The Economics of Everyday Things
Freakonomics Network & Zachary Crockett
Who decides which snacks are in your office’s vending machine? How much is a suburban elm tree worth, and to whom? How did Girl Scout Cookies become a billion-dollar business? In bite-sized episodes, journalist Zachary Crockett looks at quotidian things and finds amazing stories.
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To get every show in the Freakonomics Radio Network without ads and a monthly bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio, start a free trial for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.
Episodes
Mentioned books
8 snips
Apr 6, 2026 • 14min
28. Horseshoe Crab Blood
Dina Fine-Marin, senior reporter on wildlife crime at National Geographic, explains why horseshoe crab blood is vital to medicine. Short, clear takes on the LAL test and how it detects deadly bacterial toxins. Discussion covers where and how crabs are harvested, the impacts on crab populations and shorebirds, and the push toward synthetic alternatives.
8 snips
Apr 2, 2026 • 19min
27. Romance Novels
A look at how mass-market publishing turned romance into a global cash machine. The rise of category romance, subgenre variety, and iconic cover marketing are explored. The impact of e-books and self-publishing on royalties and backlist sales is highlighted. The conversation also covers representation, Black-led stories, and the TikTok-fueled boom in diverse and queer romance.
6 snips
Mar 30, 2026 • 14min
26. Graffiti
Tommy Conway, director of Philadelphia's CLIP who runs city anti-graffiti cleanup efforts. Repose (Repo), Philadelphia graffiti artist active in murals and street practice. They talk about program operations, rapid removal tactics, cleanup costs, public murals vs street writing, Graffiti Pier norms, and the tensions between street culture and institutional art projects.
32 snips
Mar 26, 2026 • 18min
25. Private Jets
Chuck Collins, inequality researcher and member of Patriotic Millionaires, critiques private-jet tax and environmental impacts. Anthony Tivnan, private aviation executive and Magellan Jets co-founder, explains services, pricing, and ownership models. They discuss how private flying works, who pays, environmental costs, and policy responses in a fast-paced, revealing conversation.
16 snips
Mar 23, 2026 • 16min
24. Pistachios
Sawyer Clark, pistachio farmer and asset manager at Gold Leaf Farming, shares life on large orchards and the economics of growing nuts. He talks about planting costs and the long wait for returns. He describes the intense six-week harvest and the processing race to preserve quality. He also covers how payments, market power, marketing, and water use shape the industry.
6 snips
Mar 19, 2026 • 16min
23. Cadavers - Part 2
In the final part of our series, Zachary Crockett talks to a man with a storied — and controversial — career in the body parts business. This episode was originally published on October 29th, 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Mar 16, 2026 • 18min
22. Cadavers - Part 1
Kaylin Goodwin, VP of marketing at ScienceCare, explains how a for-profit body broker recruits donors and runs operations. Susan Lawrence, historian and professor, traces cadaver use from public dissections to modern donation laws. They discuss grave robbing turned industry, how bodies are sold and used, and the growth of wet labs and for-profit models.
42 snips
Mar 12, 2026 • 16min
21. Car Washes
Brian Cruz, owner of Sergeant Clean in Ohio, who turned rundown sites into modern, tech-driven car washes. Eric Wolf, CEO of the International Car Wash Association, who tracks industry trends and tech adoption. They discuss the car wash boom, AI and sensors in tunnels, water recycling and costs, subscription models and recurring revenue, and how automation and consolidation are reshaping the business.
8 snips
Mar 9, 2026 • 16min
20. Tattoo Parlors
A dive into how Instagram transformed tattoo careers and shop economics. Apprenticeships, licensing quirks, and the costs of starting out get examined. Artists debate commission splits, chair rents, and shifting shop strategies. Trends, niche specialties, tattoo removal, and the physical toll of the trade are all explored.
33 snips
Mar 5, 2026 • 14min
19. Pizza Boxes
Scott Wiener, pizza-box collector and founder of Scott's Pizza Tours, explains the curious history and design of corrugated pizza boxes. He covers Domino's standardization, how manufacturers shape supply chains, trade-offs like heat versus sogginess, recycling realities, and why clever redesigns rarely scale. He also reflects on collecting boxes while avoiding eating from them.
