What Exactly Is College For? (Update)
We think of them as intellectual enclaves and the surest route to a better life. But U.S. colleges also operate like firms, trying to differentiate their products to win market share and prestige poin...
15 Aug 202450min
EXTRA: Here’s Why You’re Not an Elite Athlete (Update)
There are a lot of factors that go into greatness, many of which are not obvious. As the Olympics come to a close, we revisit a 2018 episode in which top athletes from a variety of sports tell us how ...
12 Aug 20241h 5min
600. “If We’re All in It for Ourselves, Who Are We?”
Tania Tetlow, a former federal prosecutor and now the president of Fordham University, thinks the modern campus could use a dose of old-fashioned values. SOURCE:Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham Univ...
8 Aug 202444min
599. The World's Most Valuable Unused Resource
It’s not oil or water or plutonium — it’s human hours. We've got an idea for putting them to use, and for building a more human-centered economy. But we need your help. SOURCES:Nathan Dietz, research ...
1 Aug 202440min
EXTRA: Why Rent Control Doesn’t Work (Update)
A new proposal from the Biden administration calls for a nationwide cap on rent increases. Economists think that’s a terrible idea. We revisit a 2019 episode to hear why. SOURCES:Tommy Andersson, prof...
29 Jul 202448min
598. Is Overconsolidation a Threat to Democracy?
That’s the worry. Even the humble eyeglass industry is dominated by a single firm. We look into the global spike in myopia, how the Lemtosh got its name, and what your eye doctor knows that you don’t....
25 Jul 202437min
597. Why Do Your Eyeglasses Cost $1,000?
A single company, EssilorLuxottica, owns so much of the eyewear industry that it’s hard to escape their gravitational pull — or their “obscene” markups. Should regulators do something? Can Warby Parke...
18 Jul 202454min
EXTRA: People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is Hard. (Update)
You wouldn’t think you could win a Nobel Prize for showing that humans tend to make irrational decisions. But that’s what Richard Thaler has done. In an interview from 2018, the founder of behavioral ...
15 Jul 202453min
