Sign up for free to listen for longer

Get unlimited radio, access to exclusive and original podcasts and non-stop music stations.

Control the way you listen to your favourite music, podcasts and radio.

Already have an account?

Log in

Sign up for free to listen for longer

Get unlimited radio, access to exclusive and original podcasts and non-stop music stations.

Control the way you listen to your favourite music, podcasts and radio.

Already have an account?

Log in

591. Signs of Progress, One Year at a Time

591. Signs of Progress, One Year at a Time

Freakonomics Radio
53 min
6 Jun 24
Mark as played
Share

About the episode

Every December, a British man named Tom Whitwell publishes a list of 52 things he’s learned that year. These fascinating facts reveal the spectrum of human behavior, from fraud and hypocrisy to Whitwell’s steadfast belief in progress. Should we also believe? SOURCES:Tom Whitwell, managing consultant at Magnetic. RESOURCES:"Supercentenarian and Remarkable Age Records Exhibit Patterns Indicative of Clerical Errors and Pension Fraud," by Saul Justin Newman (Working Paper, 2024)."52 things I learned in 2023," by Tom Whitwell (Magnetic Notes, 2023)."Job Satisfaction 2023," by The Conference Board (2023)."What Fax Machines and Floppy Disks Reveal About Britain’s Productivity Problem," (The Economist, 2017).Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City, by Peter D. Norton (2008)."Beyond Propaganda," by John Kenney (The New York Times, 2006).