I'm Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, and you're listening to Frekenomics Radio.

What's up guys, I'm Jimmy Garoppolo, and you're listening to Frekenomics Radio.

I'm Richard Taylor, and you're listening to Frekenomics Radio.

I'm Roger Bennett.

You listen to the Asad Jazz Hour on Frekenomics Radio.

And I'm Stephen Dubner.

Frekenomics Radio began as a little home-made show in early 2010, the first episode was called The Dangerous of Safety.

It looked at how football helmets originally designed to prevent skull fractures,

had done that job so well that NFL players now use them as weapons.

Which, if you are a football player, can feel like this.

The first thing you get is everything starts to vibrate.

Like, if you laid your head on your cell phone and put it on a vibrate,

and someone called you, and your legs are like, Jello, you're trying to stand up,

and your mind is trying to tell your body to do it, but your body and everything is disconnected.

The early episodes were an offshoot of the Frekenomics books I was writing with this guy.

Hi, this is Steve Levit.

Levit, what is your favorite thing about doing this podcast?

That, you do all the work.

In the beginning, we used the podcast to expand on stuff we'd already written about.

What comes to mind risk-wise when I say the following things, shark attacks?

The biggest joke of all time.

All right, terrorist attacks.

...