Freakonomics Radio
by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Is this your podcast?Insights from recent episode analysis
Audience Interest
- society and culture topics
- human behavior insights
Podcast Focus
- hidden side of various subjects
- analysis of common questions
Publishing Consistency
- 16 years of active episodes
- weekly or more frequency
Platform Reach
- available on multiple platforms
- SiriusXM Podcasts+ subscription
Insights are generated by CastFox AI using publicly available data, episode content, and proprietary models.
Most discussed topics
Brands & references
Total monthly reach
Estimated from 41 chart positions in 41 markets.
By chart position
- 🇺🇸US · Documentary#11M to 3M
- 🇨🇦CA · Documentary#11M to 3M
- 🇦🇺AU · Documentary#9300K to 1M
- 🇬🇧GB · Documentary#15300K to 1M
- 🇮🇳IN · Documentary#1300K to 800K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
1.7M to 5.0M🎙 Daily cadence·934 episodes·Last published today - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
5.5M to 17M🇺🇸18%🇨🇦18%🇦🇺6%+38 more - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
3.0M to 9.2M
Market Insights
Platform Distribution
Reach across major podcast platforms, updated hourly
Total Followers
—
Total Plays
—
Total Reviews
—
* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
On the show
From 28 epsHosts
Recent guests
Recent episodes
686. Why Is It So Hard to Find an NFL Quarterback?
Sep 11, 2026
Unknown duration
Amazon Was Supposed to Kill the Bookstore. James Daunt Had Other Plans | Better in Person
Sep 9, 2026
Unknown duration
685. How to Survive the A.I. Shock
Sep 4, 2026
Unknown duration
How to Run an Institution in an Anti-Institution Era | Better in Person
Sep 2, 2026
Unknown duration
How to Return Stolen Art (Update)
Aug 28, 2026
Unknown duration
Social Links & Contact
Official channels & resources
Official Website
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/11/26 | 686. Why Is It So Hard to Find an NFL Quarterback? | For decades, teams have tried (and mostly failed) to predict which college quarterbacks will thrive in the pros. Is the science finally catching up? Stephen Dubner speaks with a scout, a psychologist, a data warrior, and a Hall of Fame quarterback who nobody wanted. | — | ||||||
| 9/9/26 |  Amazon Was Supposed to Kill the Bookstore. James Daunt Had Other Plans | Better in Person | He started with one small shop in London. He has since resuscitated both Barnes & Noble and Waterstones. He tells Stephen Dubner exactly how he does it. If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. | — | ||||||
| 9/4/26 | 685. How to Survive the A.I. Shock | Gina Raimondo, a former commerce secretary and governor, thinks A.I. will create plenty of jobs in the long run. She also thinks a poorly managed transition could tear the country apart. So she came up with a plan. | — | ||||||
| 9/2/26 |  How to Run an Institution in an Anti-Institution Era | Better in Person | Anne Pasternak (Brooklyn Museum) and Michael Roth (Wesleyan University) tell Stephen Dubner how they keep the peace in the middle of a culture war. If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. | — | ||||||
| 8/28/26 | How to Return Stolen Art (Update) | Museums are purging their collections of looted treasures. Can they also get something in return? And what does it mean to be a museum in the 21st century? (Part 3 of an updated series originally published in 2023.) | — | ||||||
| 8/26/26 |  “I Trust Almost Anyone More Than Myself” | Better in Person | The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jennifer Egan talks about confidence, luck, and why it takes 35 drafts to get to the finish line. If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. | — | ||||||
| 8/21/26 | Is a Museum Just a Trophy Case? (Update) | The world’s great museums are full of art and artifacts that were plundered during an era when plunder was the norm. Now there’s a push to return these works to their rightful owners. Sounds simple, right? It's not. (Part 2 of an updated series originally published in 2023.) | — | ||||||
| 8/19/26 |  Meet Warren Zanes, the Author and Rocker Behind the Springsteen Movie | Better in Person | When he joined the Del Fuegos, his big brother’s band, all Warren knew how to play was a record player. Things went great for a while — and then it all fell apart. So how did he wind up writing definitive books on Springsteen and Tom Petty? If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. | — | ||||||
| 8/14/26 | The Case of the $4 Million Gold Coffin (Update) | How did a freshly looted Egyptian antiquity end up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art? Why did it take Kim Kardashian to crack the case? And how much of what you see in any museum is stolen? (Part 1 of “Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard,” first published in 2023.) | — | ||||||
| 8/12/26 |  What if Being a Stranger Is Actually Your Superpower? | Better in Person | Angela Buchdahl was the first Asian American to be ordained as a rabbi, and now she is among the most influential rabbis in the world. She and Stephen Dubner talk about boundary-crossing, the aftermath of October 7, and whether you can be a good Jew without believing in God. If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. | — | ||||||
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| 8/7/26 | 684. He Helped Clean Up the Last Crash. Does He See Another One Coming? | Former S.E.C. chair Gary Gensler has had a front-row seat to numerous financial booms and busts. How does he feel about America’s massive bet on A.I.? “Something has to give.” | — | ||||||
| 8/5/26 |  Does it Take a Twisted Mind to Write Twisted Stories? | Better In Person | Harlan Coben doesn’t think so. The mega-best-selling author talks suburbia, impostor syndrome, and what he learned from his college friend David Foster Wallace. If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, you can watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. | — | ||||||
| 7/31/26 | 683. In the New Space Race, Who Makes the Rules? | Governments started the space age. Now, billionaires and private firms are reinventing it. Guest host Steve Levitt explores what the past can teach us about a high-stakes future. (Part two of a two-part series.) | — | ||||||
| 7/29/26 |  How Gary Gulman Turned Depression Into Comedy Gold | Better in Person | Gary and Stephen talk about creativity, recovery, getting fired, and holding grudges. They also get outside and play basketball, which is a big part of how Gary stays well. If you'd like to see the video version of Better in Person, watch it on YouTube or Apple Podcasts. | — | ||||||
| 7/24/26 | 682. Should A.I. Move to Space? | At first it sounds ridiculous. But it might be inevitable. Guest host Steve Levitt talks to a team that hopes to push A.I. infrastructure off the planet. (Part one of a two-part series.) | — | ||||||
| 7/22/26 | cookingcaregiving+3 | Hillary Sterling | Ci Siamo | BrooklynNew York City | Hillary Sterlingcooking+3 | — | 42m 47s | ||
| 7/17/26 | allergypenicillin+3 | — | — | — | penicillin allergymisdiagnosis+3 | — | 1h 05m 15s | ||
| 7/14/26 | architecturedesign+3 | Bjarke Ingels | Better in PersonYouTube+1 | — | architectureBjarke Ingels+5 | — | 43m 27s | ||
| 7/9/26 | talk showsmedia+3 | Dick Cavett | FreakonomicsYouTube+1 | — | talk showDick Cavett+5 | — | 43m 27s | ||
| 7/3/26 | trust in universitiespsychology+3 | Sian Beilock | Dartmouth | — | universitiestrust+5 | — | 49m 55s | ||
| 6/26/26 | university managementpublic trust+3 | Daniel Diermeier | Vanderbilt | — | Vanderbiltuniversity+5 | — | 1h 04m 06s | ||
| 6/24/26 | insurancesubscriptions+3 | — | — | — | insurance formssubscriptions+3 | — | 54m 46s | ||
| 6/19/26 | medical aid in dyingethics of death+3 | the governora Nobel Prize-winning economist+2 | — | New York | good deathmedical aid in dying+5 | — | 50m 25s | ||
| 6/12/26 | backgammonstrategy+4 | — | N.F.L. | — | backgammonN.F.L.+5 | — | 59m 19s | ||
| 6/10/26 | air pollutionenvironmental regulations+3 | — | Trump administrationThis Is Your Brain on Pollution | United States | air pollutionenvironment+3 | — | 47m 24s | ||
Showing 25 of 936
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Similar Audience Demographics
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Distribution & Reach
About the show, platforms, and key insights.
Distribution & Reach
About the show, platforms, and key insights.
Key insights
What the show covers
- hidden side of various subjects
- analysis of common questions
- exploration of quirky facts
- economic principles in daily life
Audience interests
- society and culture topics
- human behavior insights
- documentary style storytelling
- curiosities about everyday life
Platform reach
- available on multiple platforms
- SiriusXM Podcasts+ subscription
- Apple Podcasts access
- growing listener base expected
Publishing consistency
- 16 years of active episodes
- weekly or more frequency
- over 900 episodes produced
- consistent content delivery
Chart history for Freakonomics Radio
Peaked at #1 in United States, top 10 in 31 of 50 tracked markets, currently #1 in United States.
| Market | Genre | Peak | Current | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | — | #1 | #1 | — |
| Canada | — | #1 | #1 | — |
| India | — | #1 | #1 | — |
| HK | — | #1 | #1 | — |
| PH | — | #1 | #1 | — |
| ID | — | #1 | #1 | — |
| IL | — | #2 | #2 | — |
| South Korea | — | #2 | #2 | — |
| SG | — | #2 | #2 | — |
| VN | — | #3 | #3 | — |
| South Africa | — | #3 | #3 | — |
| Norway | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| Finland | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| SA | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| TW | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| TH | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| NG | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| MY | — | #5 | #5 | — |
| RO | — | #6 | #6 | — |
| TR | — | #6 | #6 | — |
Chart Positions
50 placements across 41 markets.
Chart Positions
50 placements across 41 markets.