Episode
Freakonomics
1:13:18
Published: Tue Nov 01 2022
Description
In 2005, two men named Steven and Stephen published the quintessential airport book. In 2022, two men named Mike and Peter started a whole podcast just to make fun of it. Thanks to Ted Joyce and Ames Grawert for helping with the research for this episode!Support us on PatreonWhere to find us: TwitterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:The 2003 NYT articleFreakonomics: What Went Wrong?A Review of FreakonomicsDismal ScienceFreak-FreakonomicsThe Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime: CommentThe Abortion–Crime Link: Evidence from England and WalesThe Impact of an Abortion Ban on Socioeconomic Outcomes of Children: Evidence from RomaniaDid Legalized Abortion Lower Crime?On the Choice of Control Variables in the Crime EquationSteven Levitt on Abortion and Crime: Old Economics in New BottlesThe Impact Of Legalized Abortion On CrimeThe Great American Mystery Story: Why Did Crime Decline?Is There an iCrime Wave?The Great Crime DeclineThe Crime Drop in America10 (Not Entirely Crazy) Theories Explaining the Great Crime DeclineWhat Caused the Crime Decline?Freaks and Geeks: How Freakonomics is ruining the dismal science.Interesting Questions in FreakonomicsIncentives And The Economic Point Of View: The Case Of Popular EconomicsAbortion and Crime in AustraliaThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
Chapters
In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss how Freakonomics, labeled as a rogue economist's exploration of the hidden side of everything, is a poorly researched and bad airport book with a surprising level of influence.
00:00 - 04:46 (04:46)
Summary
In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss how Freakonomics, labeled as a rogue economist's exploration of the hidden side of everything, is a poorly researched and bad airport book with a surprising level of influence. They also touch on the paradigm of Americans' belief in sensationalized stories of a scientist trying to reveal the truth to the president.
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
The Freakonomics podcast features a discussion on the establishment economist who claims to be a rogue economist with a fresh perspective on economics.
04:46 - 09:54 (05:07)
Summary
The Freakonomics podcast features a discussion on the establishment economist who claims to be a rogue economist with a fresh perspective on economics. However, the co-hosts examine the fallacies of quantitative data that ignores societal context.
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
American political campaigns spend $1 billion, which is the same amount the country spends yearly on chewing gum.
09:54 - 15:41 (05:47)
Summary
American political campaigns spend $1 billion, which is the same amount the country spends yearly on chewing gum. This is an excerpt from a discussion on fact-checking by Freakonomics Radio.
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
This podcast episode covers data-driven insights including how people behave around bagels in the office, the reasons why backyard pools can be more dangerous than municipal pools, and how incentives affect cheating behavior.
15:42 - 22:35 (06:53)
Summary
This podcast episode covers data-driven insights including how people behave around bagels in the office, the reasons why backyard pools can be more dangerous than municipal pools, and how incentives affect cheating behavior.
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
This episode discusses the societal biases against people with "black-sounding" names and explores the history and trends of black names in the United States, including how they have become more unique to black culture and less popular among whites.
22:35 - 34:02 (11:26)
Summary
This episode discusses the societal biases against people with "black-sounding" names and explores the history and trends of black names in the United States, including how they have become more unique to black culture and less popular among whites. The hosts also touch on the inappropriate and humorous ways people may make fun of these names, often ignoring the underlying issues of racism and socioeconomic inequality.
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
The book Freakonomics is discussed as being data-driven, but it is criticized for not being more thorough in its approach and occasionally just being downright wrong.
34:02 - 40:41 (06:39)
Summary
The book Freakonomics is discussed as being data-driven, but it is criticized for not being more thorough in its approach and occasionally just being downright wrong. This is explored through examples given by one individual who took issue with it, including accusations of racism and weak evidence in the author's methodology.
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
The theory that mass incarceration reduced crime is being disputed by criminologists as a non-accepted explanation.
40:41 - 45:21 (04:39)
Summary
The theory that mass incarceration reduced crime is being disputed by criminologists as a non-accepted explanation. Furthermore, the decrease in crime is largely focused on certain violent crimes and does not account for corporate or government level crime.
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
Crime statistics are not statistics about crime, but rather statistics about reported crime, and there are many factors that could increase reported crime without actually increasing crime itself.
45:21 - 50:00 (04:38)
Summary
Crime statistics are not statistics about crime, but rather statistics about reported crime, and there are many factors that could increase reported crime without actually increasing crime itself.
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
In this episode, the hosts debunk the claim that the legalization of abortion led to a significant reduction in crime rates.
50:01 - 57:49 (07:47)
Summary
In this episode, the hosts debunk the claim that the legalization of abortion led to a significant reduction in crime rates. They provide evidence to show that this argument is flawed and misleading.
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
The increase of abortion access for poor women due to Roe v. Wade has had an impact on crime drop.
57:49 - 1:03:25 (05:36)
Summary
The increase of abortion access for poor women due to Roe v. Wade has had an impact on crime drop. However, the crime drop cannot be attributed to just one factor and is likely due to a variety of reasons such as cultural norms and education.
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
The controversial theory that abortions reduce crime rates, known as the "Donohue-Levitt Hypothesis," is analyzed and debunked based on noisy crime and abortion data and questionable statistical methodology.
1:03:26 - 1:07:24 (03:58)
Summary
The controversial theory that abortions reduce crime rates, known as the "Donohue-Levitt Hypothesis," is analyzed and debunked based on noisy crime and abortion data and questionable statistical methodology.
EpisodeFreakonomics
PodcastIf Books Could Kill
The book being reviewed presents a false binary between intuition and science, and introduces an ideological project dismissing the importance of campaign finance and discrimination, while undervaluing the cost of protecting forests for environmental conservation.
1:07:24 - 1:12:49 (05:25)
Summary
The book being reviewed presents a false binary between intuition and science, and introduces an ideological project dismissing the importance of campaign finance and discrimination, while undervaluing the cost of protecting forests for environmental conservation.