Freakonomics, M.D.
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Freakonomics, M.D.
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 long...
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87 Episoden
The Economics of Everyday Things: Animal Urine
In the newest show from the Freakonomics Radio Network, host Zachary Crockett explores the hidden side of the things around us. This week: One creatur...
Tom Brady, A.D.H.D., and a Really Bad Headache (Bonus)
A sneak peek at Bapu's new book, Random Acts of Medicine, available now from Doubleday, and an announcement about the show.
78. Do Kids Cause Divorce?
Couples get divorced for all kinds of reasons. Is having kids one of them? Bapu talks about research that investigates what happens to parents who une...
77. They Make Minimum Wage. They Could Save Your Life.
Doctors and nurses get most of the attention — but a new study suggests we can improve health care by raising wages for a group of workers who are oft...
76. Is a Spoonful of Sunlight the Best Medicine?
In hospitals, a softer pillow or a nicer room might be more than just amenities — they could improve outcomes for patients.
75. What Is Sugar Really Doing to You?
Americans eat a lot of sugar — and it’s hard to determine how it affects our health. Bapu explains how a new study uses data from the 1950s to help so...
74. How Does Playing Football Affect Your Health?
It’s not a new question, but it’s a tricky one to study. Bapu explains why, and talks about how an N.F.L. labor dispute helped him get some answers.
73. Who Pays for Multimillion-Dollar Miracle Cures?
The most expensive drugs in the world are treatments for genetic diseases. And more of these cures are on the horizon. How will anyone be able to affo...
72. What’s Stopping Us From Curing Rare Diseases?
Breakthroughs in biotech that seem like science fiction are becoming reality. Why aren’t more patients benefiting from them?
71. What Do COVID-19 and Cancer Have in Common?
mRNA vaccines helped bring the pandemic under control. Could they also train the immune system to fight cancer?
70. Why Are There Still So Few Female Surgeons?
Success and failure are hard to measure in medicine. Bapu looks at how surgeons are judged after a bad outcome — and whether men and women are treated...
69. Home Sweet … Hospital?
We take it for granted that, when people are acutely ill, they should be in the hospital. Is there a better way?
68. The E.R. Doctor’s Dilemma
Figuring out which patients to hospitalize and which to safely send home can be tricky. Is there a way to make this decision easier for doctors — and...
What Can We Do About the Hardest Patients? (Ep. 51 Replay)
A small number of patients with multiple chronic conditions use a lot of resources. Dr. Jeffrey Brenner found a way to identify and treat them. Could...
67. Why Did This 60-Year-Old Man Collapse at the Supermarket?
Bapu tries to stump master clinician Dr. Gurpreet Dhaliwal with a medical mystery.
66. Does Health Insurance Make You Healthier?
It’s a surprisingly hard question to answer. Bapu talks with a health economist about a natural experiment that led to some unexpected findings.
65. How Do Pandemics Change Health Care?
At the start of the 20th century, there weren’t many hospitals in the U.S. That changed in 1918, thanks to the Great Influenza pandemic. Its effects o...
64. Is Facebook Bad for Your Mental Health?
Half the world's population uses social media — and a new study suggests that it causes anxiety and depression. Can anything be done, or is it too lat...
63. What Medicine Gets Wrong About Race
Some diagnostic tests give distorted results for Black patients. How are doctors trying to change that?
Why Don’t We Have a Cure for Alzheimer’s? (Ep. 49 Update)
Promising drugs keep failing in trials. Allegations of fraud have cast a shadow over the field. An expert explains why Alzheimer’s treatments have bee...
62. Dr. Ashish Jha Anticipated a Pandemic. He Didn’t Think It Would Look Like This.
Bapu talks to White House Covid Czar Dr. Ashish Jha about becoming a household name, studying pandemics, and the frustrations of politics. Also, when...
61. Should You Bother Getting a Colonoscopy?
Colonoscopy is strongly recommended for Americans over 45. But a new study suggests its benefits have been overstated. Should we change how we screen...
60. The Doctor Is Out. The Physician Assistant Is In.
Chances are, at some point you’ll be treated by a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant instead of a doctor. Will your care suffer?
59. The Most Valuable Resource in Medicine
Time is precious. How can doctors and patients make the best use of it — especially when there isn’t much left?
58. How Important Is Breastfeeding, Really?
Can a clever new study shed light on one of parenting’s most elusive and contentious questions?
57. Doctors Know They Prescribe Too Many Antibiotics. Why Don’t They Stop?
Antibiotics save lives. But what happens when we use them too much? Bapu looks at how changing physician behavior could help prevent a major public he...
56. Could Prison Be Good for Your Health?
Incarceration has been linked to infectious diseases, mental illness, cancer, and violence. But new research suggests it can extend some people’s life...
55. This Vaccine Lottery Seemed Like a Great Idea. Why Didn’t it Work?
Behavioral economists say “regret lotteries” are powerful motivational tools. When Philadelphia tried one in 2021, the results were disappointing. Bap...
54. Will You Ever Go Back to Your Doctor’s Office?
When COVID hit, telemedicine use in the U.S. exploded. But how are we using it now? Bapu Jena explores the consequences of this evolving technology.
53. Why Do Doctors Have to Play Defense?
After the Supreme Court’s abortion decision, doctors in some states are concerned that delivering treatment could put them in legal jeopardy. Bapu Jen...
52. Who Gets a Heart Disease Test?
Medical tests can save lives. So how do doctors decide who gets tested, and when?
Why Fridays May Be Dangerous for Your Health (Ep. 9 Replay)
When researchers analyzed which day of the week most F.D.A. drug-safety alerts are released — and what it means for public health — they were stunned....
51. What Can We Do About the Hardest Patients?
A small number of patients with multiple, chronic conditions use a lot of resources. Dr. Jeffrey Brenner found a way to identify and treat them. Could...
50. What Happens When a Hospital Closes?
When a hospital closes in a rural area, it’s a big deal. But are all patients affected equally? We look at new research on the unexpected outcomes of...
49. Why Don’t We Have a Cure for Alzheimer’s?
Promising drugs keep failing in trials. Allegations of fraud have cast a shadow over the field. An expert explains why Alzheimer’s treatments have bee...
48. The Hidden Consequences of School Shootings
Beyond the immediate casualties, school shootings have costs — for survivors, and for the rest of us.
47. Should We Trust Hospital Rankings?
Hospitals compete for prime spots on the U.S. News rankings — but could those lists be doing more harm than good?
How Does Retirement Affect Your Brain? (Ep. 17 Replay)
Our cognitive health can change as we get older. So, does leaving the workforce make problems like memory loss and difficulty focusing worse? We inves...
46. Could Long Covid Help Treat Other Chronic Illnesses?
Chronic fatigue syndrome looks remarkably similar to Long Covid, but has been ignored by the medical community. Could patients finally get some answer...
45. Why Is July a Bad Month to Visit the Hospital?
Learning requires practice — and if you visit a teaching hospital in July, there’s a good chance your doctor hasn’t had much of it. So, will your care...