The biggest sports league in history had a problem: While most of its players were Black, almost none of its head coaches were. So the N.F.L. launched a hiring policy called the Rooney Rule. In the first episode of a two-part series, we look at how the rule succeeded — until it failed.

• SOURCES:
  • N. Jeremi Duru, professor of law at American University.
  • Herm Edwards, former N.F.L. player and head coach.
  • Jim Rooney, author and co-partner of Rooney Consulting.

• RESOURCES:
  • A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney's Story from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule, by Jim Rooney (2019).
  • "For ASU's Herm Edwards, Sports Bubble Helped to Overcome Racism Growing Up," by Jeff Metcalfe (The Arizona Republic, 2018).
  • Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL, by N. Jeremi Duru (2010).
  • "Differences in the Success of NFL Coaches by Race, 1990-2002: Evidence of Last Hire, First Fire," by Janice Madden (Journal of Sports Economics, 2004).

• EXTRAS:
  • "When Is a Superstar Just Another Employee?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • "How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy? (Replay)," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).

We revisit an episode from 2016 that asks: Has our culture’s obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact that things also need to be taken care of?

• SOURCES:
  • Martin Casado, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
  • Ruth Schwartz Cowan, professor emerita of history and sociology of science at University of Pennsylvania.
  • Edward Glaeser, professor of economics at Harvard University.
  • Chris Lacinak, founder and president of AVPreserve.
  • Andrew Russell, provost of SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
  • Lawrence Summers, professor and president emeritus of Harvard University; former Secretary of the Treasury and former director of the National Economic Council.
  • Lee Vinsel, professor of science, technology, and society at Virginia Tech.

• RESOURCES:
  • “Hail the Maintainers," by Andrew Russell and Lee Vinsel (Aeon, 2016).
  • “A Lesson on Infrastructure From the Anderson Bridge Fiasco,” by Lawrence Summers and Rachel Lipson (The Boston Globe, 2016).
  • Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier, by Edward Glaeser (2008).
  • More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave, by Ruth Schwartz Cowan (1983).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Freakonomics Radio Takes to the Skies," series by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • "Edward Glaeser Explains Why Some Cities Thrive While Others Fade Away," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
  • "Why Larry Summers Is the Economist Everyone Hates to Love," by Freakonomics Radio (2017).

Young people have been reporting a sharp rise in anxiety and depression. This maps neatly onto the global rise of the smartphone. Some researchers are convinced that one is causing the other. But how strong is the evidence?

• SOURCES:
  • David Blanchflower, professor of economics at Dartmouth College.
  • Lauren Oyler, novelist and cultural critic.
  • Andrew Przybylski, professor of human behavior and technology at the University of Oxford.

• RESOURCES:
  • "The Declining Mental Health Of The Young And The Global Disappearance Of The Hump Shape In Age In Unhappiness," by David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, and Xiaowei Xu (NBER Working Paper, 2024).
  • "Further Evidence on the Global Decline in the Mental Health of the Young," by David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, Anthony Lepinteur, and Alan Piper (NBER Working Paper, 2024).
  • No Judgment: Essays, by Lauren Oyler (2024).
  • "To What Extent are Trends in Teen Mental Health Driven by Changes in Reporting?" by Adriana Corredor-Waldron and Janet Currie (Journal of Human Resources, 2024).
  • The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt (2024).
  • "Global Well-Being and Mental Health in the Internet Age," by Matti Vuorre and Andrew K. Przybylski (Clinical Psychological Science, 2023).
  • "Are Mental Health Awareness Efforts Contributing to the Rise in Reported Mental Health Problems? A Call to Test the Prevalence Inflation Hypothesis," by Lucy Foulkes and Jack L. Andrews (New Ideas in Psychology, 2023).
  • "The Association Between Adolescent Well-Being and Digital Technology Use," by Amy Orben and Andrew K. Przybylski (Nature Human Behaviour, 2019).
  • iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood — and What That Means for the Rest of Us, by Jean M. Twenge (2017).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Are You Caught in a Social Media Trap?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • "Are We Getting Lonelier?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
  • "Is Facebook Bad for Your Mental Health?" by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022).
  • "Why Is U.S. Media So Negative? (Replay)," by Freakonomics Radio (2022).