586. How Does the Lost World of Vienna Still Shape Our Lives?
2 May - 57 minsFrom politics and economics to psychology and the arts, many of the modern ideas we take for granted emerged a century ago from a single European capital. In this episode of the Freakonomics Radio Book Club, the historian Richard Cockett explores all those ideas — and how the arrival of fascism can ruin in a few years what took generations to build.
SOURCE:Richard Cockett, author and senior editor at The Economist.
RESOURCES:Vienna: How the City of Ideas Created the Modern World, by Richard Cockett (2023)."Birth, Death and Shopping," (The Economist, 2007).The Hidden Persuaders, by Vance Packard (1957)."An Economist's View of 'Planning,'" by Henry Hazlitt (The New York Times, 1944).The...
Series Episodes
588. Confessions of a Black Conservative
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587. Should Companies Be Owned by Their Workers?
The employee ownership movement is growing, and one of its biggest champions is also a private equity heavyweight. Is this meaningful change, or just window dressing?
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Extra: Why Is 23andMe Going Under? (Update)
Five years ago, we published an episode about the boom in home DNA testing kits, focusing on the high-flying firm 23andMe and its C.E.O. Anne Wojcicki. Their flight has been extremely bumpy since then. This update includes an additional interview with the Wall Street Journal reporter who has been investigating the firm’s collapse.
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585. A Social Activist in Prime Minister’s Clothing
Justin Trudeau, facing record-low approval numbers, is doubling down on his progressive agenda. But he is so upbeat (and Canada-polite) that it’s easy to miss just how radical his vision is. Can he make it work?
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584. How to Pave the Road to Hell
So you want to help people? That’s great — but beware the law of unintended consequences. Three stories from the modern workplace.
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