Freakonomics

Legacy of a Jerk

NHPR Staff — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:03:25 +0000

In this episode, Stephen Dubner focuses on an experimental procedure called the fecal transplant. This procedure is sort of combination of organ transplant and blood transfusion that may present a viable way to treat not only intestinal problems but also obesity and a number of neurological disorders. We'll talk to two doctors at the vanguard of this procedure and a patient who says it changed his life. Also: we've all heard our share of poignant and loving eulogies, but what if the deceased was a real jerk?

Freakonomics Goes To College

NHPR Staff — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:02:38 +0000

In this episode, Stephen Dubner breaks down the costs and benefits of going to college, especially during an economy that's leaving a lot of people un- and underemployed. The data say that college graduates make a lot more money in the long run and enjoy a host of other benefits as well. But does that justify the time and money? We'll hear from economists David Card, Betsey Stevenson, and Justin Wolfers, as well as former Bush advisor Karl Rove, who made it to the White House without a college degree.

The Truth is Out There…Isn’t It?

NHPR Staff — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:00:34 +0000

The first part of this episode, Stephen Dubner looks at this and other examples of weird recycling. We hear the story of MedWish, a Cleveland non-profit that sends unused or outdated hospital equipment – from gauze and tongue depressors to beds and x-ray machines – to hospitals in poor countries. We also hear Intellectual Ventures founder Nathan Myhrvold describe a new nuclear-power reactor that runs on radioactive waste. Also in this hour: we look at the strange moments when knowledge is not power.