670. Beeconomics 101
How do beekeepers make a living? Why is there so much honey fraud? And why did billions of bees suddenly disappear? To find out, guest host Steve Levitt activates his hive mind.
Episode 670 of the Freakonomics Radio podcast, hosted by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher, titled "670. Beeconomics 101" was published on April 10, 2026 and runs 55 minutes.
April 10, 2026 ·55m · Freakonomics Radio
Summary
How do beekeepers make a living? Why is there so much honey fraud? And why did billions of bees suddenly disappear? To find out, guest host Steve Levitt activates his hive mind.
Episode Description
How do beekeepers make a living? Why is there so much honey fraud? And why did billions of bees suddenly disappear? To find out, guest host Steve Levitt activates his hive mind.
- SOURCES:
- Alex Sapoznik, historian, reader in late medieval history at King’s College London.
- Chris Hiatt, past president of the American Honey Producers Association, owner of Hiatt Honey Company.
- Michael Roberts, founding executive director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy at U.C.L.A. Law School.
- Walter "Wally" Thurman, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at North Carolina State University.
- RESOURCES:
- "U.S. honey is increasingly supplied through imports," by David Olsen (USDA Economic Research Service, 2018).
- "Economic Effects and Responses to Changes in Honey Bee Health," by Peyton Ferrier, Randal Rucker, Walter Thurman, and Michael Burgett (USDA Economic Research Service, 2018).
- "The Fable of the Bees: An Economic Investigation," by Steven Cheung (The Journal of Law and Economics, 1973).
- "Sugar and Sweeteners Yearbook Tables - Visualization: Meeting honey demand in the United States," (USDA Economic Research Service).
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