Should You Be Able to Bet On the Election?
Kalshi, a company that offers prediction markets, sued the US government in an effort to legalize betting on elections. Nate and Maria discuss the pros and cons of election prediction…
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Risky Business is a weekly podcast about making better decisions. The hosts, Maria Konnikova and Nate Silver, are both journalists who moonlight as high-stakes poker players. On Risky Business, they bring their analytical framework to everything from politics to poker to personal decisions.
Maria has a PhD in psychology and is the author of several books including, most recently, The Biggest Bluff. While researching the book, she inadvertently became a professional poker player, with over $500,000 in tournament winnings. She is a PokerStars Team Pro.
Nate is the founder and former editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight, and one of the country’s leading election forecasters. He has over $800,000 in lifetime poker tournament winnings and his forthcoming book, On the Edge, is about gambling and risk.
Risky Business is a co-production of iHeart Media and Pushkin Industries.
Most Recent Episode
Should You Be Able to Bet On the Election?
Kalshi, a company that offers prediction markets, sued the US government in an effort to legalize betting on elections. Nate and Maria discuss the pros and cons of election prediction…
Does Nate Trust His Model? Debates, Prediction Markets and Poker
Nate and Maria discuss the Harris-Trump debate. Then, Nate gives an update on his election model, and Maria shares the outcome of her irrational move at a poker tournament in…
Calculating Risks in a Creative Life, with Brian Koppelman
Maria sits down with the great Brian Koppelman (Rounders, Billions, The Bear) to learn about how he navigates risk in Hollywood and beyond. They discuss his methods of determining when…
Amazing Frauds, Faking Your Own Death, and the Latest on the Election
Nate and Maria briefly discuss the latest election news. Then Tim Harford, author and host of Cautionary Tales, joins to discuss two of history’s most compelling con artists: Sam Israel…
Kamala Edition: Taxes, Tariffs, and the DNC
This week Nate and Maria discuss the state of Kamala Harris’ presidential bid, including taking a look at her first policy proposals on price gouging and taxes on tips. For…
Lessons from The River (Maria Interviews Nate About His Book)
Nate’s book “On the Edge” is out this week! (Get your copy here.) Maria interviews Nate about the origins of the book, what extreme risk takers get right and wrong,…
Taking Risks in Business, Poker, and Life (with Bill Perkins)
Maria sits down with Bill Perkins, the legendary energy trader, to talk about his approach to risk in business, poker, and life. For more from Nate and Maria, subscribe to…
Kamala Mode, Misinformation, and Winning the WSOP
Nate’s election model is back on, and it’s in Kamala Mode. Nate and Maria discuss what the model shows us about Kamala Harris’ chances, and the strange election misinformation that…
Betting on Kamala Harris (with special guest Matt Glassman)
Biden’s out of the race! Matt Glassman joins Nate to talk about what the consolidation behind Kamala Harris reveals about party politics and who she might pick for a running mate.…
Conspiracy Theories, J.D. Vance, and Jury Duty
Nate and Maria discuss the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the psychology of conspiracy theorists. They talk about what Trump’s selection of J.D. Vance means for the election. And…
How to Convince Biden to Quit
Nate and Maria really, really, really want Joe Biden to drop out of the race. Maria gives a psychological consult on the best way to convince Biden to quit. Nate…
How to Gamble Like a Chess Player, with Jennifer Shahade
Maria talks with Women’s Chess Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade about what chess and poker teach you about life; how statistics can help you think about having kids; and the time Maria lost…
The President Has No Clothes: Biden Should Drop Out
In this bonus episode, Nate and Maria discuss last night’s debate between President Biden and former President Trump. They argue that Biden should drop out of the race, and discuss…
Nate’s Election Model, the Trouble with Insurance, and How People Get Risk Wrong
This week on Risky Business, Nate and Maria unveil Nate’s 2024 election model. (The forecast is bad news for Maria.) Also, they explain what insurance industry troubles tell us about…
Snap Elections, Global Warming, and Maria’s Favorite Hot Sauce
This week on Risky Business, Nate and Maria discuss the reasoning behind Macron’s decision to hold early elections in France, how heat waves could help communicate the reality of climate…
Lifetime Terms, Lifetime Bans, and the Return of Roaring Kitty
This week on Risky Business, Nate and Maria discuss whether Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor should retire, the perils of sports betting among professional athletes, and what the return of…
Mistakes and Unknowns: Election Polls, Poker Tournaments, and the NBA Finals
This week on Risky Business, Nate gives his analysis of what Trump’s guilty verdict may mean for the election, Maria shares the biggest mistakes she’s seen at the World Series…
WSOP Kickoff, Crypto ETFs, and Airfare Refunds
Nate and Maria are in Vegas for the first week of the World Series of Poker. On today’s show, they share their top tips for acing the World Series, explain…
A Backup for Biden
Nate and Maria start with something light: p(doom) and the possibility that AI will bring about the end of life as we know it. Then, Nate breaks down the news…
Lessons from the Final Table
Welcome to Risky Business, a show about making better decisions. Today, Maria has lessons from a poker tournament she recently played in Monte Carlo, where she made it to the…
Coming Soon… Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova
Launching on May 16, Risky Business is a weekly podcast about making better decisions. The hosts, Maria Konnikova and Nate Silver, are both journalists who moonlight as high-stakes poker players.…
The Hosts
Nate Silver
Nate Silver, co-host of the Risky Business podcast, is the founder and former editor-in-chief (2008-2023) of FiveThirtyEight, which was published by The New York Times, ESPN, and ABC News. FiveThirtyEight…
Maria Konnikova
Maria Konnikova, co-host of the Risky Business podcast, is the author, most recently, of The Biggest Bluff, a New York Times bestseller, one of the Times’ 100 Notable Books of…
