Just beneath the surface of the global economy, there is a hidden layer of dealmakers for whom war, chaos, and sanctions can be a great business opportunity. Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, the authors of The World for Sale, help us shine a light on the shadowy realm of commodity traders.

• SOURCES:
  • Javier Blas, opinion columnist at Bloomberg News.
  • Jack Farchy, energy and commodities senior reporter at Bloomberg News.

• RESOURCES:
  • The World For Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources, by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy (2021)
  • The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich, by Daniel Ammann (2010).

• EXTRAS:
  • "How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Update)" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "The First Great American Industry," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

Everyone makes mistakes. How do we learn from them? Lessons from the classroom, the Air Force, and the world’s deadliest infectious disease.

• SOURCES:
  • Will Coleman, founder and C.E.O. of Alto.
  • Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School.
  • Babak Javid, physician-scientist and associate director of the University of California, San Francisco Center for Tuberculosis.
  • Gary Klein, cognitive psychologist and pioneer in the field of naturalistic decision making.
  • Theresa MacPhail, medical anthropologist and associate professor of science & technology studies at the Stevens Institute of Technology.
  • Roy Shalem, lecturer at Tel Aviv University.
  • Samuel West, curator and founder of The Museum of Failure.

• RESOURCES:
  • "A Golf Club Urinal, Colgate Lasagna and the Bitter Fight Over the Museum of Failure," by Zusha Elinson (Wall Street Journal, 2025).
  • Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, by Amy Edmondson (2023).
  • “You Think Failure Is Hard? So Is Learning From It,” by Lauren Eskreis-Winkler and Ayelet Fishbach (Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2022).
  • “The Market for R&D Failures,” by Manuel Trajtenberg and Roy Shalem (SSRN, 2010).
  • “Performing a Project Premortem,” by Gary Klein (Harvard Business Review, 2007).

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Deadliest Disease in Human History," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2025).
  • “How to Succeed at Failing,” series by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • “Moncef Slaoui: ‘It’s Unfortunate That It Takes a Crisis for This to Happen,'” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2020).

Giving up can be painful. That's why we need to talk about it. Today: stories about glitchy apps, leaky paint cans, broken sculptures — and a quest for the perfect bowl of ramen.

• SOURCES:
  • John Boykin, website designer and failed paint can re-inventor.
  • Angela Duckworth, host of No Stupid Questions, co-founder of Character Lab, and professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School.
  • Helen Fisher, former senior research fellow at The Kinsey Institute and former chief science advisor to Match.com.
  • Eric von Hippel, professor of technological innovation at M.I.T.’s Sloan School of Management.
  • Jill Hoffman, founder and C.E.O. of Path 2 Flight.
  • Gary Klein, cognitive psychologist and pioneer in the field of naturalistic decision making.
  • Steve Levitt, host of People I (Mostly) Admire, co-author of the Freakonomics books, and professor of economics at the University of Chicago.
  • Joseph O’Connell, artist.
  • Mike Ridgeman, government affairs manager at the Wisconsin Bike Fed.
  • Melanie Stefan, professor of physiology at Medical School Berlin.
  • Travis Thul, vice president for Student Success and Engagement at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

• RESOURCES:
  • “Data Snapshot: Tenure and Contingency in US Higher Education,” by Glenn Colby (American Association of University Professors, 2023).
  • Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, by Angela Duckworth (2016).
  • “Entrepreneurship and the U.S. Economy,” by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016).
  • “A C.V. of Failures,” by Melanie Stefan (Nature, 2010).
  • Ramen Now! official website.

• EXTRAS:
  • “How to Succeed at Failing,” series by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • “Annie Duke Thinks You Should Quit,” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).
  • “How Do You Know When It’s Time to Quit?” by No Stupid Questions (2020).
  • “Honey, I Grew the Economy,” by Freakonomics Radio (2019).
  • “The Upside of Quitting,” by Freakonomics Radio (2011).

In medicine, failure can be catastrophic. It can also produce discoveries that save millions of lives. Tales from the front line, the lab, and the I.T. department.

• SOURCES:
  • Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School.
  • Carole Hemmelgarn, co-founder of Patients for Patient Safety U.S. and director of the Clinical Quality, Safety & Leadership Master’s program at Georgetown University.
  • Gary Klein, cognitive psychologist and pioneer in the field of naturalistic decision making.
  • Robert Langer, institute professor and head of the Langer Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  • John Van Reenen, professor at the London School of Economics.

• RESOURCES:
  • Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, by Amy Edmondson (2023).
  • “Reconsidering the Application of Systems Thinking in Healthcare: The RaDonda Vaught Case,” by Connor Lusk, Elise DeForest, Gabriel Segarra, David M. Neyens, James H. Abernathy III, and Ken Catchpole (British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2022).
  • "Estimates of preventable hospital deaths are too high, new study shows," by Bill Hathaway (Yale News, 2020).
  • “Dispelling the Myth That Organizations Learn From Failure,” by Jeffrey Ray (SSRN, 2016).
  • “A New, Evidence-Based Estimate of Patient Harms Associated With Hospital Care,” by John T. James (Journal of Patient Safety, 2013).
  • To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, by the National Academy of Sciences (1999).
  • “Polymers for the Sustained Release of Proteins and Other Macromolecules,” by Robert Langer and Judah Folkman (Nature, 1976).
  • The Innovation and Diffusion Podcast, by John Van Reenen and Ruveyda Gozen.

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Curious, Brilliant, Vanishing Mr. Feynman," series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • “Will a Covid-19 Vaccine Change the Future of Medical Research?” by Freakonomics Radio (2020).
  • “Bad Medicine, Part 3: Death by Diagnosis,” by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

We tend to think of tragedies as a single terrible moment, rather than the result of multiple bad decisions. Can this pattern be reversed? We try — with stories about wildfires, school shootings, and love.

• SOURCES:
  • Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School.
  • Helen Fisher, former senior research fellow at The Kinsey Institute and former chief science advisor to Match.com.
  • Ed Galea, founding director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group at the University of Greenwich.
  • Gary Klein, cognitive psychologist and pioneer in the field of naturalistic decision making.
  • David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database.
  • Aaron Stark, head cashier at Lowe's and keynote speaker.
  • John Van Reenen, professor at the London School of Economics.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Ethan Crumbley: Parents of Michigan school gunman sentenced to at least 10 years," by Brandon Drenon (New York Times, 2024).
  • Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, by Amy Edmondson (2023).
  • "How Fire Turned Lahaina Into a Death Trap," by Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Serge F. Kovaleski, Shawn Hubler, and Riley Mellen (The New York Times, 2023).
  • The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic, by Jillian Peterson and James Densley (2021).
  • "I Was Almost A School Shooter," by Aaron Stark (TEDxBoulder, 2018).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Is Perfectionism Ruining Your Life?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
  • "Why Did You Marry That Person?" by Freakonomics Radio (2022).
  • "What Do We Really Learn From Failure?" by No Stupid Questions (2021).
  • "How to Fail Like a Pro," by Freakonomics Radio (2019).
  • "Failure Is Your Friend," by Freakonomics Radio (2014).

It used to be that making documentary films meant taking a vow of poverty (and obscurity). The streaming revolution changed that. Award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler talks to Stephen Dubner about capturing Billie Eilish’s musical genius and Martha Stewart’s vulnerability — and why he really, really, really needs to make a film about the New York Mets.

• SOURCES:
  • R.J. Cutler, filmmaker.

• RESOURCES:
  • Fight for Glory, documentary (2025).
  • Martha, documentary (2024).
  • "Reality Check: The Boom—or Glut—in Streaming Documentaries Has Sparked a Reckoning Among Filmmakers and Their Subjects," by Reeves Wiedeman (Vulture, 2023).
  • "Inside the Documentary Cash Grab," by Mia Galuppo and Katie Kilkenny (The Hollywood Reporter, 2022).
  • Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, documentary (2021).

• EXTRAS:
  • “Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent,” by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

It’s been in development for five years and has at least a year to go. On the eve of its out-of-town debut, the actor playing Lincoln quit. And the producers still need to raise another $15 million to bring the show to New York. There really is no business like show business. (Part three of a three-part series.)

• SOURCES:
  • Christopher Ashley, artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse.
  • Debby Buchholz, managing director of La Jolla Playhouse.
  • Carmen Cusack, actor.
  • Quentin Earl Darrington, actor.
  • Joe DiPietro, playwright and lyricist.
  • Crystal Monee Hall, composer, singer, actor.
  • Ivan Hernandez, actor.
  • Michael Rushton, professor of arts administration at Indiana University.
  • Jeffrey Seller, Broadway producer.
  • Alan Shorr, Broadway producer.
  • Daniel Watts, writer, choreographer, actor.

• RESOURCES:
  • 3 Summers of Lincoln (2025).
  • "Review: Visceral ‘3 Summers of Lincoln’ is thrilling and thought-provoking," by Pam Kragen (San Diego Union-Tribune, 2025).
  • "What’s Wrong with the Theatre is What’s Wrong With Society," by Michael Rushton (ArtsJournal, 2023).
  • "American Theater Is Imploding Before Our Eyes," by Isaac Butler (New York Times, 2023).
  • The Moral Foundations of Public Funding for the Arts, by Michael Rushton (2023).

• EXTRAS:
  • “How to Make the Coolest Show on Broadway,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • “You Can Make a Killing, but Not a Living,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

In an episode from 2012, we looked at what Sleep No More and the Stanford Prison Experiment can tell us about who we really are.

• SOURCES:
  • Felix Barrett, artistic director of Punchdrunk.
  • Steven Levitt, professor of economics at the University of Chicago.
  • Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus at Stanford University.

• RESOURCES:
  • “Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist behind the ‘Stanford Prison Experiment,’ dies at 91,” by Melissa De Witte (Stanford Report, 2024).
  • “Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment,” by Thibault Le Texier (American Psychologist, 2019).
  • “The Lifespan of a Lie,” by Ben Blum (GEN, 2018).
  • Punchdrunk.

• EXTRAS:
  • “How Is Live Theater Still Alive?” by Freakonomics Radio (2025).