PRESS FOR WTF?!

Suella Braverman, Rwanda and When Medieval-Style Ordeals Become Government Policy
[by Tim Harford]
Financial Times

Economic Vulnerability Pushing Parents to Marry Off Their Minor Daughters
[by Ravi Kant]
The Week

What Do Heart-Broken Knitters, Urinating Goalkeepers, and the CIA Have in Common?
[by Stephen Dubner]
Freakonomics Radio

Who Gives the Worst Advice?
[by Steve Levitt]
People I (Mostly) Admire

Proč církev upalovala čarodějnice: Byl to chytrý reklamní trik, tvrdí vědci
[by Natasa Slanska]
Dotyk

La hechicería: una antigua practica y excusa para matanzas de mujeres
Ambito

Przewodknik po Watykanie dla czarownic
Interia

Kristen Sollee, "Polowanie na wiedźmy. Kronika kobiet niepodporządkowanych"
Kultura

El arco largo, la ballesta y el peligro de restringir la innovación
[by Fernando Iglesias Fraga]
El Español

La salvaje violencia contra las brujas: el antiguo feminicidio que aún sucede en nuestros días
[by Jesus Moreno]
BBC News Mundo

Peter Leeson on Why Trial-by-Fire Wasn’t Barbaric and Why Pirates Were Democratic
[by Steve Levitt]
People I (Mostly) Admire

Peter T. Leeson: A Birthday Appreciation
[by Art Carden]
American Institute for Economic Research

Child Marriages Are Up in the Pandemic: Here's How India Tries to Stop Them
[by Sushmita Pathak]
NPR

The Economics of India's High Prevalence of Child Brides
[by Shruti Rajagopalan]
Mint

¿Qué países quemaron más brujas?
Magnet

Quando per la magia si finiva sul rogo
[by Danilo Taino]
Corriere Della Serra

It Was Not Good to Be a Witch in Luxembourg
L'essentiel

The Death Toll of Europe's Witch Trials
Delano

For Witches of Color, Books about the Occult are Scarce
[by Evan Nicole Brown]
Bustle

Ekonomia chuliganów
Forbes

Impost a les bruixes i judici als insecte
VIA Empressa

¿Por qué fueron asesinadas tantas mujeres durante Cacería de Brujas en Europa?
[by Francisco Genere Ramos]
Blasting News

Des animaux devant le tribunal et des épouses d’occasion vendues aux enchères
[by Amanda Castillo]
Le Temps

El gran circo de la economía
[by Gabriel Cortina]
El Mundo Financiero

Del impuesto a los pedos a subastar a tu mujer: antología de los disparates económicos
[by Rodrigo Terrasa]
El Mundo

Enciclopédia do ‘disparate’ económico: as decisões mais bizarras do mundo
[by Antonio Freitas de Sousa]
Jornal Economico

Interview with Alejandro Martin
Diario de Sevilla

When Divorce was Off the Table, English Couples Dissolved their Marriages with Beer
[by Zara Stone]
Atlas Obscura

Hon na čarodejnice bol marketingom cirkví
[by Evina Stein]
HistoryWeb

O skutočných dôvodoch, prečo katolícka cirkev odrazu objavila čarodejnice a po tisícoch ich upaľovala
[by Martin Simecka]
Dennik N

Nisu Mogli Dobiti Razvod, Pa Su Prodavali Supruge: Na dražbu bi ih doveli na užetu, a jedna je prodana za pivo
Net.hr

Mehr als Kirchturm, Minarett und Tempel: Moderne sakrale Architektur
[by Maik Novotny]
Der Standard

Vrăjitorie și democrație
[by Ionuț Ancuțescu]
New Money

Was die letzte Hexe Europas mit Trump gemeinsam hat
[by Gerald Hosp]
Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Real Time Economics
Wall Street Journal

Q&A with Peter Leeson
[by Lindsay Bernhards]
Mason Spirit

Witch Hunts in the Western World, Past and Present
VOX

Religious Competition was to Blame for Europe's Witch Hunts
[by C.R.]
The Economist

De l'utilité sociale des superstitions
[by Simon Varaine]
Le Point

The "Witch Craze" of 16th & 17th Century Europe: Economists Uncover Religious Competition as Driving Force of Witch Hunts
Economic History Society

Heksenjachten zijn van alle tijden
[by Daan Ballegeer]
Het Financieele Dagblad

Sacrificios humanos y subastas de esposas
[by Pablo R. Suanzes]
El Mundo

Como uma disputa entre religiões explica a caça às bruxas, segundo estes economistas
[by Luiza Bandeira]
Nexo

¿Por qué fueron asesinadas tantas mujeres durante Cacería de Brujas en Europa?
[by Francisco Genere Ramos]
Blasting News

Πώς οι θρησκευτικές διαμάχες έστειλαν στην πυρά 40.000 «μάγισσες»
TVXS

Heksenjacht was het gevolg van ruzie tussen protestanten en katholieken
[by Robin de Wever]
Trouw

Were Renaissance-Era "Vermin Trials" Related to Witch Trials?
The News Lens

Seguimos creyendo en las brujas, y las seguimos matando
[by Cynthia Ramirez]
Letras Libres

Boszorkány, Boszorkány! Elégethetjük?
[by Balogh Tamas Mark]
Origo

The History of Lie Detection, from Ancient Greece to Love Island
[by Kate Lister]
i

WTF?! Economics
Free Thoughts

Peter T. Leeson on His Book WTF?! An Economic Tour of the Weird
Rorotoko

Bars or Circles: A Chart Choice Challenge Derived from Witchcraft Trials
[by Andy Cotgreave]
Tableau

Germany was Once the Witch-Burning Capital of the World. Here's Why
[by Gwynn Guilford]
Quartz

Witch Trials in the Context of the Reformation
[by Erasmus]
The Economist

Interview with the 1517 Fund: The Rational Irrationality of the Past
The Subversionist

How Medieval Churches Used Witch Hunts to Gain More Followers
[by Becky Little]
History Channel

Why Europe's Wars of Religions Put 40,000 'Witches' to a Terrible Death
[by Jamie Doward]
The Guardian

Economists Uncover Religious Competition as Driving Force of Witch Hunts
Royal Economic Society

Interview with Rosamaria Bitetti and Federico Morganti: When Rationality Explains Crazy and Illogical Behavior
Il Foglio

Mexico without Prosecutors [in Spanish]
[by Roberto Gil Zuarth]
El Financiero

Judicial Combat also Has an Economic Rationale [in French]
[by Aurélien Chartier]
Contrepoints

Why Do People Act Like Weirdos? They Have Reason [in Czech]
[by Petr Houdek]
Finmag

Great Books on Politics and Public Policy from 2017
[by Richard Morrison]
Competitive Enterprise Institute

Interview with Sebastian Stodolak [in Polish]
Dzennik Gazeta Prawna

Split the Baby. Drink the Poison. Carry the Hot Iron. Swear on the Bible
Reason

WTF?! Indeed
[by Steven Landsburg]
The Big Questions

Interview with Tom Woods: WTF?!
Tom Woods Show

Interview with Garrett Petersen: The Economics of the Weird
Economics Detective

When Government Fails, Superstition May Have the Answer
CapX

How Market Competition Created the Modern Witch
Fortune

Interview with Hanne Tidnam: The Why Behind the Weird
a16z Podcast

The Political Economy of Witchcraft
The Economist

Book Trailer for WTF?!
YouTube

Interview with Isaac Morehouse
Isaac Morehouse

Why "Trial by Ordeal" in the Middle Ages was Actually an Effective Test of Guilt
Ideapod

Interview with 14-Year-Old Economist-In-the-Making Joseph Gray
Ceteris Numquam Paribus

Take the "Mises-Was-Right Challenge"
FEE

Why Doesn't Trump Challenge Kim Jong Un to A Duel?
[by Jeffrey A. Tucker]
Newsweek

Why the Trial by Ordeal was Actually an Effective Test of Guilt
Aeon

Who's Afraid of Friday the Thirteenth? Good Luck with That
Newsweek

When Societies Put Animals On Trial
[by Sonya Vatomsky]
JSTOR Daily

A History of 'Trial by Ordeal'
[by Arallyn Primm]
Mental Floss

'Hot Iron' Trial by Ordeal: A 13th Century Lesson for Investors
[by Ian Kelly]
City A.M.

A Brief History of Trial by Combat
[by Alex Mayyasi]
Priceonomics

Trial by Battle: Did it Really Ever Happen in History?
[by Hamza Rao]
Daily Pakistan

Apuntes sobre “Battle of the bastards”, un capítulo de #GameOfThrones
[by Ángel Alayón]
Prodavinci

Solving the 'Longbow Puzzle': Why Did France and Scotland Keep their Inferior Crossbows?
[by Cory Doctorow]
Boing Boing

Peter Leeson on Witch Trials and Human Sacrifice
[by Anthony Gill]
Research on Religion Podcast

What Do King Solomon and David Lee Roth Have in Common?
[by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt]
Freakonomics Radio

The Economics of Westeros: The Real-Life Advantages of Trial by Combat
[by Jordan Weissmann]
Slate

Game of Thrones and the Case for Trial by Combat
[by Lily Rothman]
TIME

Trial by Combat: It was Real and Spectacular
[by Elie Mystal]
Above the Law

How to Trick the Guilty and Gullible into Revealing Themselves
[by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner]
Wall Street Journal

Superstition and Self-Governance
Oxford University Press Blog

Why Wife-Selling was Advantageous for Wives
[by Ben Richmond]
Motherboard Magazine

Economics of Human Sacrifice
[by Timothy Taylor]
Conversable Economist

There's a Rational Explanation for Human Sacrifice
[by Ben Richmond]
Motherboard Magazine

When Rats Meet the Legal System
[by Martin Gardiner]
Improbable Research

Gypsy Law
The Browser

What Can We Learn from Human Sacrifice?
[by Eli Dourado]
The Umlaut

Why the Rich Immolate Themselves
[by Jeffrey Tucker]
Laissez Faire Today

Why Human Sacrifice is the Best M&A Defence
[by Giles Turner]
Financial News

Human Sacrifice, the Original Negative Interest Rate
[by Izabella Kaminska]
FT Alphaville

Human Sacrifice
The Browser

Witchcraft: It's Only Rational
[by Kurtis Lockhart]
The McGill Daily

God Damn: The Economics of Malediction
The Browser

Wifeselling: Is Selling Your Wife Slavery?
[by Tim Worstall]
Forbes

Buy My Wife. Please!
Reason Magazine

Wife Sales: An Efficiency-Enhancing Institutional Response
[by Stephen Dubner]
Freakonomics blog

Superstition and Development
[by Peter Leeson]
NYU Development Research Institute Aid Watch blog

Gypsies
The Browser

The Economics of Gypsies
[by Steven Levitt]
Freakonomics/New York Times blog

Trial by Battle
The Browser

On the Cauldron System of Justice: Who Needs a Courtroom, Anyway?
[by Ashby Jones]
Wall Street Journal blog

Who Are You So Wise in the Ways of Science?
[by Eugene Volokh]
Volokh Conspiracy

Trial by Ordeal
[by Radley Balko]
Reason Magazine

In Defense of Trial by Ordeal
[by Joseph Bottum]
First Thoughts

Justice, Medieval Style
[by Peter Leeson]
The Boston Globe

The Purpose Driven Life
National Affairs

Freakonomics Meets Pirates of the Caribbean
[by Steven Levitt]
Freakonomics/New York Times blog

Trial by Ordeal
[by Steven Landsburg]
The Big Questions blog


​REVIEWS OF WTF?!

"Except for being more creative than most, Peter Leeson...is a perfectly normal economist....Maybe several hundred
years from now a future Leeson will try to explain how our political weirdness made even a modicum of sense in the 20th and
21st centuries."
Regulation [full review]

"This book is what happens when a professor of economics and law with a love of the curious examines what looks like irrational behaviour....Excellent."
Fortean Times [full review]

“[B]rilliant logic….this book is downright fun…enjoyable as much for entertainment as enlightenment….You don't need to care one bit about economics or social theory to enjoy this book. Conversely, if you hate fun and frivolity and care only for social science, you'll find serious economic theory in WTF?! If you don't find the world more fascinating and enjoyable, and people more ingenious and clever, after reading WTF?!, something might be wrong with you!”
Isaac Morehouse

“Pete Leeson is not your everyday economist. And WTF is not an ordinary economics book….Many authors claim that their work could be enjoyably read by a non-academic, but unusually this book actually delivers on this promise….[The] explanation is imaginative, ingenious, and, once one thinks about it, quite plausible.”
Review of Austrian Economics [full review]

"A very effective book within the Beckerian tradition."
Marginal Revolution


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