Spotify, Oracle, and Comcast have each recently announced they’re going with co-C.E.O.s. In this 2023 episode, we dig into the research and hear firsthand stories of triumph and disaster. Also: lessons from computer programmers, Simon and Garfunkel, and bears versus alligators.

• SOURCES:
  • Jim Balsillie, retired chairman and co-C.E.O. of Research In Motion.
  • Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder and C.E.O. of Atlassian.
  • Scott Farquhar, co-founder and former co-C.E.O. of Atlassian.
  • Marc Feigen, C.E.O. advisor.
  • Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, professor of management studies and senior associate dean at the Yale School of Management and founding president of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute.
  • Laurie Williams, professor of computer science at North Carolina State University.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Scott Farquhar to resign as joint CEO of Atlassian," by Jonathan Barrett (The Guardian, 2024).
  • "Is It Time to Consider Co-C.E.O.s?" by Marc A. Feigen, Michael Jenkins, and Anton Warendh (Harvard Business Review, 2022).
  • "The Costs and Benefits of Pair Programming," by Alistair Cockburn and Laurie Williams (2000).
  • "Strengthening the Case for Pair Programming," by Laurie Williams, Robert R. Kessler, Ward Cunningham, and Ron Jeffries (IEEE Software, 2000).

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Secret Life of a C.E.O.," series by Freakonomics Radio (2018).

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The U.S. has a physician shortage, created in part by a century-old reform that shut down bad medical schools. But why haven’t we filled the gap? Why are some physicians so unhappy? And which is worse: a bad doctor or no doctor at all?

• SOURCES:
  • Karen Clay, professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
  • Rochelle Walensky, physician-scientist and former director of the CDC.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Medical School Closures, Market Adjustment, and Mortality in the Flexner Report Era," by Karen Clay, Grant Miller, Margarita Portnykh, and Ethan Schmick (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2025).
  • "Application Overload — A Call to Reduce the Burden of Applying to Medical School," by Rochelle Walensky and Loren Walensky (New England Journal of Medicine, 2025).
  • "Challenges to the Future of a Robust Physician Workforce in the United States," by Rochelle Walensky and Nicole McCann (New England Journal of Medicine, 2025).
  • "The first step to addressing the physician shortage," by Rochelle Walensky and Nicole McCann (STAT, 2025).
  • "Physician Workforce: Projections, 2022-2037," (National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, 2024).
  • “Projected Estimates of African American Medical Graduates of Closed Historically Black Medical Schools,” by Kendall Campbell, Irma Corral, Jhojana Infante Linares, and Dmitry Tumin (JAMA Network, 2020).
  • "Medical Education in the United States and Canada," by Abraham Flexner (The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1910).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Is the Air Traffic Control System Broken?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
  • "Are You Ready for the Elder Swell?" by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
  • "Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

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For the 20th anniversary of Freakonomics, Debbie Millman of Design Matters interviews Stephen Dubner about his upbringing, his writing career, and why it's important to “swing your swing.” Plus: a sneak peek at a new project.

• SOURCES:
  • Debbie Millman, writer and host of Design Matters with Debbie Millman.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Stephen J. Dubner," by Design Matters with Debbie Millman (2025).
  • Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son's Return To His Jewish Family, by Stephen Dubner (1999).
  • "Choosing My Religion," by Stephen Dubner (New York Times, 1996).

• EXTRAS:
  • "In Search of the Real Adam Smith," by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

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