Worth

Worth

From Radiolab by WNYC Studios

May 22, 2026 · 1h 12m · Episode 694

About this episode

This episode explores the challenges of assigning monetary value to life and the environment through various poignant examples.

This episode makes three earnest, possibly foolhardy, attempts to put a price on the priceless. We figure out the dollar value for an accidental death, another day of life, and the work of bats and bees as we try to keep our careful calculations from falling apart in the face of the realities of life, and love, and loss. In this story you’ll hear references to some of the issues that were on our minds when it first came out in 2014: wars in the middle east, drug costs and health care practices. Even as the exact shapes of these issues have evolved over the past dozen years, we feel the underlying questions are relevant and timeless: What is life worth? What about the earth? EPISODE CREDITS: Reported by - Molly Webster, Simon Adler, Tim Howard, and Matt Kieltywith help from - Shahib Al-Masawa Produced by - Matt Kielty, Tim HowardFact-checking by - Michelle Soraka EPISODE CITATIONS: Books - Memoir of A Debulked (https://zpr.io/WJz2Ybvq3HmT) Woman by Susan Gubar Being Mortal (https://zpr.io/8J47trRcbjKh) by Atul Gawande Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Signup…

Topics covered

  • value of life
  • accidental death
  • environmental impact
  • health care
  • loss
  • timeless questions

Keywords

  • value
  • life
  • death
  • bats
  • bees
  • health care
  • loss
  • environment

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Memoir of A Debulked Woman, Being Mortal

More episodes of Radiolab

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Radiolab podcast page.