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No Stupid Questions

No Stupid Questions

Stephen Dubner (co-author of the Freakonomics book series) and research psychologist Angela Duckworth (author of Grit) really like to ask people questions, and came to believe there’s no such thing as a stupid one. So they made a podcast where they can ask each other as many “stupid questions” as they want. New episodes each week. No Stupid Questions is a production of the Freakonomics Radio Network.

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35 min•
Yesterday

215. Is It Okay to Do the Right Thing for the Wrong Reason?

What’s wrong with donating to charity for the tax write-off? Should we think less of people who do volunteer work to pad their resumes? And why is Angela stopping women in public parks to compliment them? SOURCES:Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.Geoffrey Goodwin, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.Jon Huntsman, politician, diplomat, and businessman.Immanuel Kant, 18th-century German philosopher.Emrys Westacott, professor of philosophy at Alfred University. RESOURCES:"How Inferred Motives Shape Moral Judgements," by Ryan W. Carlson, Yochanan E. Bigman, Kurt Gray, Melissa J. Ferguson, and M. J. Crockett (Nature Reviews Psychology, 2022)."Just 2 Minutes of Walking After a Meal Is Surprisingly Good for You," by Rachel Fairbank (The New York Times, 2022)."Psychological Egoism," by Emrys Westacott (ThoughtCo, 2020)."A Meta-Analytic Review of Moral Licensing," by Irene Blanken, Niels van de Ven, and Marcel Zeelenberg (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2015)."Selfish or Selfless? On the Signal Value of Emotion in Altruistic Behavior," by Alixandra Barasch, Emma E. Levine, Jonathan Z. Berman, and Deborah A. Small (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2014)."Greenwashing — the Deceptive Tactics Behind Environmental Claims," by the United Nations. EXTRAS:"Giving It Away," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022)."How Can We Get More Virtue and Less ‘Virtue Signaling’?" by No Stupid Questions (2020)."Does Doing Good Give You License to Be Bad?" by Freakonomics Radio (2018).

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38 min•
6 Oct

214. What Does It Take to Survive a Scandal?

How do you come back from being “canceled”? Are we more likely to forgive someone if they cry? And what makes a successful public apology?  SOURCES:Karen Cerulo, professor emeritus of sociology at Rutgers University.Bill Clinton, former president of the United States.David Gergen, professor emeritus of public leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School; former White House adviser to four U.S. presidents.Benjamin Ho, professor and chair of economics at Vassar College.Monica Lewinsky, activist.John List, professor of economics at the University of Chicago.Brandon Rottinghaus, professor of political science at the University of Houston. RESOURCES:"Slut-Shamed at 22, an Icon at 50 — How Monica Lewinsky Got Her Life Back," by Helen Rumbelow (The Times, 2024)."Do Scandals Matter?" by Brandon Rottinghaus (Political Research Quarterly, 2023)."Toward An Understanding of the Economics of Apologies: Evidence from a Large-Scale Natural Field Experiment," by Basil Halperin, Benjamin Ho, John List, and Ian Muir (The Economic Journal, 2022)."Embodied Remorse: Physical Displays of Remorse Increase Positive Responses to Public Apologies, but Have Negligible Effects on Forgiveness," by Matthew J. Hornsey, Michael J. A. Wohl, Emily A. Harris, Tyler G. Okimoto, Michael Thai, and Michael Wenzel (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2020)."Commentary: Time for Bill Clinton to Go Away," by Will Rahn (CBS News, 2018)."The Price of Shame," by Monica Lewinsky (TED Talk, 2015)."Apologies Demanded Yet Devalued: Normative Dilution in the Age of Apology," by Tyler G. Okimoto, Michael Wenzel, and Matthew J. Hornsey (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2015)."Apologies of the Rich and Famous: Cultural, Cognitive, and Social Explanations of Why We Care and Why We Forgive," by Janet M. Ruane and Karen Cerulo (Social Psychology Quarterly, 2014). EXTRAS:"How to Optimize Your Apology," by Freakonomics Radio (2018)."Coal Digger," S1.E5 of Modern Family (2009).

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39 min•
29 Sep

213. What Is Evil?

What makes normal people do terrible things? Are there really bad apples — or just bad barrels? And how should you deal with a nefarious next-door neighbor? SOURCES:Jonathan Haidt, professor of ethical leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business.Christina Maslach, professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.Stanley Milgram, 20th century professor of psychology at Yale University.Edward R. Murrow, 20th century American broadcast journalist and war correspondent.Alexander Pope, 17-18th century English poet.Adrian Raine, professor of criminology, psychiatry, and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.Oskar Schindler, 20th century German businessman.Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus of psychology at Stanford University. RESOURCES:"Mental Illness and Violence: Debunking Myths, Addressing Realities," by Tori DeAngelis (Monitor on Psychology, 2021)."Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment," by Thibault Le Texier (American Psychologist, 2019)."How 'Evil' Became a Conservative Buzzword," by Emma Green (The Atlantic, 2017)."The Double-Edged Sword: Does Biomechanism Increase or Decrease Judges' Sentencing of Psychopaths?" by Lisa G. Aspinwall, Teneille R. Brown, and James Tabery (Science, 2012)."The Psychology of Evil," by Philip Zimbardo (TED Talk, 2008).The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, by Philip Zimbardo (2007)."When Morality Opposes Justice: Conservatives Have Moral Intuitions that Liberals may not Recognize," by Jonathan Haidt and Jesse Graham (Social Justice Research, 2007)."Abu Ghraib Whistleblower Speaks Out," by Michele Norris (All Things Considered, 2006).Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View, by Stanley Milgram (1974). EXTRAS:"Does Free Will Exist, and Does It Matter?" by No Stupid Questions (2024)."Are You Suffering From Burnout?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)."Essay on Man, Epistle II," poem by Alexander Pope (1733).

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38 min•
22 Sep

212. When Do You Become an Adult?

Who decided that we’re fully mature at 18? Should 16-year-olds have the right to vote? And why are young people bringing their parents to job interviews? SOURCES:Jeffrey Arnett, senior research scholar in psychology at Clark University.Julie Beck, staff writer at The Atlantic.Grace Icenogle, confinement prevention administrator in the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families.Allyson Mackey, professor of neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania.Trevor Noah, comedian, writer, and late-night television host.Heejung Park, professor of psychology at Bryn Mawr College.Lawrence Steinberg, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Temple University.Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University. RESOURCES:"1 in 4 Gen Zers Brought a Parent to a Job Interview," (ResumeTemplates.com, 2024)."Puberty Starts Earlier Than It Used To. No One Knows Why," by Azeen Ghorayshi (The New York Times, 2022)."Early Life Stress Is Associated With Earlier Emergence of Permanent Molars," by Cassidy L. McDermott, Katherine Hilton, Anne T. Park, Allyson P. Mackey, et al. (PNAS, 2021)."When Are You Really an Adult?" by Maria Cramer (The New York Times, 2020)."The Decline in Adult Activities Among U.S. Adolescents, 1976-2016," by Jean M. Twenge and Heejung Park (Child Development, 2019)."Using Developmental Science to Distinguish Adolescents and Adults Under the Law," by Laurence Steinberg and Grace Icenogle (Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, 2019).Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah (2016)."When Are You Really an Adult?" by Julie Beck (The Atlantic, 2016)."Adulthood in Law and Culture," by Vivian E. Hamilton (William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository, 2016)."Emerging Adulthood. A Theory of Development From the Late Teens Through the Twenties," by Jeffrey Arnett (American Psychologist, 2000). EXTRA:"Do 'Generations' Mean Anything?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).

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36 min•
15 Sep

211. Why Do We Listen to Sad Songs?

What are Mike and Angela’s favorite songs to cry to? Can upbeat music lift you out of a bad mood? And what is Angela going to sing the next time she does karaoke? SOURCES:Matthew Desmond, professor of sociology at Princeton University.Daniel Kahneman, professor emeritus of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University.Joshua Knobe, professor of philosophy, psychology, and linguistics at Yale University.Simon McCarthy-Jones, professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin.Yael Millgram, senior lecturer of psychological sciences at Tel Aviv University.Stanley Milgram, 20th-century American social psychologist.Ruth Reichl, food writer.Laurie Santos, professor of psychology at Yale University.Barbara Tversky, professor emerita of psychology at Stanford University. RESOURCES:"On the Value of Sad Music," by Mario Attie-Picker, Tara Venkatesan, George E. Newman, and Joshua Knobe (The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 2024)."The Reason People Listen to Sad Songs," by Oliver Whang (The New York Times, 2023)."Adele 30: The Psychology of Why Sad Songs Make Us Feel Good," by Simon McCarthy-Jones (The Conversation, 2021)."Why Do Depressed People Prefer Sad Music?" by Sunkyung Yoon, Edelyn Verona, Robert Schlauch, Sandra Schneider, and Jonathan Rottenberg (Emotion, 2020).Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond (2016)."Sad as a Matter of Choice? Emotion-Regulation Goals in Depression," by Yael Millgram, Jutta Joormann, Jonathan D. Huppert, and Maya Tamir (Psychological Science, 2015)."Music and Emotion Through Time," by Michael Tilson Thomas (TED Talk, 2012).Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman (2011). EXTRAS:Girl Power Sing-Along with Laurie Santos and Catherine Price, at the Black Squirrel Club in Philadelphia (September 28, 2024)."What Makes a Good Sense of Humor?" by No Stupid Questions (2024)."How Contagious Is Behavior? With Laurie Santos of 'The Happiness Lab' (Replay)," by No Stupid Questions (2023).

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38 min•
8 Sep

210. What Makes a Good Sense of Humor?

What is the evolutionary purpose of laughter? What’s the difference between Swedish depression and American depression? And why aren’t aliens interested in abducting Mike?  SOURCES:Jennifer Aaker, professor of marketing at Stanford University.Judd Apatow, film director, screenwriter, and comedian.Fredrik Backman, author.Naomi Bagdonas, lecturer in management at Stanford University.James Corden, actor, comedian, and former late-night television host.Dick Costolo, former C.E.O. of Twitter.Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford University.Jimmy Fallon, comedian and late-night television host.Daniel Kahneman, professor emeritus of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University.Jimmy Kimmel, comedian and late-night television host.Larry LaPrise, 20th-century American singer-songwriter.Jerry Seinfeld, comedian, actor, and writer. RESOURCES:"Fredrik Backman on Creative Anxiety and Procrastination," by Fredrik Backman (Simon & Schuster Centennial Celebration, 2024)."The Relative Importance of Joke and Audience Characteristics in Eliciting Amusement," by Hannes Rosenbusch, Anthony M. Evans, and Marcel Zeelenberg (Psychological Science, 2022)."The 100-Million-Year Origin Story of Laughter and Humor," by Dean Russell (Endless Thread, 2022).Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And How Anyone Can Harness It. Even You.), by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas (2021)."What Makes Things Funny? An Integrative Review of the Antecedents of Laughter and Amusement," by Caleb Warren, Adam Barsky, and A. Peter McGraw (Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2020).Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy, by Judd Apatow (2015).How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie (1936). EXTRAS:"Can A.I. Take a Joke?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023)."The Comedian-Ophthalmologist Will See You Now," by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022).There's Something About Mary, film (1998).

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