Freakonomics, M.D.
Science

Freakonomics, M.D.

by 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?

87 episodes
EN language
All Episodes
1
The Economics of Everyday Things: Animal Urine
12:57 Jul 21, 2023
2
Tom Brady, A.D.H.D., and a Really Bad Headache (Bonus)
37:40 Jul 11, 2023
3
78. Do Kids Cause Divorce?
18:50 Mar 31, 2023
4
77. They Make Minimum Wage. They Could Save Your Life.
18:32 Mar 24, 2023
5
76. Is a Spoonful of Sunlight the Best Medicine?
17:34 Mar 17, 2023
6
75. What Is Sugar Really Doing to You?
19:47 Mar 10, 2023
7
74. How Does Playing Football Affect Your Health?
16:48 Mar 3, 2023
8
73. Who Pays for Multimillion-Dollar Miracle Cures?
29:28 Feb 17, 2023
9
72. What’s Stopping Us From Curing Rare Diseases?
31:35 Feb 10, 2023
10
71. What Do COVID-19 and Cancer Have in Common?
26:56 Feb 3, 2023
11
70. Why Are There Still So Few Female Surgeons?
29:25 Jan 27, 2023
12
69. Home Sweet … Hospital?
26:33 Jan 20, 2023
13
68. The E.R. Doctor’s Dilemma
29:58 Jan 13, 2023
14
What Can We Do About the Hardest Patients? (Ep. 51 Replay)
28:39 Jan 6, 2023
15
67. Why Did This 60-Year-Old Man Collapse at the Supermarket?
33:40 Dec 30, 2022
16
66. Does Health Insurance Make You Healthier?
31:26 Dec 23, 2022
17
65. How Do Pandemics Change Health Care?
31:24 Dec 16, 2022
18
64. Is Facebook Bad for Your Mental Health?
31:23 Dec 9, 2022
19
63. What Medicine Gets Wrong About Race
30:51 Dec 2, 2022
20
Why Don’t We Have a Cure for Alzheimer’s? (Ep. 49 Update)
32:41 Nov 25, 2022
21
62. Dr. Ashish Jha Anticipated a Pandemic. He Didn’t Think It Would Look Like This.
28:53 Nov 18, 2022
22
61. Should You Bother Getting a Colonoscopy?
31:53 Nov 11, 2022
23
60. The Doctor Is Out. The Physician Assistant Is In.
30:38 Nov 4, 2022
24
59. The Most Valuable Resource in Medicine
27:34 Oct 28, 2022
25
58. How Important Is Breastfeeding, Really?
29:58 Oct 21, 2022
26
57. Doctors Know They Prescribe Too Many Antibiotics. Why Don’t They Stop?
27:53 Oct 14, 2022
27
56. Could Prison Be Good for Your Health?
28:43 Oct 7, 2022
28
55. This Vaccine Lottery Seemed Like a Great Idea. Why Didn’t it Work?
29:55 Sep 30, 2022
29
54. Will You Ever Go Back to Your Doctor’s Office?
32:21 Sep 23, 2022
30
53. Why Do Doctors Have to Play Defense?
28:44 Sep 16, 2022
31
52. Who Gets a Heart Disease Test?
31:43 Sep 9, 2022
32
Why Fridays May Be Dangerous for Your Health (Ep. 9 Replay)
20:16 Sep 2, 2022
33
51. What Can We Do About the Hardest Patients?
28:42 Aug 26, 2022
34
50. What Happens When a Hospital Closes?
27:46 Aug 19, 2022
35
49. Why Don’t We Have a Cure for Alzheimer’s?
30:36 Aug 12, 2022
36
48. The Hidden Consequences of School Shootings
27:18 Aug 5, 2022
37
47. Should We Trust Hospital Rankings?
31:54 Jul 29, 2022
38
How Does Retirement Affect Your Brain? (Ep. 17 Replay)
24:49 Jul 22, 2022
39
46. Could Long Covid Help Treat Other Chronic Illnesses?
32:26 Jul 15, 2022
40
45. Why Is July a Bad Month to Visit the Hospital?
29:28 Jul 8, 2022
41
44. Office Hours with Bapu
35:28 Jul 1, 2022
42
43. The Comedian-Ophthalmologist Will See You Now
35:40 Jun 24, 2022
43
42. Your Doctor Has to Go Home. Now What?
29:28 Jun 17, 2022
44
41. Is Rainy Day Joint Pain All in Your Head?
31:14 Jun 10, 2022
45
40. How Will We Handle the Heat?
26:27 Jun 3, 2022
46
A Shave, a Haircut, and a Blood Pressure Test (Ep. 6 Update)
29:46 May 27, 2022
47
38. Pfizer’s CEO on the Big Gamble That Brought Us the COVID Vaccine
34:18 May 20, 2022
48
37. Can Fear Be Good Medicine?
27:41 May 13, 2022
49
36. Bad News — It’s Your Surgeon’s Birthday
32:23 May 6, 2022
50
35. Are More Expensive Hospitals Better?
28:19 Apr 29, 2022
Select an episode
0:00 0:00