Freakonomics Radio

Markets are hardly perfect, but the results can be ugly when you try to subvert them.

What does it mean to pursue something that everyone else thinks is nuts? And what does it take to succeed?

Doctors, chefs, and other experts are much more likely than the rest of us to buy store-brand products. What do they know that we don’t?

Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, EatWith, and other companies in the “sharing economy” are practically daring government regulators to shut them down. The regulators are happy to comply.

The online universe doesn't have nearly as many rules, or rulemakers, as the real world. Discuss.

There ain't no such thing as a free parking spot. Somebody has to pay for it -- and that somebody is everybody.

A look at whether spite pays -- and if it even exists.

It's awkward, random, confusing -- and probably discriminatory too.

A kid's name can tell us something about his parents -- their race, social standing, even their politics. But is your name really your destiny?

It’s a hard question to answer, but we do our best.