Many of us hate to think about future crises. Game designer Jane McGonigal wants to make it fun.

Jane McGonigal designed a game to help herself recover from a traumatic brain injury — and she thinks playing games... more

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz combs through mountains of information to find advice for everyday life.

Soil scientist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe could soon hold one of the most important jobs in science. She explains why the... more

How psychologist Dan Gilbert went from high school dropout to Harvard professor, found the secret of joy, and inspired Steve... more

Linguist and social commentator John McWhorter explains how good intentions may be hurting Black America — and where the word... more

Beatrice Fihn wants to rid the world of nuclear weapons. As Russian aggression raises the prospect of global conflict, can... more

Nobel Prize winner Joshua Angrist explains how the draft lottery, the Talmud, and West Point let economists ask — and... more

Palliative physician B.J. Miller asks: Is there a better way to think about dying? And can death be beautiful?

Naturalist Sy Montgomery explains how she learned to be social from a pig, discovered octopuses have souls, and came to... more

Gene-editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna worries that humanity might not be ready for the technology she helped develop.

Columbia astrophysicist David Helfand is an academic who does things his own way — from turning down job security to... more

Stanford professor Carolyn Bertozzi’s imaginative ideas for treating disease have led to ten start-ups. She talks with Steve about the... more

Climbing the corporate ladder to become head of Nike’s Jordan brand, he kept his teenage murder conviction a secret from... more

Steve loved Michael Lewis’s latest, The Premonition, but has one critique: Why aren’t there even more villains? Also, why the... more

A leading expert on the Reformation era, Brad, a University of Notre Dame professor, tells Steve about how the “blood... more

The former chairman of the Obama administration’s Council of Economic Advisors tells Steve how improv comedy was a better training... more

By mid-century, 10 million people a year are projected to die from untreatable infections. Can Cassandra, an ethnobotanist at Emory... more

The Columbia neuroscientist and psychology professor Carl Hart believes that recreational drug use, even heroin, methamphetamines, and cocaine, is an... more

Amaryllis Fox is a former C.I.A. operative and host of the Netflix show The Business of Drugs. She explains why... more

Steve usually asks his guests for advice, whether they’re magicians or Nobel laureates. After nearly 60 episodes, is any of... more

The Nobel laureate and pioneering behavioral economist spars with Steve over what makes a nudge a nudge, and admits that... more

The legendary venture capitalist believes the same intuition that led him to bet early on Google can help us reach... more

Harvard economist Claudia Goldin and Steve talk about how inflexible jobs and family responsibilities make it harder for women to... more

He’s the award-winning author of hugely popular books like Guns, Germs, and Steel; Collapse; and Upheaval. But Jared actually started... more

He’s tried to shake up the status quo — as a Democratic presidential candidate, a New York City mayoral candidate,... more

Everyone agrees that massive deforestation is an environmental disaster. But most of the standard solutions — scolding the Brazilians, invoking... more

He’s an M.I.T. cosmologist, physicist, and machine-learning expert, and once upon a time, almost an economist. Max and Steve continue... more

How likely is it that this conversation is happening in more than one universe? Should we worry more about Covid... more

He’s a pioneer of using randomized control experiments in economics — studying the long-term benefits of a $1 health intervention... more

Playing notes on her piano, she demonstrates for Steve why whole numbers sound pleasing, why octaves are mathematically imperfect, and... more

His childhood dream of playing in the N.B.A. led him to a career as a referee. Marc is one of... more

It was only in his late twenties that America’s favorite brainiac began to seriously embrace his love of trivia. Jeopardy!’s... more

This new Jeopardy! host is best known for playing neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory, but she... more

The prisoner’s dilemma is a classic game-theory problem. Robert, a political scientist at the University of Michigan, has spent his... more

Steve shows a different side of himself in very personal interviews with his two oldest daughters. Amanda talks about growing... more

When we try to improve things, our first thought is often: What can we add to make this better? But... more

An expert on urban economics and co-author of the new book Survival of the City, Ed says cities have faced... more

Former U.S. Secretary of Education, 3x3 basketball champion, and leader of an anti-gun violence organization are all on Arne’s resume.... more

A special episode: Steve reports on a passion of his. Most high-school math classes are still preparing students for the... more

He’s a Harvard physician and economist who just started a third job: host of the new podcast Freakonomics, M.D. He’s... more

He argues that personal finance is so simple all you need to know can fit on an index card. How... more

She’s the C.E.O. of Zoox, an autonomous vehicle company. Steve asks Aicha about the big promises the A.V. industry hasn’t... more

Steve continues his conversation with his good friend, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, and fellow University of Chicago economist. Sendhil breaks... more

He’s a professor of computation and behavioral science at the University of Chicago, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, and author. Steve... more

In this interview, first heard on Freakonomics Radio last year, Steve talks with the former top adviser to presidents Clinton... more

He’s been an Arctic scientist, a sports journalist, and is now a best-selling author of science books. His latest, Range:... more

She used to run a behavioral unit in the Obama administration, and now has a similar role at Google. Maya... more

He’s the C.E.O. of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which, under his charge, exposed the most celebrated American cyclist... more

She’s the author of the bestselling book Grit, and a University of Pennsylvania professor of psychology — a field Steve... more