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.
Aug 6
47 min
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?
Aug 1
47 min
The former secretary of state isn’t a flamethrower, but he certainly has strong opinions. In this wide-ranging conversation with Stephen Dubner, he gives them all: on Israel, Gaza, China, Iran, Russia, Biden, Trump — and the rest of the world.
Jul 25
1 hr 6 min
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 from 2023 that asked if Delaware’s “franchise” is wildly corrupt, wildly efficient … or both?
Jul 23
47 min
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 common with Richard Wagner.
Jul 18
46 min
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 to Dubai?
Jul 11
50 min
Before she decided to become a poker pro, Maria Konnikova didn’t know how many cards are in a deck. But she did have a Ph.D. in psychology, a brilliant coach, and a burning desire to know whether life is driven more by skill or chance. She found some answers in poker — and she’s willing to tell us everything she learned.
Jul 9
58 min
Cory Booker on the politics of fear, the politics of hope, and how to split the difference.
Jul 4
53 min
In the U.S., there will soon be more people over 65 than there are under 18 — and it’s not just lifespan that’s improving, it’s “healthspan” too. Unfortunately, the American approach to aging is stuck in the 20th century. In less than an hour, we try to unstick it. (Part three of a three-part series, “Cradle to Grave.”)
Jun 27
54 min
In this episode from 2013, we look at whether spite pays — and if it even exists.
Jun 25
36 min
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