Why Do People Still Hunt Whales? (Update)
For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine. Whale meat was also on a few menus. But today, demand for whale products is at a hist...
15 Elo 202537min
The First Great American Industry (Update)
Whaling was, in the words of one scholar, “early capitalism unleashed on the high seas.” How did the U.S. come to dominate the whale market? Why did whale hunting die out here — and continue to grow e...
8 Elo 202545min
Why Does Tipping Still Exist? (Update)
It’s a haphazard way of paying workers, and yet it keeps expanding. With federal tax policy shifting in a pro-tip direction, we revisit an episode from 2019 to find out why. SOURCES:John List, economi...
6 Elo 202547min
643. Why Do Candles Still Exist?
They should have died out when the lightbulb was invented. Instead they’re a $10 billion industry. What does it mean that we still want tiny fires inside our homes? SOURCES:Tim Cooper, professor emeri...
1 Elo 202547min
Why Does One Tiny State Set the Rules for Everyone? (Update)
Until recently, Delaware was almost universally agreed to be the best place for companies to incorporate. Now, with Elon Musk leading a corporate stampede out of the First State, we revisit an episode...
23 Heinä 202547min
641. What Does It Cost to Lead a Creative Life?
For years, the playwright David Adjmi was considered “polarizing and difficult.” But creating Stereophonic seems to have healed him. Stephen Dubner gets the story — and sorts out what Adjmi has in com...
18 Heinä 202546min
640. Why Governments Are Betting Big on Sports
The Gulf States and China are spending billions to build stadiums and buy up teams — but what are they really buying? And can an entrepreneur from Cincinnati make his own billions by bringing baseball...
11 Heinä 202550min
