Last week, in the first episode of this two-part series, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Richard Thaler

described one of the most common afflictions of our time. If you make things harder, I call that sludge.

Kind of a fun word for stuff that's the opposite of fun.

We heard how insurance companies use sludge to ration health care, how subscription services

use sludge to avoid cancellations, and how governments are full of sludge because, well,

because sludge is an almost inevitable

byproduct of bureaucracy. Today, in part two, we look at ways to fight sludge through better

legislation, through the use of artificial intelligence, and maybe by hiring a personal

sludge coach.

I'm not available.

That's okay.

We are available, starting now.

This is Freakonomics Radio, the podcast that explores the hidden side of everything, with your host, Stephen Dubner.

It is a natural temptation to think that your problems are worse than other people's problems.

Also, to think that the problems of our generation are worse than previous generations.

But as it was written way back in Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun.

And so it is with sludge.

For many years, it went by another name, a prettier name, red tape.

Do you know the story of how red tape got its name?

Here, it's a cute story, I'll tell you.

It apparently dates back to 16th century Spain in King Charles V,

who had his most important legal documents bound in red ribbon, eye-catching and expensive ribbon,

...