
Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior. To get every show in the Freakonomics Radio Network without ad... more
| Publishes | Twice weekly | Episodes | 1012 | Founded | 17 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | DocumentarySociety & Culture | |||

Writers, designers, actors, coders, musicians, thinkers — they’re all worried about being replaced by machines. But what if the A.I.s are actually here to help? (Part one of a two-part series.)
• SOURCES:• Sean Astin, actor, president of SAG-AFTRA. more
They say they make companies more efficient through savvy management. Critics say they bend the rules to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers and employees. Can they both be right? (Probably not.)
• SOURCES:• Brendan Ballou, C.E.O. of the P... more
David Rubenstein, a product of the old bipartisan D.C., made his fortune in private equity. He’s been spending it on “patriotic philanthropy” and institutions like the Kennedy Center, where Trump fired him as chairman. Now he wonders if the center ca... more
Podcasting started as a niche-nerd pursuit. Now it’s a $9 billion industry. Is that a lot? The strange economics of this thing we do.
• SOURCES:• Jim Bankoff, chairman and C.E.O. of Vox Media.
• Ben Davis, head of digital at WME.
• Will Page, former... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





I listened to almost all of an episode where an interview is being done, and there was way too much interrupting by the host. He’d ask a question, start to get an answer, then ask a new one in the middle of this answer. It was frustrating and uncomfortable.
Like others, I’m disappointed by the corporate bias in the Freakonomics series on Kalshi. They uncritically accepted Kalshi’s claims and overlooked widespread criticisms of the platform and its potential for substantial societal harm, despite the title suggesting that they would. These episodes were missing basic scientific curiosity and skepticism that I expect from decent economists. It felt like a paid advertisement or even corporate propaganda.
I strongly suggest a follow-up episode with a ... more
Always interesting and well researched as well as excellent production with Stephen’s voice and Louis’ music - it’s the whole package of clear information that is worth knowing and worth your time.
Are they getting paid by kalshi? Truly sad to see a great podcast become a shill for dangerous gambling products that ruin peoples lives
On the Sept 4 show re AI survival. Kudos for talking abt a responsible approach. quibble: I think the late 80’s loss of mfg jobs happened under Reagan and Bush, not Clinton. China Shock refers to job losses beginning late 90’s.
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Spotify | #175 | |
Spotify | #19 | |
Apple Podcasts | #100 | |
Apple Podcasts | #3 | |
Apple Podcasts | #10 | |
Apple Podcasts | #122 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
The show tends to explore big ideas at the intersection of economics, science, culture, and public policy through long-form conversations with leading thinkers and practitioners. Episodes often center on how systems create friction or influence behavior—whether it's sludge in healthcare and subscriptions, trust in higher education, or bold visions in architecture, AI, and space-enabled computation. A standout is the breadth and depth of guests, ranging from Nobel laureates and university leaders to architects, technology pioneers, and public policymakers, with a knack for turning complex topics into accessible storytelling. The program frequently blends data-driven analysis with human-centered anecdotes, making it useful for listeners who w... more
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Freakonomics Radio. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Freakonomics Radio and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Freakonomics Radio, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Freakonomics Radio, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers Freakonomics Radio has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with Freakonomics Radio:
1. The Economics of Everyday Things
2. Planet Money
3. People I (Mostly) Admire
4. Radiolab
5. Hidden Brain
Freakonomics Radio launched 17 years ago and published 1012 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Freakonomics Radio from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Freakonomics Radio. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on Freakonomics Radio include:
1. David Rubenstein
2. Jenna Weiss-Berman
3. Jim Bankoff
4. Will Page
5. Ben Davis
6. Jeanine Wright
7. Derrell Peel
8. Roger Horowitz
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.