No Stupid Questions

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Research psychologist Angela Duckworth (author of "Grit") and tech and sports executive Mike Maughan really like to ask people questions, and they believe there’s no such thing as a stupid one. So they have a podcast where they can ask…

1 of the latest 200 episodes are ready to read. Tick up to 3 to request the rest, free.

Need more at once? Premium unlocks bulk requests.

90. If America Is a Train Wreck, Why Am I Doing Fine? 2026-08-30 · 30m Read →
89. How Valuable Is Enthusiasm? 2026-08-23 · 29m
88. Is Self-Improvement Too Selfish? 2026-08-16 · 34m
87. What’s So Great About Retirement? 2026-08-09 · 31m
86. Should We All Be Taking More Long Shots? 2026-08-02 · 32m
85. Is Emotional Intelligence Really So Important? 2026-07-26 · 31m
84. Why Do We Find So Much Meaning in Meaningless Coincidences? 2026-07-19 · 28m
83. Can You Change Your Mind Without Losing Face? 2026-07-12 · 33m
82. Which Is More Powerful: Reward or Punishment? 2026-07-05 · 27m
81. Why Is It So Hard to Talk About Money? 2026-06-28 · 29m
80. Is a “Success Hangover” Real? 2026-06-21 · 29m
79. Why Do We Root for Underdogs? 2026-06-14 · 35m
78. Why Do We Put Things Off Until the Very Last Minute? 2026-06-07 · 38m
77. How Can You Avoid Boredom? 2026-05-31 · 38m
76. Why Can’t Baby Boomers and Millennials Just Get Along? 2026-05-24 · 38m
75. How Do You Deal With Intrusive Thoughts? 2026-05-17 · 39m
74. Does Reverse Psychology Really Work? 2026-05-10 · 37m
73. Is It Okay to Engage in “Social Loafing”? 2026-05-03 · 32m
72. If Everyone Hates Meetings, Why Do We Have So Many of Them? 2026-04-26 · 38m
71. Why Is Pig Milk the One Milk We Don’t Drink? 2026-04-19 · 28m
70. In a Job Interview, How Much Does Timing Matter? 2026-04-12 · 36m
69. How Can You Convince Someone They’re Wrong? 2026-04-05 · 37m
68. Why Do We Want What We Can’t Have? 2026-03-29 · 36m
67. How Can You Escape Binary Thinking? 2026-03-22 · 39m
65. What’s the Best Advice You’ve Ever Received? 2026-03-15 · 40m
64. Are Women Required to Be Nicer Than Men? 2026-03-08 · 38m
63. How Contagious Is Behavior? With Laurie Santos of “The Happiness Lab.” (Replay) 2026-03-01 · 36m
62. How Can You Escape a Drama Triangle? 2026-02-22 · 40m
61. Should We Just Ignore Our Weaknesses? 2026-02-15 · 34m
60. Why Do We Complain? 2026-02-08 · 32m
59. Do Dreams Actually Mean Anything? 2026-02-01 · 39m
58. What’s So Gratifying About Gossip? 2026-01-25 · 37m
57. Which Incentives Are Best at Boosting Vaccination, and Why? 2026-01-18 · 36m
56. Why Is Academic Writing So Bad? 2026-01-11 · 39m
55. What Changes Will Stick When the Pandemic Is Gone? 2026-01-04 · 38m
54. Do You Really Need a Muse to Be Creative? 2025-12-28 · 37m
53. What’s the Secret to Making a Great Prediction? 2025-12-21 · 35m
52. How Much Should We Be Able to Customize Our World? 2025-12-14 · 39m
51. What Separates Humans From Other Animals? 2025-12-07 · 37m
50. Are You as Observant as You Think? 2025-11-30 · 35m
49. How Does Facing Death Change Your Life? 2025-11-23 · 39m
48. Do Good Deeds Invite More Bad Ones? 2025-11-16 · 34m
47. Is Laziness Real? 2025-11-09 · 33m
46. How Can You Stop Feeling So Irritable? 2025-11-02 · 38m
45. How Much Better Do You Really Want to Be? 2025-10-26 · 38m
44. Is Empathy in Fact Immoral? 2025-10-19 · 36m
43. What Do We Really Learn From Failure? 2025-10-12 · 37m
42. How Does When You Are Born Affect Who You Are? 2025-10-05 · 39m
41. Why Are We So Attracted to Fame? 2025-09-28 · 36m
40. Have We All Lost Our Ability to Compromise? 2025-09-21 · 36m
39. Is Everybody Cheating These Days? 2025-09-14 · 37m
38. What Does It Mean to Be a “Good” Man? 2025-09-07 · 34m
37. How Do You Know if People Don’t Like You? 2025-08-31 · 40m
36. Which Matters More, a First or Last Impression? 2025-08-24 · 37m
35. Does Psychotherapy Actually Work? 2025-08-17 · 33m
34. Are Humans Smarter or Stupider Than We Used to Be? 2025-08-10 · 36m
33. Is Optimism a Luxury Good? 2025-08-03 · 39m
32. Which Gets You Further: Talent or Effort? 2025-07-27 · 34m
31. How Much Do Your Friends Affect Your Future? 2025-07-20 · 37m
30. Why Do We Seek Comfort in the Familiar? 2025-07-13 · 35m
29. How Do You Know When It’s Time to Quit? 2025-07-06 · 32m
28. Why Do We Hoard? 2025-06-29 · 29m
27. How Should You Ask for Forgiveness? 2025-06-22 · 38m
26. Do Checklists Make People Stupid? 2025-06-15 · 34m
25. Is Hedonism Better Than Self-Control? 2025-06-08 · 31m
24. Why Do We Forget So Much of What We’ve Read? 2025-06-01 · 34m
23. Is It Wrong to Crave Praise? 2025-05-25 · 39m
22. Why Do We Buy Things We’ll Never Use? 2025-05-18 · 32m
21. How Can You Identify Hidden Talent? With Eric Schmidt. 2025-05-11 · 35m
Presenting “Smart Girl Dumb Questions” 2025-05-07 · 48m
20. Should We Separate the Art From the Artist? 2025-05-04 · 33m
19. Is There Such a Thing as Good Estrangement? 2025-04-27 · 35m
18. How Do You Raise a “Likable” Kid? 2025-04-20 · 30m
17. How Can We Get More Virtue and Less ‘Virtue Signaling’? 2025-04-13 · 33m
16. What’s the Downside to Being Goal-Oriented? 2025-04-06 · 32m
15. How Much of Your Life Do You Actually Control? 2025-03-30 · 37m
14. Are You a Maximizer or a Satisficer? 2025-03-23 · 24m
13. How Can You Stop Comparing Yourself With Other People? 2025-03-16 · 34m
12. Does “As If” Thinking Really Work? 2025-03-09 · 33m
11. Are Ambitious People Inherently Selfish? 2025-03-02 · 36m
10. Why Are Stories Stickier Than Statistics? 2025-02-23 · 30m
9. Why Is It So Hard to Be Alone With Our Thoughts? 2025-02-16 · 34m
8. Wouldn’t It Be Better to Hear Your Eulogy Before You’re Dead? 2025-02-09 · 37m
7. How Do You Handle Criticism? 2025-02-02 · 30m
6. Is Incompetence a Form of Dishonesty? 2025-01-26 · 39m
5. What Do Tom Sawyer and the Founder of Duolingo Have in Common? 2025-01-19 · 30m
4. Does All Creativity Come From Pain? 2025-01-12 · 32m
3. What Does It Mean to Be a “Hard Worker”? 2025-01-05 · 27m
2. What is the Optimal Way to Be Angry? 2024-12-29 · 35m
1. Did Covid-19 Kill the Handshake? 2024-12-22 · 39m
223. What About All the Questions We Haven’t Answered? 2024-12-15 · 44m
222. What Makes an Idea Interesting? 2024-12-08 · 35m
Is It Weird for Adults to Have Imaginary Friends? (Replay) 2024-12-01 · 36m
221. Why Are We So Pessimistic? 2024-11-24 · 39m
220. Is Your Attention Span Shrinking? 2024-11-17 · 37m
219. How Do You Identify a Narcissist? 2024-11-10 · 41m
How Can You Give Better Gifts? (Replay) 2024-11-07 · 38m
218. Why Do Parents Overshare on Social Media? 2024-11-03 · 35m
217. What Happens When You Put on a Costume? 2024-10-27 · 41m
216. Why Do We Make Excuses? 2024-10-20 · 38m
215. Is It Okay to Do the Right Thing for the Wrong Reason? 2024-10-13 · 35m
214. What Does It Take to Survive a Scandal? 2024-10-06 · 38m
Why Do People Love Horror Movies? (Replay) 2024-10-03 · 33m
213. What Is Evil? 2024-09-29 · 39m
212. When Do You Become an Adult? 2024-09-22 · 39m
211. Why Do We Listen to Sad Songs? 2024-09-15 · 37m
210. What Makes a Good Sense of Humor? 2024-09-08 · 38m
Why Are Stories Stickier Than Statistics? (Replay) 2024-09-06 · 31m
209. Why Do We Settle? 2024-09-01 · 35m
208. Can A.I. Companions Replace Human Connection? 2024-08-25 · 36m
207. How Clearly Do You See Yourself? 2024-08-18 · 36m
Why Do People Get Scammed? (Replay) 2024-08-11 · 35m
206. When Is It Time to Step Aside? 2024-08-04 · 38m
205. Where Do Values Come From? 2024-07-28 · 42m
204. What Happens When You’re Cut Off From All Human Contact? 2024-07-21 · 40m
203. Do You Need a Hug? 2024-07-14 · 39m
How Effective Are Ultimatums? (Replay) 2024-07-07 · 36m
202. Why Can’t We Tolerate Discomfort? 2024-06-30 · 40m
201. Are You Dreaming Too Big? 2024-06-23 · 42m
200. What’s the Difference Between Empathy and Sympathy? 2024-06-16 · 41m
199. What Makes a Good Gathering? 2024-06-09 · 37m
198. What Does It Mean to Be “Cool”? 2024-06-02 · 40m
197. Is It Wrong to Lie to Children? 2024-05-26 · 39m
Extra: Angela Duckworth on “Masters of Scale” 2024-05-23 · 34m
196. What’s Wrong With Being a Little Neurotic? 2024-05-19 · 39m
195. Can You Be Too Nice? 2024-05-12 · 39m
194. Is It Okay to Be an Introvert? 2024-05-05 · 36m
193. Are You as Conscientious as You Think You Are? 2024-04-28 · 39m
Should You Get Out of Your Comfort Zone? 2024-04-21 · 40m
191. Can You Change Your Personality? 2024-04-14 · 39m
190. What’s the Point of Nostalgia? 2024-04-07 · 35m
189. When Should You Trust Your Gut? 2024-03-31 · 40m
188. Why Do Kids Today Get So Many A’s? 2024-03-24 · 42m
187. Is Fear Running Your Life? 2024-03-17 · 39m
186. Do You Need a Routine? 2024-03-10 · 39m
185. Do You Need Closure? 2024-03-03 · 38m
184. Are You Doing Too Much? 2024-02-25 · 41m
183. Does Free Will Exist, and Does It Matter? 2024-02-18 · 41m
182. Is It Good or Bad to Keep Secrets? 2024-02-11 · 40m
181. What’s So Great About Meritocracy? 2024-02-04 · 34m
180. What Makes Some Objects Feel Special? 2024-01-28 · 38m
179. Can You Really “Manifest” Success Through Positive Visualization? 2024-01-21 · 36m
178. Do Kids Need More Independence? 2024-01-14 · 37m
177. What Does Success Look Like? 2024-01-07 · 38m
63. How Contagious Is Behavior? With Laurie Santos of “The Happiness Lab.” (Replay) 2023-12-31 · 37m
176. Why Is It So Hard to Make Decisions? 2023-12-24 · 40m
175. Why Is Astrology So Popular? 2023-12-17 · 38m
174. What’s the Point of I.Q. Testing? 2023-12-10 · 36m
173. How Important Is Your Choice of Words? 2023-12-03 · 35m
149. Is It Harder to Make Friends as an Adult? (Replay) 2023-11-26 · 53m
172. Is Marriage Worth It? 2023-11-19 · 37m
171. Where Is the Line Between Exaggeration and Lying? 2023-11-12 · 35m
170. Are We Getting Lonelier? 2023-11-05 · 30m
169. Can We Disagree Better? 2023-10-29 · 39m
168. Would You Be Happier if You Were More Creative? 2023-10-22 · 31m
167. Is GPS Changing Your Brain? 2023-10-15 · 38m
166. Are You Suffering From Burnout? 2023-10-08 · 37m
165. Do "Generations" Mean Anything? 2023-10-01 · 37m
164. Do You Have Impostor Syndrome? 2023-09-24 · 39m
163. Does Your DNA Determine Your Weight? 2023-09-17 · 28m
162. How Can You Be Kinder to Yourself? 2023-09-10 · 40m
161. How Effective Are Ultimatums? 2023-09-03 · 37m
160. How Do You Like Me Now? 2023-08-27 · 40m
159. How Much Personal Space Do You Need? 2023-08-20 · 34m
158. Bigger Fish, or Bigger Pond? 2023-08-13 · 29m
157. How Can You Get Closer to the People You Care About? 2023-08-06 · 39m
156. How Do You Connect With Someone You Just Met? 2023-07-30 · 41m
155. How Do You Deal With Big Life Changes? 2023-07-23 · 44m
154. Why Is There So Much Social Pressure Around Alcohol? 2023-07-16 · 30m
153. Should You Spend More Time in Nature? 2023-07-09 · 32m
152. What’s the Worst Kind of Regret? 2023-07-02 · 33m
151. Is It Okay to Be Average? 2023-06-25 · 46m
150. Why Do People Get Scammed? 2023-06-18 · 38m
149. Is It Harder to Make Friends as an Adult? 2023-06-11 · 40m
Do You Savor or Gobble? (Ep. 91 Replay) 2023-06-04 · 40m
148. What Is Fun, Exactly? 2023-05-28 · 35m
147. Is Nudging Enough? 2023-05-21 · 40m
146. How Do You Avoid Freezing Under Pressure? 2023-05-14 · 39m
145. Do You Have a Scarcity Mindset or an Abundance Mindset? 2023-05-07 · 49m
144. What Should Be the Eighth Deadly Sin? 2023-04-30 · 44m
143. How Sinful Are "No Stupid Questions" Listeners? 2023-04-23 · 42m
142. Is Pride the Worst Sin? 2023-04-16 · 44m
141. Is Greed Good? 2023-04-09 · 43m
140. Is Envy Healthy? 2023-04-02 · 41m
139. Why Do We Get Angry? 2023-03-26 · 41m
138. Why is Everyone Having Less Sex? 2023-03-19 · 30m
137. Are We All Addicted to Ultra-Processed Foods? 2023-03-12 · 37m
136. Is Sloth a Sin or a Virtue? 2023-03-05 · 39m
135. What Should You Do on Your Birthday? 2023-02-26 · 33m
134. Will You Live to Be 100? 2023-02-19 · 36m
Why Is It So Hard to Talk About Money? (Ep. 81 Replay) 2023-02-12 · 32m
133. Can You Really Work on an Airplane? 2023-02-05 · 38m
132. Is It Wrong to Enjoy Yourself While the World Is Burning? 2023-01-29 · 40m
131. Why Do We Cry? 2023-01-22 · 36m
130. Why Is It So Hard to Resist Temptation? 2023-01-15 · 31m
129. Why Do We Cheat, and Why Shouldn’t We? 2023-01-08 · 40m
What’s So Great About Retirement? (Ep. 87 Replay) 2023-01-01 · 33m
128. How Can You Give Better Gifts? 2022-12-25 · 40m
127. How Can You Be a Better Communicator? 2022-12-18 · 38m
126. Why Do People Love Horror Movies? 2022-12-11 · 37m
No episodes match. Older episodes may not be listed; email contact@podmenti.com for deep archives.