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Freakonomics Radio

Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engin...

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How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life Cover

Thomas Gilovich

How We Know What Isn't So

The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life

It was discussed as one of the host's favorite books and was mentioned as relevant to regret, one of the topics of the episode.

"

He's also the author of one of my favorite books ever in the world called how we know what isn't.

— Episode: 382. How Goes the Behavior-Change Revolu...

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Episode: 382. How Goes the Behavior-Change Revolution?

It was discussed as one of the host's favorite books and was mentioned as relevant to regret, one of the topics of the episode.

"

He's also the author of one of my favorite books ever in the world called how we know what isn't.

Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool (The ParentData Series) Cover

Emily Oster

Cribsheet

A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool (The ParentData Series)

It was a more recent book that provided data-driven parenting guidance, particularly for parents of young children, up to preschool age.

"

The new book is called Crib Sheet, a data driven guide to better, more relaxed parenting from birth to preschool.

— Episode: 376. The Data-Driven Guide to Sane Paren...

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Episode: 376. The Data-Driven Guide to Sane Parenting

It was a more recent book that provided data-driven parenting guidance, particularly for parents of young children, up to preschool age.

"

The new book is called Crib Sheet, a data driven guide to better, more relaxed parenting from birth to preschool.

She and her husband have two kids...and write it up in two books, Expecting Better About Pregnancy and now Cribsheet, which essentially says, OK, you've had your baby. Now what?

Bananas: An American History Cover

Virginia Jenkins

Bananas

An American History

It was mentioned as a book written by a cultural historian and discussed the banana's journey from being an exotic fruit to a widely consumed staple in America.

"

She's a cultural historian and the author of Bananas, An American History.

— Episode: 375. The Most Interesting Fruit in the W...

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Episode: 375. The Most Interesting Fruit in the World

It was mentioned as a book written by a cultural historian and discussed the banana's journey from being an exotic fruit to a widely consumed staple in America.

"

She's a cultural historian and the author of Bananas, An American History.

Rockonomics: A Backstage Tour of What the Music Industry Can Teach Us about Economics and Life Cover

Alan B. Krueger

Rockonomics

A Backstage Tour of What the Music Industry Can Teach Us about Economics and Life

It was mentioned that Alan Krueger had a book coming out soon called Rockonomics and discussed the number of professional musicians and median annual income in the United States.

"

He left behind a book to be published soon called Rockonomics.

— Episode: 374. How Spotify Saved the Music Industr...

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Episode: 374. How Spotify Saved the Music Industry (But Not...

It was mentioned that Alan Krueger had a book coming out soon called Rockonomics and discussed the number of professional musicians and median annual income in the United States.

"

He left behind a book to be published soon called Rockonomics.

In it he writes that there are roughly 200,000 professional musicians in the U.S. today accounting for 0.13 percent of all U.S. workers.

That percent has stayed about the same since 1970. And what's the median annual income for these musicians? $20,000.

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More Cover

Chris Anderson

The Long Tail

Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More

It was said that Daniel Ek considered 'The Long Tail' to be his favourite book, and it was discussed in relation to the idea that artists can make a living in the digital age, but this promise is not supported by data.

"

In 2006 the journalist Chris Anderson published an influential book called The Long Tail. Why the future of business is selling less of more.

— Episode: 374. How Spotify Saved the Music Industr...

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Episode: 374. How Spotify Saved the Music Industry (But Not...

It was said that Daniel Ek considered 'The Long Tail' to be his favourite book, and it was discussed in relation to the idea that artists can make a living in the digital age, but this promise is not supported by data.

"

In 2006 the journalist Chris Anderson published an influential book called The Long Tail. Why the future of business is selling less of more.

Daniel Ek in a 2010 interview called The Long Tail his favorite book.

Spotify Teardown: Inside the Black Box of Streaming Music Cover

Maria Eriksson

Spotify Teardown

Inside the Black Box of Streaming Music

It was suggested that if listeners wanted to learn more about Spotify, particularly how it works, then they could check out a new book called 'Spotify Teardown: Inside the Black Box of Streaming Music'.

"

If you want to learn more about spotify including how a team of swedish social scientists tried to reverse engineer it to see how the platform really works check out a new book called Spotify...

— Episode: 374. How Spotify Saved the Music Industr...

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Episode: 374. How Spotify Saved the Music Industry (But Not...

It was suggested that if listeners wanted to learn more about Spotify, particularly how it works, then they could check out a new book called 'Spotify Teardown: Inside the Black Box of Streaming Music'.

"

If you want to learn more about spotify including how a team of swedish social scientists tried to reverse engineer it to see how the platform really works check out a new book called Spotify Teardown inside the black box of streaming music

Manhattan Beach: A Novel Cover

Jennifer Egan

Manhattan Beach

A Novel

It was Jennifer Egan's book that took seven years to complete, and the writing process included numerous hand-written revisions of 40-50 drafts per chapter.

"

Once I write that first draft, which in the case of Manhattan Beach was 1,400 pages, and type it up, I do many, many, many revisions, usually by hand on hard copies.

— Episode: 369. A Good Idea Is Not Good Enough

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Episode: 369. A Good Idea Is Not Good Enough

It was Jennifer Egan's book that took seven years to complete, and the writing process included numerous hand-written revisions of 40-50 drafts per chapter.

"

Once I write that first draft, which in the case of Manhattan Beach was 1,400 pages, and type it up, I do many, many, many revisions, usually by hand on hard copies.

The Invisible Circus Cover

Jennifer Egan

The Invisible Circus

It was Jennifer Egan's first novel, and was described as 'wildly unsuccessful' due to a lack of feedback during its creation.

"

When Jennifer Egan was writing her first novel, The Invisible Circus, she did not have a reliable way to do that.

— Episode: 369. A Good Idea Is Not Good Enough

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Episode: 369. A Good Idea Is Not Good Enough

It was Jennifer Egan's first novel, and was described as 'wildly unsuccessful' due to a lack of feedback during its creation.

"

When Jennifer Egan was writing her first novel, The Invisible Circus, she did not have a reliable way to do that.

How to think up, Cover

Alex F Osborn

How to think up,

It was mentioned as the origin of the brainstorming technique, which included four rules to help generate original ideas. One of the key rules was to not criticize others' ideas.

"

Popular opinion often is that brainstorming is just sort of sitting around and saying whatever comes to your mind, but it's not.

— Episode: 368. Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

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Episode: 368. Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

It was mentioned as the origin of the brainstorming technique, which included four rules to help generate original ideas. One of the key rules was to not criticize others' ideas.

"

Popular opinion often is that brainstorming is just sort of sitting around and saying whatever comes to your mind, but it's not.

When Osborne talked about the brainstorming technique, it had four very specific rules to it.

One of them, for example, was emphasizing quantity, namely just go for as many ideas as you can and don't sort of stop and analyze whether they're good or not en route.

But the one I paid attention to, and that's that one which many people have treated as the critical rule, was do not criticize the ideas of others.

In Defense of Troublemakers: The Power of Dissent in Life and Business Cover

Charlan Jeanne Nemeth

In Defense of Troublemakers

The Power of Dissent in Life and Business

It was mentioned as the most recent book by Sharla Nemeth, a psychologist who studied creativity and the role of dissent in organizations. It emphasized the importance of 'troublemakers' in idea generation.

"

Sharla Nemeth has a name for this kind of dissenter--troublemaker.

— Episode: 368. Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

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Episode: 368. Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

It was mentioned as the most recent book by Sharla Nemeth, a psychologist who studied creativity and the role of dissent in organizations. It emphasized the importance of 'troublemakers' in idea generation.

"

Sharla Nemeth has a name for this kind of dissenter--troublemaker.

Life on Mars: Poems Cover

Tracy K. Smith

Life on Mars

Poems

It was discussed as Tracy K. Smith's best-known poetry collection, which was described as being a series of hypothetical questions about the universe. It was also connected to her father's work on the Hubble Space Telescope.

"

What if the universe is like this? What if it's like that?

— Episode: 368. Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

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Episode: 368. Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

It was discussed as Tracy K. Smith's best-known poetry collection, which was described as being a series of hypothetical questions about the universe. It was also connected to her father's work on the Hubble Space Telescope.

"

What if the universe is like this? What if it's like that?

Fault Lines: Fractured Families and How to Mend Them Cover

Karl Pillemer Ph.D.

Fault Lines

Fractured Families and How to Mend Them

It was published in 2010, and explored the underlying causes of the financial crisis, including factors such as income inequality and the housing bubble.

"

In 2010, Rajan published a book called Fault Lines about what he saw as the underlying causes of the financial crisis.

— Episode: 366. This Economist Predicted the Last C...

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Episode: 366. This Economist Predicted the Last Crisis. Wha...

It was published in 2010, and explored the underlying causes of the financial crisis, including factors such as income inequality and the housing bubble.

"

In 2010, Rajan published a book called Fault Lines about what he saw as the underlying causes of the financial crisis.

The Mental ABCs of Pitching: A Handbook for Performance Enhancement Cover

H.A. Dorfman

The Mental ABCs of Pitching

A Handbook for Performance Enhancement

It was mentioned as a book written by Harvey Dorfman, Scott Boras's right-hand man for mental conditioning, which Mark Teixeira leaned on during his early years in baseball.

"

Literally wrote the book, "The ABCs of Pitching", The Mental Game of Baseball.

— Episode: Extra: Mark Teixeira Full Interview

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Episode: Extra: Mark Teixeira Full Interview

It was mentioned as a book written by Harvey Dorfman, Scott Boras's right-hand man for mental conditioning, which Mark Teixeira leaned on during his early years in baseball.

"

Literally wrote the book, "The ABCs of Pitching", The Mental Game of Baseball.

Smart People Should Build Things: How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs, and Create New Jobs in America Cover

Andrew Yang

Smart People Should Build Things

How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs, and Create New Jobs in America

It was published in 2014 and discussed the need for economic reform in America, presented in an optimistic light, in contrast to his later book.

"

In 2014, he published a book about this effort. It was called Smart People Should Build Things.

— Episode: 362. Why Is This Man Running for Preside...

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Episode: 362. Why Is This Man Running for President?

It was published in 2014 and discussed the need for economic reform in America, presented in an optimistic light, in contrast to his later book.

"

In 2014, he published a book about this effort. It was called Smart People Should Build Things.

No More Throw-Away People: The Co-Production Imperative 2nd Edition Cover

Edgar S. Cahn

No More Throw-Away People

The Co-Production Imperative 2nd Edition

It was written by Edgar Kahn, who originated the concept of time banking in 1980 after being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and wanting to find a way to remain useful.

"

The chairman of Saeva is Edgar Kahn, who helped launch the modern concept of time banking and wrote a book about it called No More Throwaway People.

— Episode: 362. Why Is This Man Running for Preside...

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Episode: 362. Why Is This Man Running for President?

It was written by Edgar Kahn, who originated the concept of time banking in 1980 after being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and wanting to find a way to remain useful.

"

The chairman of Saeva is Edgar Kahn, who helped launch the modern concept of time banking and wrote a book about it called No More Throwaway People.

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.