EXTRA: Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America (Update)
His research on police brutality and school incentives won him acclaim, but also enemies. He was suspended for two years by Harvard, during which time he took a hard look at corporate diversity programs. As a follow-up to our recent series on the Rooney Rule, we revisit our 2022 conversation with the controversial economist.
- Duration
- 1h 8m
- Broadcast on
- 29 Sep 2024
- Audio Format
- other
This episode appears to contain dynamically inserted ads. Transcript timestamps may be approximate.
His research on police brutality and school incentives won him acclaim, but also enemies. He was suspended for two years by Harvard, during which time he took a hard look at corporate diversity programs. As a follow-up to our recent series on the Rooney Rule, we revisit our 2022 conversation with the controversial economist.
- SOURCE:
- Roland Fryer, professor of economics at Harvard University.
- RESOURCES:
- "How to Make Up the Covid Learning Loss," by Roland Fryer (Wall Street Journal, 2022).
- "Roland Fryer on Better Alternatives to Defunding the Police," by Roland Fryer (The Economist, 2020).
- "Harvard Suspends Roland Fryer, Star Economist, After Sexual Harassment Claims," by Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley (The New York Times, 2019).
- "Why Diversity Programs Fail: And What Works Better," by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev (Harvard Business Review, 2016).
- "An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force," by Roland G. Fryer, Jr (NBER Working Paper, 2016).
- "Getting Beneath the Veil of Effective Schools: Evidence from New York City," by Will Dobbie and Roland G. Fryer (American Economics Journal, 2013).
- "Financial Incentives and Student Achievement: Evidence From Randomized Trials," by Roland G. Fryer (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2011).
- "Toward a Unified Theory of Black America," by Stephen J. Dubner (The New York Times, 2005).
- Equal Opportunity Ventures.
- Intus Care.
- Reconstruction.
- Sigma Squared.
- EXTRAS:
- "Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
- "The True Story of the Gender Pay Gap," by Freakonomics Radio (2016).
- "Does “Early Education” Come Way Too Late?" by Freakonomics Radio (2015).
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Free economics radio is sponsored by PNC Bank, boring, great word, bad rep. Yet time and time again, here at Free economics we find that when something culture changing happens, boring things like calculations and careful planning are usually behind it. Which begs the question, why not apply it to other aspects of life? Like banking, for example. Well PNC Bank did, since its inception, proving time and again that the best banking strategy isn't the exciting type but the steady, reliable, definitely not YOLO type. PNC Bank, brilliantly boring, since 1865, brilliantly boring since 1865 is a registered mark of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC Bank National Association, member FDIC. Free economics radio is sponsored by Hotels.com. Hotels.com helps you find and book the right stay for work faster. With business preferences, save your travel must-haves like gym access or breakfast, just once then get tailored results whenever you search for work travel. Plus with a free membership you can save up to 20% on hotels and earn rewards on every stay for future travel. Book now at Hotels.com, visit Hotels.com for details. Free economics radio is sponsored by Amica. You know what they say, if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together. So go with Amica and get coverage from a mutual insurer that's built for their customers, one that looks after what's important to you together. Auto, home, life and more coverage that fits your unique needs. Amica helps you protect what matters most, visit amica.com and get a quote today. Free economics radio is sponsored by Mint Mobile. With Mint Mobile's summer sale, all of Mint's plans are $15 per month, even unlimited. The free yourself from Big Wireless and switch to Mint for high-speed data and coverage on the T-Mobile 5G network. To get your new wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to mintmobile.com/freak. Upfront payment, $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for 12 months. Plan required, $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy, includes up to 20 gigabytes hotspot. Capable device required, availability, speed and coverage varies, see Mint Mobile.com. Hey there, it's Stephen Dubner and today we've got a bonus episode for you. It is an update of a 2022 interview we did with Roland Fryer, a much-acclaimed and frequently controversial economist at Harvard. When we spoke, Fryer had recently returned from a two-year suspension, which you will hear about in the episode. The person who suspended him was Claudine Gay, who at the time was the Dean of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Gay went on to become President of Harvard, but then she famously resigned amidst plagiarism charges and criticism of Harvard's response to anti-Semitic demonstrations. But the reason we thought you might like to hear this episode now is because it follows naturally from the two-part series we just published on the Rooney Rule. That is the National Football League policy that was designed to increase diversity among coaches, and the Rooney Rule has since been adopted by many firms and institutions outside of sports. Roland Fryer, who is black, has his own thoughts about how firms and institutions have handled diversity hiring, and you'll hear about that, too. We have updated facts and figures as necessary. As always, thanks for listening. In 2005, I wrote a piece for the New York Times magazine called "Toward a unified theory of black America." It was a profile of a young Harvard economist named Roland Fryer, whose journey to Harvard was beyond surprising, beyond unpredictable. Given his background, it may have seemed impossible, and yet there he was. A lot of things happened to get Fryer into the upper echelons of academia, and even more has happened since much of it controversial. How does Fryer describe his research agenda today?
Transcription truncated.
His research on police brutality and school incentives won him acclaim, but also enemies. He was suspended for two years by Harvard, during which time he took a hard look at corporate diversity programs. As a follow-up to our recent series on the Rooney Rule, we revisit our 2022 conversation with the controversial economist.