Freakonomics Radio

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Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. Why is it safer to fly in an airplane than drive a car? How do we decide whom to marry? Why is the media so full of bad news? Also: things you never knew you wanted to know about wolves, bananas, pollution, search engines, and the quirks of human behavior. To get every show in the Freakonomics Radio Network without ads and a monthly bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio, start a free trial for SiriusXM Podcasts on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.
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689. Here’s Why Your Hamburger Just Got So Pricey
Episode 689
Friday, 2 October, 2026

An economist calls America’s beef industry a “miracle.” An antitrust scholar calls it “broken.” Maybe they’re both right? SOURCES:Austin Frerick, agriculture antitrust expert, fellow at Yale University, author of Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry.Robert Hodgen, C.E.O. of King Ranch.Roger Horowitz, food historian, director of the Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society at the Hagley Museum and Library.Derrell Peel, Charles Breedlove Professorship of Agribusiness in the department of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University. RESOURCES:"The hamburger story," by Derrell Peel (Beef, 2026)."Trump is letting in 300,000 tons of beef duty-free. Don’t expect cheaper burgers," by Elisabeth Buchwald (CNN, 2026)."DOJ Probes Soaring Beef Prices at Eight Major Stores Including Walmart," by Hugh Cameron (Newsweek, 2026)."Takeaways from the Pause on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement," by Brendan Quigley, Bridget Moore, Kyle Clark, and Baker Botts (Harvard Law School, 2025)."Tyson and Leviathan: USDA Rulemaking and the PSA Harm to Competition Requirement," by Spencer James Parts (University of Chicago Business Review, 2022)."Average Price: All Uncooked Ground Beef (Cost per Pound/453.6 Grams) in U.S. City Average," (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). EXTRAS:"An Economics Lesson from a Talking Pencil (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2025)."The Future of Meat," by Freakonomics Radio (2019). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.