Freakonomics Radio

Matías Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic, on why the orchestra commissioned and staged David Lang’s work. David Lang, composer and Yale professor, on emotional rollercoasters after premieres and the craft decisions behind The Wealth of Nations. They discuss rehearsals, soloist choices, costs and patronage, audience reactions, and the piece’s moral and structural arc.

Russ Roberts, economist and writer, joins Glory Liu, political scientist and Smith scholar, and Eamonn Butler, free market think tank leader. They spar over how Adam Smith became a symbol of capitalism. They trace how America and Chicago economics reshaped his image. They revisit the invisible hand, privatization, public goods, and whether Smith was far more morally complex than his modern branding.

David Lang, a Pulitzer-winning composer and Yale music professor, turns Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations into a bold oratorio. He explores money as a human connector, trade and labor as emotional experience, and the idea of “enough.” Along the way: why he left pre-med, how he composes, and what it takes to bring a risky new work to life with the New York Philharmonic.

Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of Epic Systems and a pioneering healthcare software entrepreneur, steps out of the shadows. She talks about building a private, mission-first giant, her unusual management style, why Epic avoids Wall Street, tensions over interoperability and antitrust, doctors’ frustrations with health records, and where A.I. could reshape medicine.

Ed Glaeser, a Harvard economist focused on cities, Bethany Brookshire, a science writer on animal villains, and Kathy Corradi, New York’s former rat czar, dig into why rats became urban public enemy number one. They explore plague myths, how culture shapes animal reputations, why rats thrive beside humans, and how cities try to control them without turning them into monsters.

Charles Piller, a Science investigative journalist, and Matthew Schrag, a Vanderbilt neurologist, trace how Alzheimer’s research may have been steered by suspect science. They dig into whistleblowing, image manipulation, failed drug bets, and the outsized influence of the amyloid theory. They also explore prevention, inequality, pollution, and new ideas about how the brain clears waste.

How do beekeepers make a living? Why is there so much honey fraud? And why did billions of bees suddenly disappear? To find out, guest host Steve Levitt activates his hive mind.   SOURCES: Alex Sapoznik, historian, reader in late medieval history at King’s College London. Chris Hiatt, past president of the American Honey Producers Association, owner of Hiatt Honey Company. Michael Roberts, founding executive director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy at U.C.L.A. Law School. Walter "Wally" Thurman, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at North Carolina State University.   RESOURCES: "U.S. honey is increasingly supplied through imports," by David Olsen (USDA Economic Research Service, 2018). "Economic Effects and Responses to Changes in Honey Bee Health," by Peyton Ferrier, Randal Rucker, Walter Thurman, and Michael Burgett (USDA Economic Research Service, 2018). "The Fable of the Bees: An Economic Investigation," by Steven Cheung (The Journal of Law and Economics, 1973). "Sugar and Sweeteners Yearbook Tables - Visualization: Meeting honey demand in the United States," (USDA Economic Research Service). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jessica Riedl, a budget and tax policy expert and longtime deficit watchdog, cuts through Washington spin. She tours the biggest tax myths. She gets into why both parties love free-lunch promises. She highlights the fight over taxing the rich, the real drivers of long-term debt, exploding interest costs, and why fiscal honesty is so rare.

Andrew Muhammad, a trade economist, joins Danny Kahn, a master distiller, Brad Patrick, a bourbon industry researcher, and Ken Troske, a labor economist. They dig into why Kentucky dominates bourbon, how aging and barrel rules shape the business, why a boom became a glut, and how tariffs, taxes, tourism, and canned cocktails are reshaping the market.

Vishal Patel, a surgery resident and Harvard researcher, joins Chris Worsham, a critical-care physician and health-policy researcher, and Bapu Jena, a Harvard economist-physician. They explore how blockbuster album drops, Spotify streaming, smartphones, and in-car tech may line up with traffic deaths. They also get into natural experiments, placebo tests, younger drivers, passengers, CarPlay, and better telematics.