Tell Me Something I Don't Know
Channel Details
Tell Me Something I Don't Know
Journalism wrapped in a game-show package. Host Stephen J. Dubner (of “Freakonomics Radio”) and a celebrity co-host invite guests on stage in front of a live audience to tell us something we don’t know. The co-hosts — a mix of leaders in science, academia, sports, media, and comedy — grill the guest...
Recent Episodes
48 episodesNew Episodes Coming Soon!
We are about to tape new episodes of Tell Me Something I Don’t Know. You’ll be able to hear them later this year in the Freakonomics Radio podcast fee...
An Astronaut, a Catalan, and Two Linguists Walk Into a Bar…
Why New York has skinny skyscrapers, how to weaponize water, and what astronauts talk about in space. John McWhorter is co-host; Bari Weiss is live fa...
Extra 7: Corrosive Energy Drinks and Peruvian Cat Stew
In this special call-in episode: why some Peruvians eat cats; why operas need repetiteurs; and why we should get rid of prisons. Michael Smerconish (C...
Farming Without Sun or Soil and Eating Manna From Heaven
This week, we work on our survival skills: in the desert, on the tundra, and growing food in abandoned warehouses. Actress Sas Goldberg is co-host; A....
Mind Games
How to make people like you, why you should lick rocks, and what an awkward person is really thinking. Angela Duckworth (Grit author) is co-host; Mike...
Jon Batiste, Gail Simmons, and Strange Smells
Things we learn this week: dogs aren't so great at sniffing, men aren't so lazy, and New York doesn't smell so bad (anymore). Gail Simmons (Top Chef)...
All About Bugs (of the Animal and Computer Varieties)
Musical crickets, crop-saving wasps — and why you should pre-bug your software. John McWhorter is co-host; the live fact-checker is Bari Weiss.
School Start Times, Brand Names, and Too Much Ground Beef
Alex Wagner (CBS This Morning Saturday, The Atlantic) is our special guest co-host, with AJ Jacobs (author of It's All Relative) as real-time fact-che...
How to Count to Infinity
Mary Roach (author of Stiff, Spook, Bonk, Gulp, and Grunt) is our special guest co-host, with AJ Jacobs (author of It's All Relative) as real-time fac...
The Perfect Potato Chip, the Origin of Seltzer, and Why We Eat “Beef” and Not “Cow”
Alex Guarnaschelli (Iron Chef America and Chopped) is our special guest co-host, with Sean Rameswaram (Radiolab Presents: More Perfect) as real-time f...
You Say “eye-RACK,” I Say “ear-ROCK”
Hari Kondabolu (comedian and host of Politically Re-Active) is our special guest co-host, with Sean Rameswaram (Radiolab Presents: More Perfect) as re...
Season 4 Preview
Alex Guarnaschelli, Alexandra Petri, Hari Kondabolu, Mary Roach, and Jemele Hill are some of the brilliant co-hosts joining us during Season 4. Here's...
Womb to Tomb
Alexandra Petri (Washington Post columnist) is our special guest co-host, with AJ Jacobs (author of It's All Relative) as real-time fact-checker. TMSI...
Extra 6: A Better Way to End Basketball Games
Basketball fans know how boring a game's ending can be — intentional fouls can stretch 90 seconds into 10 minutes. What if we could fix it by blowing...
Extra 5: The Actress Who Never Takes a Sick Day
Off-Broadway actress, producer, and Guinness Record-holder Catherine Russell has played the same off-Broadway role for three decades. What’s more impr...
Extra 4: The Most Renewable Energy of All
Some of our most important inventions safely remove human waste. But what if we could use that waste to generate electricity?
Extra 3: The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of Rosé Wine
From medieval times through the French Revolution, rosé ruled the wine world — and now it’s staging a comeback. Actress (and rosé fan) Miriam Shor joi...
Extra 2: Meet the Senator Who Wants to Start an Evidence-Based Revolution
Senator Todd Young of Indiana wants to make government-funded social programs more effective with Social Impact Partnerships, which pair private fundi...
Extra 1: How the Mafia Got Its Start
In 1803, Sicily and Malta won contracts to provide lemon juice to the entire British Royal Navy. Half a century later, the mafia was born.
Urinetown
James Altucher (host of The James Altucher Show) is our special guest co-host, with Mike Maughan (head of global insights at Qualtrics) as real-time f...
Creature Comforts
Krista Tippett (host of On Being) is our special guest co-host, with Maggie Ryan Sandford (science writer, researcher and producer) as real-time fact-...
Behavior Change: Ultra Egghead Edition
Angela Duckworth (psychologist and author of Grit) is our special guest co-host, with Mike Maughan (head of global insights at Qualtrics) as real-time...
Three Sheets to the Wind
John Moe (The Hilarious World of Depression) is our special guest co-host, with Maggie Ryan Sandford (science writer, researcher, and producer) as our...
Medicine
Bapu Jena, Christine Hurley and Evan Allen are panelists. The physician-professor-economist, the comedian and the New England Revolution head athletic...
Getting There
Che "Rhymefest" Smith, Ginger Evans and Mary Catherine Curran are panelists. The rapper/political organizer, the commissioner of Chicago's Department...
Family Matters
Amy Chua, Liza Donnelly and Gary Gulman are panelists. The "Tiger Mom," the "New Yorker" cartoonist and the comedian join our dysfunctional family for...
Cities
Join us in one of America’s oldest urban centers for a show about cities, including ruins, sewage and ghost towns. Our panelists are: Ed Glaeser, Harv...
Politickling
Major Garrett, Alexandra Petri and Robby Mook are panelists in Washington, D.C. The CBS Chief White House Correspondent, the Washington Post humor col...
Rivalry
Steve Levitt, Scott Turow and Bridget Gainer are panelists. For the "Freakonomics" co-author, the attorney and novelist, and the Cook County commissio...
Season 3 Preview
Steve Levitt, Eugene Mirman, Alexandra Petri, Che “Rhymefest” Smith and Major Garrett are among this season's stars. Here's a taste of what you'll hea...
Music
Danny Goldberg, Faith Salie and David Hajdu are panelists. The record executive, the comedian/journalist and the music critic face the music, includin...
Wannabes
Tim Harford, Carla Hayden and Rahmein Mostafavi are panelists. The "Undercover Economist," the Librarian of Congress and the comedian join TMSIDK in W...
Oh, My God
John Fugelsang, Tami Sagher and Aman Ali are panelists. Who better to help us talk through religion than these three comedians? We look into unholy fr...
Money Money Money
Brian Koppelman, Cheryl Dorsey, and Hari Kondabolu are panelists. The TV/movie producer, the social entrepreneur, and the comedian/podcast host follow...
Stupid Stuff
James Altucher, Miki Agrawal and Aasif Mandvi are panelists. The investor/author, the controversial entrepreneur and the comedian dive deep into thing...
Under the Hood
Seth Godin, Faith Salie, and Nicholas Negroponte are the panelists. The marketing guru, comedian, and MIT Media Lab founder pull back the curtain on d...
Collections
Tim Ferriss, Eugene Mirman, and Anne Pasternak are panelists. The self-help guru, comedian, and Brooklyn Museum director talk about brainwaves, sugar,...
Wordz
Joanna Coles, Adriana Trigiani, and Maeve Higgins. The Hearst Magazines executive, novelist, and comedian delve into the written — or spoken, or progr...
Athletes' Feats
Katie Nolan, DeMaurice Smith and Tami Sagher are panelists. The Fox Sports 1 host, NFL Players Association head, and comedian keep their eyes on the b...
Perfection
Lizz Winstead, Mike Pesca and Melanie Whelan are panelists. The "Daily Show" creator, host of "The Gist" podcast, and CEO of Soul Cycle ponder the pur...