Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to 99% Invisible - The Magic Bureaucrat

How overgeneralized correlational data influenced US welfare

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. 99% Invisible - The Magic Bureaucrat launched in 2016; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Predictably Irrational▲96

   The hidden forces that shape our decisions

   2015 · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Social Physics▲63

   What can data tell us about how ideas flow through networks?

   2016 · its alternatives →

3. 3
   The Zero-Sum Society▲61

   Distribution and the possibilities for economic change

   2016 · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Naked Statistics▲66

   Stripping the dread from the data

   2016 · its alternatives →

5. 5
   EconTalk with Russ Roberts: Interviewing Ryan Holiday▲66

   The role of ego in biz our personal lives, and history

   2016 · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Freakonomics - Trust Me▲64

   Societies that trust one another are healthier & wealthier.

   2016 · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Codebreaker - The Augmented Self▲61

   The man who collected too much data

   2016 · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Blindspot▲86

   Hidden biases of good people

   2015 · its alternatives →

9. 9PA
   Prophet – A financial micro-framework in Python▲152

   2014 · blog.michaelsu.io · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Soft Control: Leaks from an Information Broker▲61

    A new book on surviving the knowledge economy

    2016 · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Freakonomics: Why Uber Is an Economist’s Dream▲60

    $7 bil: the consumer surplus Uber created.

    2016 · its alternatives →

12. 12SA
    SpendTree – A tool to analyze income properties▲50

    2015 · spendtree.com · its alternatives →

13. 13TA
    TheBigDB - A simpler open database of facts▲133

    2013 · thebigdb.com · its alternatives →

14. 14PT
    PolisPulse, the US public life in data▲7

    2019 · polispulse.org · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Waking Up #44 - Being Good and Doing Good: A Conversation with William MacAskill▲55

    Effective altruism, moral illusions, and existential risk

    2016 · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Planet Money▲153

    A podcast covering the global economy

    2014 · its alternatives →

17. 17AA
    Atri: an experiment in web economics▲65

    2016 · atri.me · its alternatives →

18. 18UP
    Understanding public spending – 700 tables of data in one diagram▲33

    2015 · wikibudgets.org · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Freakonomics▲97

    A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

    2015 · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell▲58

    Food Fight: closing the gap between rich and poor

    2016 · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Algorithms to Live By▲70

    The computer science of human decisions

    2016 · its alternatives →

22. 22BD
    BigQuery dataset: 22M FCC comments on net neutrality▲119

    2017 · bigquery.cloud.google.com · its alternatives →

23. 23SP
    Sex, politics, and pay gaps in the U.S▲17

    2014 · visualmagnetic.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Spurious Correlation▲59

    Funny reminders that correlation does not imply causation

    2014 · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →