The Curious Mr. Feynman (Update)

The Curious Mr. Feynman (Update)

From the Manhattan Project to the Challenger investigation, the physicist Richard Feynman loved to shoot down what he called “lousy ideas.” Today, the world is awash in lousy ideas — so maybe it’s time to get some more Feynman in our lives? (Part one of a three-part series [https://freakonomics.com/the-curious-brilliant-vanishing-mr-feynman/] originally published in 2024.)   * SOURCES: * Helen Czerski [https://www.helenczerski.net/about-helen], physicist and oceanographer at University College London. * Michelle Feynman [http://www.tedxcaltech.com/content/michelle-feynman.html], photographer and daughter of Richard Feynman. * Ralph Leighton [https://bookshop.org/search?keywords=Ralph+Leighton], biographer and film producer. * Charles Mann [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/60291/charles-c-mann/], science journalist and author. * John Preskill [http://theory.caltech.edu/~preskill/bio.html], professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology. * Stephen Wolfram [https://www.stephenwolfram.com/], founder and C.E.O. of Wolfram Research; creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the Wolfram Language.   * RESOURCES: * "How Legendary Physicist Richard Feynman Helped Crack the Case on the Challenger Disaster [https://lithub.com/how-legendary-physicist-richard-feynman-helped-crack-the-case-on-the-challenger-disaster/]," by Kevin Cook (Literary Hub, 2021). * Challenger: The Final Flight [https://www.netflix.com/watch/81012174?trackId=255824129&tctx=0%2C0%2Cd665a67a-45cf-47bf-9dd7-d2309dc5b791-416051258%2Cd665a67a-45cf-47bf-9dd7-d2309dc5b791-416051258%7C2%2Cunknown%2C%2C%2CtitlesResults%2C81012137%2CVideo%3A81012174%2CdetailsPageEpisodePlayButton], docuseries (2020). * Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track: Selected Letters of Richard P. Feynman [https://amzn.to/3SGq3Ov], edited by Michelle Feynman (2005). * The Pleasure of Finding Things Out [https://amzn.to/3vZ1nI0], by Richard Feynman (1999). * Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman [https://amzn.to/3UtXMf0], by James Gleick (1992). * “What Do You Care What Other People Think?” [https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-do-you-care-what-other-people-think-further-adventures-of-a-curious-character-richard-p-feynman/10049716?ean=9780393355642]by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1988). * "Mr. Feynman Goes to Washington [https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/3570/1/Feynman.pdf]," by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (Engineering & Science, 1987). * The Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Twentieth-century Physics [https://amzn.to/48dJ933], by Robert Crease and Charles Mann (1986). * Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! [https://bookshop.org/p/books/surely-you-re-joking-mr-feynman-adventures-of-a-curious-character-richard-p-feynman/8737624?ean=9780393355628], by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1985). * "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024912/]," (Horizon S18.E9, 1981). * "Los Alamos From Below [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY-u1qyRM5w]," by Richard Feynman (UC Santa Barbara lecture, 1975).   * EXTRAS: * "Exploring Physics, from Eggshells to Oceans [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/exploring-physics-from-eggshells-to-oceans/]," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

675. Has the New York Times Become a Games Company?

Not exactly. But their runaway success with games like Wordle says something bigger about the way we live now. (Part one of a series, “We Are All Gamers Now [https://freakonomics.com/we-are-all-gamers-now/].”)   * SOURCES: * Alex Hardiman [https://www.nytco.com/person/alex-hardiman/], chief product officer at The New York Times. * Jonathan Knight [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jk00011/], S.V.P. and general manager for New York Times Games. * Eric Zimmerman [https://gamecenter.nyu.edu/faculty/eric-zimmerman/], game designer, professor of game design at the N.Y.U. Game Center.   * RESOURCES: * "Wordle Is a Love Story [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/technology/wordle-word-game-creator.html]," by Daniel Victor (New York Times, 2022). * The Rules We Break: Lessons in Play, Thinking, and Design [https://www.amazon.com/Rules-We-Break-Lessons-Thinking/dp/1648960677], by Eric Zimmerman (2022). * Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can't Live Without Them [https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Inside-Box-Adventures-Crosswords/dp/0525522085], by Adrienne Raphel (2020). * The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia [https://www.amazon.com/Grasshopper-Games-Life-Utopia/dp/155111772X], by Bernard Suits (2005). * Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals [https://www.amazon.com/Rules-Play-Design-Fundamentals-Press/dp/0262240459], by Katie Salen Tekinbas and Eric Zimmerman (2003). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

674. How Does a Composer Feel After the World Premiere?

Great. Then depressed. Then great again. Stephen Dubner gets the full story from David Lang; we also hear from some fans, and the New York Philharmonic’s president. The math and the aftermath of wealth of nations. (Part two of a series [https://freakonomics.com/david-langs-the-wealth-of-nations/].)   * SOURCES: * David Lang [https://davidlangmusic.com/about/], composer and professor at the Yale School of Music. * Matías Tarnopolsky [https://www.nyphil.org/about-us/artists/matias-tarnopolsky/], president and C.E.O. of the New York Philharmonic.   * RESOURCES: * "Finally, an Opera About Economics [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-20/gustavo-dudamel-s-the-wealth-of-nations-melds-opera-and-economics]," by Stacey Vanek Smith (Bloomberg, 2026). * "The Little Match Girl Passion [https://davidlangmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-little-match-girl-passion]," by David Lang (2023). * The Wealth of Nations [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.207956/page/n3/mode/2up], by Adam Smith (1776).   * EXTRAS: * "David Lang’s the wealth of nations [https://freakonomics.com/david-langs-the-wealth-of-nations/]," series by Freakonomics Radio (2026). * "In Search of the Real Adam Smith [https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/in-search-of-the-real-adam-smith/]," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Was Adam Smith Really a Right-Winger? (Update)

Economists and politicians have turned him into a mascot for free-market ideology. Some on the left say the right has badly misread him. In this updated replay of a 2022 episode, we hold a very Smithy tug of war.   * SOURCES: * Eamonn Butler [https://www.libertarianism.org/people/eamonn-butler], co-founder and director of the Adam Smith Institute. * Glory Liu [https://www.gloryliu.com/about], a political scientist and Adam Smith scholar at Georgetown University. * Mariana Mazzucato [https://marianamazzucato.com/], professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London. * Dennis Rasmussen [https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/directory/dennis-c-rasmussen], a professor of political science at Syracuse University. * Russ Roberts [https://russroberts.info/], president of Shalem College in in Jerusalem; host of the EconTalk podcast; and author. * Craig Smith [https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/craigsmith/], Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in the Scottish Enlightenment at the University of Glasgow.   * RESOURCES: * Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism [https://amzn.to/3P70VwN], by Gloria Liu (2022). * "Henry and Adam: A Deep and Special Friendship [https://www.panmurehouse.org/perspectives/articles/henry-and-adam-a-deep-and-special-friendship/]," by Benny Higgins (Adam Smith Panmure House Perspective, 2020). * "Rescuing Adam Smith From Myth and Misrepresentation [https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2018/07/26/rescuing-adam-smith-from-myth-and-misrepresentation]," (The Economist, 2018). * The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought [https://amzn.to/3uzB5Is], by Dennis C. Rasmussen (2017). * How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness [https://amzn.to/3hd66i3], by Russ Roberts (2014). * "British Privatization — Taking Capitalism to the People [https://hbr.org/1992/01/british-privatization-taking-capitalism-to-the-people]," by John Moore (Harvard Business Review, 1992). * Free to Choose: A Personal Statement [https://amzn.to/3Y31wUh], by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman (1990). * The Essential Adam Smith [https://amzn.to/3HjlAf3], edited by Robert L. Heilbroner (1986). * An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations [https://www.libertyfund.org/books/an-inquiry-into-the-nature-and-causes-of-the-wealth-of-nations-set/], by Adam Smith (1776). * The Theory of Moral Sentiments [https://amzn.to/3VYSzcJ], by Adam Smith (1759).   * EXTRAS: * "In Search of the Real Adam Smith [https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/in-search-of-the-real-adam-smith/]," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

673. What Is Money?

That’s what the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang wanted to learn. So he turned Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations into an oratorio. We tag along as Lang’s piece heads toward its world premiere with the New York Philharmonic. (Part one of a two-part series [https://freakonomics.com/david-langs-the-wealth-of-nations/].)   * SOURCES: * Fleur Barron [https://www.fleurbarron.com/], opera singer and mezzo-soprano. * David Lang [https://davidlangmusic.com/about/], composer and professor at the Yale School of Music.   * RESOURCES: * "Finally, an Opera About Economics [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-20/gustavo-dudamel-s-the-wealth-of-nations-melds-opera-and-economics?embedded-checkout=true]," by Stacey Vanek Smith (Bloomberg, 2026). * "The Little Match Girl Passion [https://davidlangmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-little-match-girl-passion]," by David Lang (2023). * The Wealth of Nations [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.207956/page/n3/mode/2up], by Adam Smith (1776).   * EXTRAS: * "In Search of the Real Adam Smith [https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/in-search-of-the-real-adam-smith/]," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.