That’s the worry. Even the humble eyeglass industry is dominated by a single firm.  We look into the global spike in myopia, how the Lemtosh got its name, and what your eye doctor knows that you don’t. (Part two of a two-part series.)   SOURCES: Maria Liu, professor of clinical optometry at the University of California, Berkeley. Harvey Moscot, C.E.O. of MOSCOT Eyewear and Eyecare. Zachary Moscot, chief design officer of MOSCOT Eyewear and Eyecare. Cédric Rossi, equity research analyst at Bryan Garnier. Tim Wu, professor of law, science and technology at Columbia Law School. &nb ..read more

A single company, EssilorLuxottica, owns so much of the eyewear industry that it’s hard to escape their gravitational pull — or their “obscene” markups. Should regulators do something? Can Warby Parker steal market share? And how did Ray-Bans become a luxury brand? (Part one of a two-part series.)   SOURCES: Neil Blumenthal, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker. Dave Gilboa, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker. Jessica Glasscock, fashion historian and lecturer at the Parsons School of Design. Neil Handley, curator of the British Optical Association Museum at the College of Optometris ..read more

You wouldn’t think you could win a Nobel Prize for showing that humans tend to make irrational decisions. But that’s what Richard Thaler has done. In an interview from 2018, the founder of behavioral economics describes his unlikely route to success; his reputation for being lazy; and his efforts to fix the world — one nudge at a time.   SOURCES: Richard Thaler, professor of behavioral science and economics at the University of Chicago.   RESOURCES: “Behavioral Economics,” by Richard Thaler (The Past, Present, and Future of Economics: A Celebration of the 125-Year Anniversary ..read more

Daniel Kahneman left his mark on academia (and the real world) in countless ways. A group of his friends and colleagues recently gathered in Chicago to reflect on this legacy — and we were there, with microphones.   SOURCES: Maya Bar-Hillel, professor emeritus of psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Shane Frederick, professor of marketing at the Yale School of Management. Thomas Gilovich, professor of psychology at Cornell University. Matt Killingsworth, senior fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Barbara Mellers, professor of psychology at the Un ..read more

It’s hard to know whether the benefits of hiring a celebrity are worth the risk. We dig into one gruesome story of an endorsement gone wrong, and find a surprising result.   SOURCES: John Cawley, professor of economics at Cornell University. Elizabeth (Zab) Johnson, executive director and senior fellow with the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania. Alvin Roth, professor of economics at Stanford University.   RESOURCES: "Kanye and Adidas: Money, Misconduct and the Price of Appeasement," by Megan Twohey (The New York Times, 2023). "The Role of Repugn ..read more

Broadway operates on a winner-take-most business model. A runaway hit like Stereophonic — which just won five Tony Awards — will create a few big winners. But even the stars of the show will have to go elsewhere to make real money. (Part two of a two-part series.)   SOURCES: David Adjmi, author and playwright. Sonia Friedman, theater producer and founder of Sonia Friedman Productions. John Johnson, theater producer and co-founder of Wagner Johnson Productions. Tom Pecinka, actor. Sarah Pidgeon, actor.   RESOURCES: "Tony Award Winners 2024: The Full List," by Rachel Sherman (Th ..read more

The Berlin dance mecca Berghain is known for its eight-hour line and inscrutable door policy. PJ Vogt, host of the podcast Search Engine, joins us to crack the code. It has to do with Cold War rivalries, German tax law, and one very talented bouncer.   SOURCES: Lutz Leichsenring, executive board member of Clubcommission Berlin and co-founder of VibeLab. PJ Vogt, reporter, writer, and host of the podcast Search Engine.   RESOURCES: "Berghain: 36 Hours Inside the World's Most Exclusive Nightclub," by Linux (Paper Magazine, 2022). Berlin Bouncer, documentary by David Dietl (2019 ..read more

Hit by Covid, runaway costs, and a zillion streams of competition, serious theater is in serious trouble. A new hit play called Stereophonic — the most Tony-nominated play in history — has something to say about that. We speak with the people who make it happen every night. (Part one of a two-part series.)   SOURCES: David Adjmi, author and playwright. Sonia Friedman, theater producer and founder of Sonia Friedman Productions. John Johnson, theater producer and co-founder of Wagner Johnson Productions. Tom Pecinka, actor. Sarah Pidgeon, actor.   RESOURCES: Stereophonic, by Dav ..read more

Every December, a British man named Tom Whitwell publishes a list of 52 things he’s learned that year. These fascinating facts reveal the spectrum of human behavior, from fraud and hypocrisy to Whitwell’s steadfast belief in progress. Should we also believe?   SOURCES: Tom Whitwell, managing consultant at Magnetic.   RESOURCES: "Supercentenarian and Remarkable Age Records Exhibit Patterns Indicative of Clerical Errors and Pension Fraud," by Saul Justin Newman (Working Paper, 2024). "52 things I learned in 2023," by Tom Whitwell (Magnetic Notes, 2023). "Job Satisfaction 2023 ..read more

An update of our 2020 series, in which we spoke with physicians, researchers, and addicts about the root causes of the crisis — and the tension between abstinence and harm reduction.   SOURCES: Gail D’Onofrio, professor and chair of emergency medicine at the Yale School of Medicine and chief of emergency services at Yale-New Haven Health. Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University. Stephen Loyd, chief medical officer of Cedar Recovery and chair of the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council. Nicole O’Donnell, certified recovery specialist at ..read more