Episode 31: Your Brain on Uber

Hidden Brain

• Episode: Episode 31: Your Brain on Uber
• Website: Hidden Brain
• Feed URL: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510308
• Duration: 00:30:01
• Published: 2016-05-17 06:01

Uber is built on the scourge of surge. When demand is high, the company charges two, three, even NINE-POINT-NINE times as much as normal for a ride. Riders hate it . . . but not so much that they stop riding. Yep, "dynamic pricing" has helped the company to grow into one of the largest taxi services in the world. What's the psychology behind it? Shankar sits down with Uber's Head of Economic Research Keith Chen to talk about when we're most likely pay for surge, when we hate it the most, and why monkeys would probably act and feel the same way. That's right. Monkeys.