Episode · Freakonomics Radio · 2026-05-01
Books mentioned on 673. What Is Money?
That’s what the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang wanted to learn. So he turned Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations into an oratorio.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Messiah
Discussed“We recently made a three-part series about an almost 300-year-old oratorio that still has a grip on a lot of people today, Handel's Messiah. During our reporting, we spent some time with the New York Philharmonic as they rehearsed and performed Messiah.”
Where to get it
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The Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is a foundational 1776 text in economics that investigates the nature and causes of national prosperity through division of labor, free markets, and supply systems.
Discussed“I asked what she thought when she was first approached about singing The Wealth of Nations. Honestly, I was surprised because I read The Wealth of Nations when I was at Columbia cuz that's one of the core texts that all the students have to read. And, you know, back then I remember it not being a very scintillating read.”
Where to get it
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The Song of Songs
Discussed“This is a piece called Just. The lyrics are drawn from Song of Songs, a book of love poems in the Hebrew Bible.”
Where to get it
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David Copperfield
David Copperfield is a classic 1850 semi-autobiographical novel by Charles Dickens that follows the life and trials of its titular hero from youth to maturity.
Discussed“You are reminding me of the part of David Copperfield where Mr. Micawber says, "If you have 20 pounds of annual expense, and at the end of the year, you have 20 pounds and 1 pence, you are a rich person.”
Where to get it
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Little Match Girl Passion
Discussed“That's actually the best thing that the Pulitzer Prize is good for is getting one's parents off one's back. Lang won his Pulitzer in 2008 for a choral piece called The Little Match Girl Passion.”
Where to get it
