Freakonomics

Stephen Dubner recently served on a criminal jury.

Twelve strangers — selected randomly and barely paid — took the job seriously.

Afterward, he wondered: why can’t our politics work that way? A growing movement, inspired by Athenian democracy, says it can.

An A.I. performer that cracks jokes, challenges its creator's rules, and insists it isn't here to replace human actors.

What does that tell us about the future of creativity?

Is A.I. a substitute for human creativity, or a complement?

As artificial intelligence becomes more and more capable of creative work, the line between what machines can do and what only humans can do is getting harder to draw.

There is a lot of money in private equity, and the industry has a lot of friends in Washington.

Private equity has hired former government officials and contributed millions to political campaigns. Critics argue that those connections have helped private-equity firms maintain favorable rules and resist greater oversight.

This week on Freakonomics Radio, Stephen Dubner examines the industry's growing influence and the debate over whether its business model is doing more harm than good.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are…

College sports are already a billion-dollar business. Could private equity be the next big player?

David Rubenstein, the billionaire co-founder of @OneCarlyle and owner of the Baltimore @Orioles, thinks we're headed in that direction.

He joins Stephen Dubner to talk about where the money in sports is going and what it all means for the future of the game.

Listen to the full conversation, wherever you get your podcasts.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/691…