Ten Myths About the U.S. Tax System (Update)
8 April - 1 hour 4 minsNearly everything that politicians say about taxes is at least half a lie. They are also dishonest when it comes to the national debt. In this update of an episode from 2025, Stephen Dubner finds one of the few people in Washington who is willing to tell the truth — and it’s even worse than you think.
SOURCES:
Jessica Riedl, budget and tax fellow at the Brookings Institution.
RESOURCES:
"How Did DOGE Disrupt So Much While Saving So Little?" by Emily Badger, David Fahrenthold, Alicia Parlapiano, and Margot Sanger-Katz (New York Times, 2025).
"Correcting the Top 10 Tax Myths," by Jessica Riedl (Manhattan Institute, 2024).
"Spending, Taxes, and Deficits: A...
Series Episodes
669. Why Is 95 Percent of the World’s Bourbon Made in Kentucky?
Is it tradition … or protectionism? And what happens when the bourbon boom turns into a glut?
46 mins
3 April Finished
668. Do Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny Have Blood on Their Hands?
As one researcher told us: “We’ve engineered a world where the most distracting device ever made is also the one we use to listen to music in the car." A new study tries to measure the cost.
53 mins
27 March Finished
In a Driverless World, Who Loses and Who Wins?
In blue cities across the country, unions and politicians want to ban self-driving cars. In this episode from the Search Engine podcast, PJ Vogt visits Boston to sort the facts from the propaganda. (Part two of a two-part series.)
1 hour 5 mins
25 March Finished
Are Human Drivers Finally Obsolete?
How a secret project at Google led to driverless cars on American roads. Freakonomics Radio shares a story from our friends at Search Engine. (Part one of a two-part series.)
1 hour 11 mins
20 March Finished
667. Here’s Why You Are Constantly Fighting Off Scammers
A ruthless (and ruthlessly efficient) industry is using digital tools to supercharge one of the world’s oldest behaviors. We look at how the industry works, and ask the scam-fighters what they’re doing about it.
47 mins
13 March Finished
