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PODCAST

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova

Pushkin Industries

Risky Business is a weekly podcast about making better decisions. The hosts, Maria Konnikova and Nate Silver, are both journalists who moonlight as high-stakes poker players. On Risky Business, they bring their analytical framework to everything from politics to poker to personal decisions. Maria has a PhD in psychology and is the author of several books including, most recently, The Biggest Bluff. While researching the book, she inadvertently became a professional poker player, with over $500,000

news politics

All Episodes

46:31

The Democrats Are Folding on the Shutdown

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/11/12

Despite a blue wave in recent state and local elections, Senate Democrats caved to Republican demands on the shutdown, giving up the health care subsidies they started the shutdown over nearly 50 days ago. Nate and Maria argue that the Democrats are squandering their momentum, and discuss the consequences for key figures like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. They also reflect on the election of Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor-Elect of New York City, and talk about the difference between campaigns and

en-US

36:00

Even Our Economy Is Gamified Now

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/11/08

From social media and dynamic pricing to meme stocks and AI hype, gamification has taken over our lives—and a recent op-ed argues that it’s even spread into our economy, driven by Trump. Nate and Maria discuss the psychology behind the “casino economy” and why speculation and risk are so addicting. They talk about what it means when governments, businesses, and individuals lean into risk even as buffers against bad bets shrink—and why it’s easy not to object until

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43:40

What Happens in Vegas...Might Tell Us Something About...

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/11/05

With traffic down, gambling down, and hotel prices bottoming out, everyone’s asking: Is Las Vegas dead? Nate and Maria wade into the frenzy with some real data and hard-won experience. They talk about why casinos are struggling, what this indicates for the broader economy, and why high-end steak houses are, in fact, a recession indicator. For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters: The Leapfrom Maria Konnikova Silver Bulletinfrom Nate SilverSee omnystudio.com/listener for

en-US

41:09

What to Make of the NBA Sports Betting Scandal

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/11/01

Last week, two federal indictments and several high-profile arrests rocked the NBA. One indictment accused defendants of sharing insider information to cheat at sports betting, and the other accused over 30 co-conspirators, including members of various mafia families, of rigging poker games. For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters: The Leapfrom Maria Konnikova Silver Bulletinfrom Nate SilverSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

42:25

Lessons From A Marathoner (with Nicholas Thompson)

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/10/29

Nate and Maria sit down with the elite amateur runner Nicholas Thompson (who also happens to be the CEO of The Atlantic) to talk about his new book The Running Ground. They discuss what running can teach about productivity and fulfillment, his favorite brand of gels, and…his late-father’s brothel in Bali. For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters: The Leapfrom Maria Konnikova Silver Bulletinfrom Nate SilverSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

44:25

The Canal, the Crash and the Ketamine - Pushkin's...

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/10/25

We have a special episode for you today! In which Nate and Maria join their fellow Pushkin hosts to dive deep into the art of failure. Tim Harford of Cautionary Tales shares stories of minor mistakes with massive consequences. Jonathan Goldstein of Heavyweight speaks with his friend, the writer Sheila Heti about the cost of mistakes and whether we're really in control of how many we make. And, our very own Nate and Maria give a gambler's take on the strange science of regret. Cautionary

en-US

45:11

What Democrats Should Take from No Kings Protests

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/10/22

Over the weekend, some 5 million people across the United States marched in ‘No Kings’ protests. Nate and Maria sit down to talk about why this matters, the psychology of protests, and how Democratic strategists can build on the momentum going forward. For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters: The Leapfrom Maria Konnikova Silver Bulletinfrom Nate SilverSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

40:56

What the Nobels Tell Us About the World Right Now

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/10/18

The 2025 Nobel Prizes have now been announced, and Maria convinces Nate to learn about the winners. They discuss the selection process, the economic award for research on “creative destruction,” and what prizes they should be considered for. For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters: The Leapfrom Maria Konnikova Silver Bulletinfrom Nate SilverSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

38:01

Good Call/Bad Call: Bari Weiss as CBS’s New...

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/10/15

Last week, Paramount bought digital news site The Free Press for $150 million, and made one of its founders, Bari Weiss, the new editor-in-chief of CBS. Everyone has opinions on Weiss…and so do Nate and Maria. They debate whether Weiss has the expertise to be editor-in-chief of a TV network, discuss what her appointment says about Paramount CEO David Ellison’s vision for the company, and judge whether this was a good or a bad call. For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their

en-US

36:43

Adam McKay is Still Angry About 2008 from Against the...

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/10/14

When Adam McKay decided to make a movie based on The Big Short, he was mainly known for his comedies. But he managed to get a bevy of star actors — among them Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Steve Carell and Margot Robbie — to sign on and bring the intensity and arcane financial jargon of Wall Street to life. Michael Lewis sits down with McKay a decade after he made the Oscar-winning movie version of The Big Short to learn about the challenges of getting the film made — and why he’s

en-US

41:36

What Jane Goodall Teaches Us About Outsider Thought

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/10/11

Pioneering primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall died last week at 91. Nate and Maria talk about Jane’s career path and how her research influenced the fields of both animal and human cognition. They also discuss the significance of the outsider status she held when she began her research, and what everyone can learn from outsiders. For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters: The Leapfrom Maria Konnikova Silver Bulletinfrom Nate SilverSee omnystudio.com/listener for

en-US

44:30

With Sora 2, We’re Climbing Higher on the Dystopia Scale

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/10/08

Nate and Maria discuss how and when the government shutdown is most likely to end. Then, they turn to OpenAI’s newest release: Sora 2, an AI video generation app that allows users to create a video from a text prompt. As Maria struggles to think of some possible positive uses for this app, Nate considers what its release tells us about Open AI's goals for the future. From The Information: Why OpenAI Offered to Pay $500 Million For A Startup With Videogame Data For more from Nate and Maria,

en-US

36:01

Sleep, Track, Don’t Multitask: How To Succeed In...

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/10/04

Nate and Maria discuss their favorite topic: poker! In this episode, they dive into the nuanced strategy of online poker: how to manage your schedule, how to prioritize information, and whether quantity trumps quality as you strive to improve. For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters: The Leapfrom Maria Konnikova Silver Bulletinfrom Nate SilverSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

44:23

Will Eric Adams’s Exit Change the NYC Mayoral Election?

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/10/01

Eric Adams is out of the NYC mayoral race! Nate and Maria discuss his tenure as mayor, the timing of his announcement, and what this means for the remaining candidates. And — because it can be hard to remember a time before his multiple scandals and single-digit polling — they talk about the enthusiasm that once surrounded Adams, and what that arc says about the Democratic leadership vacuum. (And yes, they talk about Nate’s tweet). For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their

en-US

34:19

Did the LA Clippers Take a Page from the Mob?

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/09/27

The NBA is investigating the LA Clippers and team owner Steve Ballmer over allegations that star player Kawhi Leonard accepted a $28 million endorsement as a way to get around the league’s salary cap. The endorsement deal was with the now-defunct sustainable banking company Aspiration—a company in which Ballmer has invested. Nate and Maria talk about whether Ballmer tried to take a page out of the mob playbook, and how the league could deter this kind of behavior in the future. Plus:

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35:31

Presidents Have Tried To Censor the Media Before…and...

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/09/24

Disney briefly pulled Jimmy Kimmel off the air last week for comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer, after FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened action against Disney and ABC. But this is not the first time the government has tried to censor the media: Maria walks us through a brief history of presidents trying to limit what the press says. Then, Nate and Maria discuss whether cancel culture led us to this particular moment. Read Nate’s newsletter post, The political mood feels

en-US

49:27

When You Come at the King: Holding Presidents to...

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/09/20

It’s our first Saturday drop! Nate and Maria host former assistant US Attorney Elie Honig to discuss his new book, a brisk history of special counsels — plagued by politics, checked by presidents, declawed under Trump’s second term — and why rescuing the office matters. Find Elie’s book here: When You Come At The King For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to their newsletters: The Leap from Maria Konnikova Silver Bulletin from Nate SilverSee omnystudio.com/listener

en-US

35:35

Can The Center Hold After Charlie Kirk? Plus:...

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/09/17

Nate and Maria share their reactions to last week’s assassination of conservative organizer and activist Charlie Kirk, who died after sustaining a gunshot wound at a speaking event on a Utah campus. Then, they debate the Democrats’ strategy as a government shutdown looms — and Nate says what he would do if he were Chuck Schumer.NOTE: Risky Business will now be in your feeds twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We will be pausing bonus content for the time being, but premium

en-US

46:57

Is There Really A Crisis of Masculinity?

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/09/10

Tesla has offered CEO Elon Musk a package worth $1 trillion to stay at the helm of the company — if he can hit a series of very ambitious goals. All of this comes in the midst of a serious dip in performance at the company, with stock falling 16% this year (partly as a result of Musk’s controversial moves on the world stage). So this week, Nate and Maria play armchair quarterback in a game of Good Call / Bad Call. Then, they cut through the chatter over a modern masculinity crisis and

en-US

45:45

Determinative Decisions Before Birth: Genes and Names

Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova ·

2025/09/04

Nate is on vacation this week, so Maria is joined by journalist David Epstein, author of The Sports Gene and Range. They talk about a new company that offers comprehensive genetic sequencing on embryos during the IVF process—at a high price. What are the ethics of this kind of technology? And what are the risks (and rewards) of trying to optimize your child’s genes? Plus, they discuss a topic they’ve been texting about for years: Does your name determine who you become? Further

en-US

94 results

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