Freakonomics Radio

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 [https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6451], professor of leadership management at Harvard Business School. * Helen Fisher [https://helenfisher.com/], former senior research fellow at The Kinsey Institute and former chief science advisor to Match.com. * Ed Galea [https://www.gre.ac.uk/people/rep/faculty-of-engineering-and-science/ed-galea], founding director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group at the University of Greenwich. * Gary Klein [https://www.gary-klein.com/welcome], cognitive psychologist and pioneer in the field of naturalistic decision making. * David Riedman [https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-riedman/], founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database. * Aaron Stark [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Stark], head cashier at Lowe's and keynote speaker. * John Van Reenen [https://www.lse.ac.uk/economics/people/faculty/john-van-reenen], professor at the London School of Economics.   * RESOURCES: * "Ethan Crumbley: Parents of Michigan school gunman sentenced to at least 10 years [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68773119]," by Brandon Drenon (New York Times, 2024). * Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well [https://amzn.to/45mpkoA], by Amy Edmondson (2023). * "How Fire Turned Lahaina Into a Death Trap [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/15/us/hawaii-maui-lahaina-fire.html]," 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 [https://amzn.to/3rF24EF], by Jillian Peterson and James Densley (2021). * "I Was Almost A School Shooter [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azRl1dI-Cts]," by Aaron Stark (TEDxBoulder, 2018).   * EXTRAS:  * "Is Perfectionism Ruining Your Life? [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-perfectionism-ruining-your-life/]" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023). * "Why Did You Marry That Person? [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-did-you-marry-that-person/]" by Freakonomics Radio (2022). * "What Do We Really Learn From Failure? [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/what-do-we-really-learn-from-failure/]" by No Stupid Questions (2021). * "How to Fail Like a Pro [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-fail-like-a-pro/]," by Freakonomics Radio (2019). * "Failure Is Your Friend [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/failure-is-your-friend-2/]," 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 [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0191712/], filmmaker.   * RESOURCES: * Fight for Glory [https://tv.apple.com/us/show/fight-for-glory-2024-world-series/umc.cmc.6x620ggn8n2yamemiuk7ys8yt], documentary (2025). * Martha [https://www.netflix.com/title/81479059], documentary (2024). * "Reality Check: The Boom—or Glut—in Streaming Documentaries Has Sparked a Reckoning Among Filmmakers and Their Subjects [https://www.vulture.com/article/tv-documentaries-ethical-standards.html]," by Reeves Wiedeman (Vulture, 2023). * "Inside the Documentary Cash Grab [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/documentary-streaming-age-filmmaker-debate-ethics-payments-1235221541/]," by Mia Galuppo and Katie Kilkenny (The Hollywood Reporter, 2022). * Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, [https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/billie-eilish-the-worlds-a-little-blurry/umc.cmc.5waz3hfo9r1133t8arap8b6nq?action=play] documentary (2021).   * EXTRAS: * “Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent, [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/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 [https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/how-is-live-theater-still-alive/].)   * SOURCES: * Christopher Ashley [https://lajollaplayhouse.org/who-we-are/the-team/], artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse. * Debby Buchholz [https://lajollaplayhouse.org/who-we-are/the-team/], managing director of La Jolla Playhouse. * Carmen Cusack [https://www.instagram.com/cusackcarmen/?hl=en], actor. * Quentin Earl Darrington [https://playbill.com/person/quentin-earl-darrington-vault-0000031341], actor. * Joe DiPietro [https://playbill.com/person/joe-dipietro-vault-0000006553], playwright and lyricist. * Crystal Monee Hall [https://www.crystalmoneehall.com/], composer, singer, actor. * Ivan Hernandez [https://playbill.com/person/ivan-hernandez-vault-0000126520], actor. * Michael Rushton [https://oneill.indiana.edu/faculty-research/directory/profiles/faculty/full-time/rushton-michael.html], professor of arts administration at Indiana University. * Jeffrey Seller [https://www.jeffreyseller.com/], Broadway producer. * Alan Shorr [https://broadwaylive.net/], Broadway producer. * Daniel Watts [https://www.instagram.com/dwattswords/?hl=en], writer, choreographer, actor.   * RESOURCES: * 3 Summers of Lincoln [https://lajollaplayhouse.org/show/3-summers-of-lincoln/] (2025). * "Review: Visceral ‘3 Summers of Lincoln’ is thrilling and thought-provoking [https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/03/03/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, [https://www.artsjournal.com/worth/2023/07/whats-wrong-with-the-theatre-is-whats-wrong-with-society/]" by Michael Rushton (ArtsJournal, 2023). * "American Theater Is Imploding Before Our Eyes [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/opinion/theater-collapse-bailout.html]," by Isaac Butler (New York Times, 2023). * The Moral Foundations of Public Funding for the Arts [https://amzn.to/4cIRK1f], by Michael Rushton (2023).   * EXTRAS: * “How to Make the Coolest Show on Broadway [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-make-the-coolest-show-on-broadway/],” by Freakonomics Radio (2024). * “You Can Make a Killing, but Not a Living [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/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 [https://www.punchdrunk.com/our-team/], artistic director of Punchdrunk. * Steven Levitt [https://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/], professor of economics at the University of Chicago. * Philip Zimbardo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/philzimbardo/], professor emeritus at Stanford University.   * RESOURCES: * “Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist behind the ‘Stanford Prison Experiment,’ dies at 91, [https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2024/10/philip-zimbardo-the-psychologist-behind-stanford-prison-experiment-dies-at-age-91]” by Melissa De Witte (Stanford Report, 2024). * “Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment, [https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/2019-letexier.pdf]” by Thibault Le Texier (American Psychologist, 2019). * “The Lifespan of a Lie, [https://gen.medium.com/the-lifespan-of-a-lie-d869212b1f62]” by Ben Blum (GEN, 2018). * Punchdrunk [https://www.punchdrunk.com/].   * EXTRAS: * “How Is Live Theater Still Alive? [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-is-live-theater-still-alive/]” by Freakonomics Radio (2025). * "Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia? [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-is-there-so-much-fraud-in-academia/]" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

A hit like Hamilton can come from nowhere while a sure bet can lose $20 million in a flash. We speak with some of the biggest producers in the game — Sonia Friedman, Jeffrey Seller, Hal Luftig — and learn that there is only one guarantee: the theater owners always win. (Part two of a three-part series [https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/how-is-live-theater-still-alive/].)   * SOURCES: * Debby Buchholz [https://lajollaplayhouse.org/who-we-are/the-team/], managing director of La Jolla Playhouse. * Sonia Friedman [https://www.soniafriedman.com/about], Broadway producer. * Rocco Landesman [https://www.arts.gov/about/what-is-the-nea/rocco-landesman-2009-12], Broadway producer, former owner of Jujamcyn Theaters, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. * Hal Luftig [https://www.halluftig.com/], Broadway producer. * Luis Miranda Jr. [https://www.relentlessthebook.com/], political strategist, founding president of the Hispanic Federation, the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, Viva Broadway, and The Public Theater. * Michael Rushton [https://oneill.indiana.edu/faculty-research/directory/profiles/faculty/full-time/rushton-michael.html], professor of arts administration at Indiana University. * Jeffrey Seller [https://www.jeffreyseller.com/], Broadway producer. * Richard Winkler [http://www.redhangerproductions.com/], Broadway producer. * Stacy Wolf [https://effroncenter.princeton.edu/people/stacy-wolf], professor of theater at Princeton University.   * RESOURCES: * Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir [https://amzn.to/3EmlK6y], by Jeffrey Seller (2025). * Relentless: My Story of the Latino Spirit That Is Transforming America [https://amzn.to/42hgavq], by Luis Miranda Jr. (2024). * Beyond Broadway: The Pleasure and Promise of Musical Theatre Across America [https://amzn.to/4lzU52w], by Stacy Wolf (2019). * "‘Hamilton’ Inc.: The Path to a Billion-Dollar Broadway Show [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/theater/hamilton-inc-the-path-to-a-billion-dollar-show.html]," by Michael Paulson and David Gelles (New York Times, 2016). * "On the Performing Arts: The Anatomy of Their Economic Problems [https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~wbaumol/OnThePerformingArtsTheAnatomyOfTheirEcoProbs.pdf]," by W.J. Baumol and W.G. Bowen (The American Economic Review, 1965).   * EXTRAS: * “How to Make the Coolest Show on Broadway [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-make-the-coolest-show-on-broadway/],” by Freakonomics Radio (2024). * “You Can Make a Killing, but Not a Living [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/you-can-make-a-killing-but-not-a-living/],” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).