159. How Much Personal Space Do You Need?
Episode Date: August 20, 2023How do you deal with a close talker? Is Angela drinking too much water? And why can’t Mike keep his phone out of his bedroom?
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 each other as many “stupid questions” as they want. New episodes each week. "No Stupid Questions" is a production of the Freakonomics Radio Network. Join the Freakonomics Radio Plus membership program for weekly member-only episodes of Freakonomics Radio. You’ll also get every show in our network without ads. To sign up, visit our show page on Apple Podcasts or go to freakonomics.com/plus.
232 episodes transcribedHow do you deal with a close talker? Is Angela drinking too much water? And why can’t Mike keep his phone out of his bedroom?
Is it better to be the best player on the worst team or the worst player on the best team? How did Angela cope with her extremely impressive freshman...
How well do you know the people in your life, really? Are you stuck having surface-level conversations? And should we all be in couples therapy?
How vulnerable should you get with your coworkers? What’s the benefit of telling strangers about your relationship with your mother? And why did Mike’...
What’s more stressful, divorce or jail? Are you in the middle of a “lifequake”? And should we all be taking notes from Martha Stewart?
Why do people drink? Why do people not drink? And why specifically do Angela and Mike not drink?
Is a walk through the city as good as a walk through the woods? Who’s most likely to die while taking a selfie? And how does Angela protect herself fr...
Is it worse to regret something you’ve done, or something you haven’t done? What’s the upside of rejection? And which great American short-story write...
Must one always strive for excellence? Is perfectionism a good thing? And can Mike have two bad days in a row?
What makes a con succeed? Does snake oil actually work? And just how gullible is Angela?
How do friendships change as we get older? Should you join a bowling league? And is Angela more important to Mike than Mike is to Angela?
What’s the difference between people who preserve special things and people who devour them right away? Why do we love to binge-watch? And did Adam re...
Why does time fly when you’re having fun? How do you teach rats to play hide and seek? And what does all this have to do with Anne Boleyn?
Is it enough to toss a soda can in the recycling? Why is Maria obsessed with Nobel Prize lectures? And wait — is that a news alert or a tiger?
Should you visualize success or failure? How do you bounce back from a mistake? And will Maria hustle Angela into a poker game?
Are highly effective people quicker to share credit? What does poverty do to your brain? And how did Stephen's mother teach him about opportunity cost...
We asked you to nominate the worst sins of the modern age. Which one do Stephen and Angela think belongs on the list? And which does Angie struggle wi...
What does the Seven Deadly Sins survey tell us about the people who listen to this podcast? Are we more afflicted by sloth or by lust? And what does A...
Is pride an emotion? Where’s the line between self-esteem and hubris? And what does Stephen have against peacocks? Take the Seven Deadly Sins survey:...
Who’s greedier — gamblers or casinos? What’s the difference between betting on sports and entering a charity raffle? And does Angela know the name of...