Where this was said
Have We Hit Peak Sludge? A Cautious Close
At 57:30 · chapter starts 57:20
Dubner asks Mahoney the question the whole episode has been building toward: has sludge peaked? Mahoney responds with measured hope: he doesn't know, but the signals are encouraging, and he refuses to let that lessen his resolve. Dubner closes out the episode with warm thanks to all three guests — and a behind-the-scenes joke about how his team mispelled 'Mahoney' internally so often they invented a mnemonic (Massachusetts Honey Boy), and that listeners don't want to know what they call Richard Thaler. He points listeners to two related episodes — episode 628 on public sector sludge and episode 456 on US healthcare — before wrapping with production credits for Renbud Radio, acknowledging producer Augusta Chapman, editor Gabriel Roth, and the full network staff.
