Freakonomics Radio

• 632. When Did We All Start Watching Documentaries?

  It used to be that making documentary films meant taking a vow of poverty (and obscurity). The streaming revolution changed that. Award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler talks to Stephen Dubner about capturing Billie Eilish’s musical genius and Martha Stewart’s vulnerability — and why he really, really, really needs to make a film about the New York Mets. SOURCES:R.J. Cutler, filmmaker. RESOURCES:Fight for Glory, documentary (2025).Martha, documentary (2024)."Reality Check: The Boom—or Glut—in Streaming Documentaries Has Sparked a Reckoning Among Filmmakers and Their Subjects," by Reeves Wiedeman (Vulture, 2023)."Inside the Documentary Cash Grab," by Mia Galuppo and Katie Kilkenny (The Hollywood Reporter, 2022).Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, documentary (2021). EXTRAS:“Ari Emanuel Is Never Indifferent,” by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

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• 631. Will "3 Summers of Lincoln" Make It to Broadway?

  It’s been in development for five years and has at least a year to go. On the eve of its out-of-town debut, the actor playing Lincoln quit. And the producers still need to raise another $15 million to bring the show to New York. There really is no business like show business. (Part three of a three-part series.) SOURCES:Christopher Ashley, artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse.Debby Buchholz, managing director of La Jolla Playhouse.Carmen Cusack, actor.Quentin Earl Darrington, actor.Joe DiPietro, playwright and lyricist.Crystal Monee Hall, composer, singer, actor.Ivan Hernandez, actor.Michael Rushton, professor of arts administration at Indiana University.Jeffrey Seller, Broadway producer.Alan Shorr, Broadway producer.Daniel Watts, writer, choreographer, actor. RESOURCES:3 Summers of Lincoln (2025)."Review: Visceral ‘3 Summers of Lincoln’ is thrilling and thought-provoking," by Pam Kragen (San Diego Union-Tribune, 2025)."What’s Wrong with the Theatre is What’s Wrong With Society," by Michael Rushton (ArtsJournal, 2023)."American Theater Is Imploding Before Our Eyes," by Isaac Butler (New York Times, 2023).The Moral Foundations of Public Funding for the Arts, by Michael Rushton (2023). EXTRAS:“How to Make the Coolest Show on Broadway,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).“You Can Make a Killing, but Not a Living,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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• Is It a Theater Piece or a Psychological Experiment? (Update)

  In an episode from 2012, we looked at what Sleep No More and the Stanford Prison Experiment can tell us about who we really are. SOURCES:Felix Barrett, artistic director of Punchdrunk.Steven Levitt, professor of economics at the University of Chicago.Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus at Stanford University. RESOURCES:“Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist behind the ‘Stanford Prison Experiment,’ dies at 91,” by Melissa De Witte (Stanford Report, 2024).“Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment,” by Thibault Le Texier (American Psychologist, 2019).“The Lifespan of a Lie,” by Ben Blum (GEN, 2018).Punchdrunk. EXTRAS:“How Is Live Theater Still Alive?” by Freakonomics Radio (2025)."Why Is There So Much Fraud in Academia?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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• 630. On Broadway, Nobody Knows Nothing

  A hit like Hamilton can come from nowhere while a sure bet can lose $20 million in a flash. We speak with some of the biggest producers in the game — Sonia Friedman, Jeffrey Seller, Hal Luftig — and learn that there is only one guarantee: the theater owners always win. (Part two of a three-part series.) SOURCES:Debby Buchholz, managing director of La Jolla Playhouse.Sonia Friedman, Broadway producer.Rocco Landesman, Broadway producer, former owner of Jujamcyn Theaters, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.Hal Luftig, Broadway producer.Luis Miranda Jr., political strategist, founding president of the Hispanic Federation, the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, Viva Broadway, and The Public Theater.Michael Rushton, professor of arts administration at Indiana University.Jeffrey Seller, Broadway producer.Richard Winkler, Broadway producer.Stacy Wolf, professor of theater at Princeton University. RESOURCES:Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir, by Jeffrey Seller (2025).Relentless: My Story of the Latino Spirit That Is Transforming America, by Luis Miranda Jr. (2024).Beyond Broadway: The Pleasure and Promise of Musical Theatre Across America, by Stacy Wolf (2019)."‘Hamilton’ Inc.: The Path to a Billion-Dollar Broadway Show," by Michael Paulson and David Gelles (New York Times, 2016)."On the Performing Arts: The Anatomy of Their Economic Problems," by W.J. Baumol and W.G. Bowen (The American Economic Review, 1965). EXTRAS:“How to Make the Coolest Show on Broadway,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).“You Can Make a Killing, but Not a Living,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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• 629. How Is Live Theater Still Alive?

  It has become fiendishly expensive to produce, and has more competition than ever. And yet the believers still believe. Why? And does the world really want a new musical about ... Abraham Lincoln?! (Part one of a three-part series.) SOURCES:Christopher Ashley, artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse.Quentin Darrington, actor.Joe DiPietro, playwright and lyricist.Crystal Monee Hall, composer, singer, actor.Rocco Landesman, Broadway producer, former owner of Jujamcyn Theaters, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.Alan Shorr, Broadway producer.Daniel Watts, writer, choreographer, actor.Richard Winkler, Broadway producer. RESOURCES:3 Summers of Lincoln (2025)“Live Performance Theaters in the US - Market Research Report (2014-2029),” by Grace Wood (IBISWorld, 2024). Leadership: In Turbulent Times, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (2018).Big River (1984) EXTRAS:“How to Make the Coolest Show on Broadway,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).“You Can Make a Killing, but Not a Living,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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