Save Me From Myself (Rebroadcast)

Freakonomics Radio

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Documentary, Society & Culture

4.6 • 32K Ratings

🗓️ 26 December 2013

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A commitment device forces you to be the person you really want to be. What could possibly go wrong?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey podcast listeners, just in time for all your New Year's resolutions today, we're
0:10.7	replaying one of our favorite old episodes.
0:12.7	It's about commitment devices.
0:15.2	That is, clever ways to trick yourself or trap yourself into doing something that you
0:20.5	want to do, but for whatever reason you aren't able to.
0:23.8	For example, let's say you want to go to Freakonomics.com and hit the donate button so that we
0:29.7	can keep bringing you this free podcast, but you haven't done it yet.
0:33.5	Alright, try this.
0:35.3	Start holding your breath right now.
0:38.9	Don't let go until you've gone to Freakonomics.com, made your donation.
0:43.3	If you do it right, we'll send you a Freakonomics radio t-shirt or coffee mug or assigned Freakonomics
0:48.3	book.
0:49.3	Okay?
0:50.3	Breathe in.
0:53.4	And now, for our podcast about commitment devices, it's called Save Me From Myself.
1:04.1	Well I was in late August of 2009.
1:06.7	I went to Harris, Casino and played PyGal.
1:11.8	And I was doing fairly well.
1:13.4	I couldn't believe the luck I was having.
1:17.4	That's Tony Belandrin.
1:19.2	This was on one of those riverboat casinos in Kansas City, Missouri.
1:23.0	Androon is a journalist in his late 40s.
	...

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