Freakonomics, M.D.
Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Each week, physician, economist, and author of "Random Acts of Medicine" Dr. Bapu Jena will dig into a fascinating study at the intersection of economics and healthcare. He takes on questions like: Why do kids with summer birthdays get the flu more often? Can surviving a hurricane help you live longer? What do heart surgery and grocery-store pricing have in common?
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 22, 2022 • 26min
34. Should We Have to Pay for Our Sins?
Taxes on alcohol and tobacco promise to make people healthier and raise public funds. But can they backfire? Bapu Jena looks at the complicated economics of sin taxes.
Apr 15, 2022 • 27min
33. What Do a Full Moon, the Super Bowl, and Tax Day Have in Common?
Tax deadlines can stress us out. But do they also influence our conscious — and subconscious — behavior? Bapu Jena looks at why, with our health, timing is often everything.
Apr 12, 2022 • 10min
From Against the Rules with Michael Lewis: Six Levels Down
We’re sharing a special preview of the new season of Against the Rules from Pushkin Industries. In this clip, bestselling author Michael Lewis explores the idea that, in any big company, the person who can actually solve a problem is often buried six levels deep in the organization. You can hear more episodes of Against the Rules at podcasts.pushkin.fm/atrmd.
5 snips
Apr 8, 2022 • 23min
32. What is a Good Death — and Why Do So Few of Us Get One?
When it comes to end-of-life medical care, getting it right can be hard — even for doctors. Bapu Jena discusses surprising research on how we can live better - and maybe longer - before we die.
Apr 1, 2022 • 27min
31. Should You Trust Angelina Jolie or Your Doctor?
Celebrities influence the clothes we wear and the books we read. Do they also affect our health decisions? Bapu Jena looks at what happens when people take medical advice from movie stars.
Mar 25, 2022 • 31min
30. How Do We Know if Alcohol Is Bad for Us?
Getting solid answers in medicine can be hard — especially when the normal tools are off-limits. Dr. Bapu Jena discusses a research method that’s helping to solve some of science’s most challenging questions.
Mar 18, 2022 • 32min
29. How to Save a Stranger’s Heart
Cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death globally. What if it doesn’t have to be that way? Bapu Jena walks us through some solutions that can help save lives — and explores why change in medicine can be hard.
Mar 11, 2022 • 25min
28. Is Daylight Saving Time Hazardous to Your Health?
Changing the clocks has been linked to car accidents and heart attacks. This week, Bapu Jena sheds some light on the damage we might be doing by springing forward and falling back.
Mar 4, 2022 • 29min
27. What Can Bin Laden Teach Us About Medicine?
When trust in doctors or the healthcare system is lost, it’s really hard to get back. Bapu Jena explores the ripple effects of a C.I.A. operation to catch Osama bin Laden on medical distrust in Pakistan — and its parallels to distrust in the U.S.
5 snips
Feb 25, 2022 • 33min
26. When is a ‘High-Risk’ Pregnancy a Good Thing?
Giving birth in the United States can be dangerous for both moms and their kids. Sometimes, that's because of too little medical care — and sometimes, it’s the opposite.
