House, 2025)."The (Heterogeneous) Economic Effects of Private Equity Buyouts," by Steven J. Davis, John Haltiwanger, Kyle Handley, Ben Lipsius, Josh Lerner, and Javier Miranda (Management Science, 2025)."Risk-Adjusted Returns of Private Equity Funds: A New Approach," by Arthur G. Korteweg and Stefan Nagel (The Review of Financial Studies, 2025)."The Effects of Management Buyouts on Operating Performance and Value," by Steven Kaplan (Journal of Financial Economics, 1989). EXTRAS:"The Biden Policy That Trump Hasn't Touched," by Freakonomics Radio (2025)."Should Companies Be Owned by Their Workers?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024)."Do You Know Who Owns Your Vet?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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