“Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School” For the Pioneering Podcast’s 500th Episode
Freakonomics Radio releases its 500th episode today!
The big-round-number episode kicks off a new four-episode series on the state of higher education called “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.” The first episode is out now, with future episodes dropping weekly on Wednesday nights across all podcast platforms.
“Over the years, we’ve done several episodes about higher education, and we find ourselves coming back to this fundamental conflict: college is incredibly valuable for individuals and society, but it’s still a somewhat rarefied activity, and even a shrinking one,” host Stephen Dubner says in the first episode. “So we wanted to go back to first principles, and ask a very basic question: What, exactly, is college for?”
To answer this question, Dubner speaks with university presidents, academics, and economists, exploring related questions like:
- Do people go to college to learn, or to get a degree?
- Why are more women going to college than men?
- If the demand is there, why don't elite colleges increase supply?
Entering its twelfth year as one of the biggest podcasts on the planet, Freakonomics Radio is growing faster than ever. In addition to the flagship show and podcast network both setting listenership records in 2021, the Freakonomics Radio staff has tripled in size in the past two years alone. Last month, the showhired Slate's former podcast chief Gabriel Roth as editorial director and celebrated being the subject of the first-ever digital podcast channel on SiriusXM.
The flagship Freakonomics Radio has been joined in the past few years by the podcasts No Stupid Questions, a show exploring the weird and wonderful ways in which humans behave, with hosts Dubner and research psychologist Angela Duckworth; People I (Mostly) Admire, a show where Dubner’s Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt interviews other unorthodox high achievers; andFreakonomics, M.D., a show exploring the intersection of economics and healthcare with Harvard physician and economist Dr. Bapu Jena.
And coming next month: Off Leash, Freakonomics Radio Network's first new show of 2022. Stay tuned for more details…
About Freakonomics Radio Network
The Freakonomics Radio Network produces Freakonomics Radio, No Stupid Questions,People I (Mostly) Admire, and Freakonomics M.D.. Freakonomics Radio is one of the most enduring and popular podcasts in the world, with over 10 million listeners per month and an archive going back 12-plus years. No Stupid Questions launched in May of 2020, People I (Mostly) Admire launched in August of 2020, and Freakonomics M.D. launched in August of 2021. In total in 2021, podcasts from the Freakonomics Radio Network had over 160 million downloads. Freakonomics Radio Network will announce additional podcasts in 2022.
For more information about the Freakonomics Radio Network, please contact Ray Padgett (raypadgett@shorefire.com) or Mark Satlof (msatlof@shorefire.com) at Shore Fire Media.