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.
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The U.S. immigration system is a massively complicated machine, with a lot of worn-out parts. How to fix it? Step one: Get hold of some actual facts and evidence. (We did this step for you.) (Part two of a three-part series.)
SOURCES:
Zeke Hernandez, professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
David Leonhardt, senior writer at the New York Times.
Sindhu Mahadevan, creator of This Immigrant Life newsletter.
RESOURCES:
The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Societies Welcome Newcomers, by Zeke Hernandez (2024, available for pre-order).
"Illegal Immigration Is a Bigger Problem Than Ever. These Five Charts Explain Why," by Andrew Mollica, Alicia A. Caldwell, Michelle Hackman, and Santiago Pérez (The Wall Street Journal, 2023).
Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream, by David Leonhardt (2023).
The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017).
EXTRAS:
“The True Story of America’s Supremely Messed-Up Immigration System,” series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
"And the New Six-Word Motto for the U.S. Is …," by Stephen Dubner (Freakonomics blog, 2008).