The Economics of Everyday Things
Freakonomics Network
5 episodes
89. Locksmiths
9 Nov · 19 min
- Only 13 states require locksmith licenses, letting scammers buy search results and charge locked-out customers $700 or more.
- Wayne Winton calls electronic access the trade's platinum age as new buildings and schools install low-voltage wiring, though shared codes create breaches.
88. Fortune Cookies
5 Nov · 20 min
- Wonton Food, the world's largest fortune cookie maker, produces 5.5m a day, with annual output circling the globe two and a half times.
- Jennifer Lee traces the cookie to Japan's sujira senbei, brought to California by Japanese immigrants in the late 1800s.
87. Ski Areas
2 Nov · 20 min
- Recreational skiing and snowboarding generate nearly $60bn in annual US economic activity.
- Vail Resorts and Alterra own about 10% of US ski areas but sell Epic and Ikon passes that rival independent season passes on price.
86. Toothpaste
29 Oct · 17 min
- Colgate-Palmolive makes a little under half of the roughly 20bn toothpaste tubes produced globally, and Colgate and Crest together hold about 75% of a $22bn market.
- Peter Miskell says industrial sugar consumption created a dental problem that made brushing, and therefore toothpaste, worth selling, though early toothpaste had no proven health benefit.
109. Billboards
6 Oct 2025 · 22 min
- Clear Channel Outdoor CMO Dan Levi says billboards are a data-backed brand medium, not the oldest, dumbest ad format.
- Anna Bager, CEO of the Out-of-Home Advertising Association of America, argues billboards are among the least intrusive ads because they cannot be skipped or blocked.