pod.link/1525936566
pod.link copied!
People I (Mostly) Admire
People I (Mostly) Admire
Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Steve Levitt, the iconoclastic University of Chicago economist and co-author of the Freakonomics book series, tracks down other high achievers and asks... more

Listen now on

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Overcast
Podcast Addict
Pocket Casts
Castbox
Stitcher
Podbean
iHeartRadio
Player FM
Podcast Republic
Castro
RadioPublic
RSS

Episodes

101. Celebrating 100 People I (Mostly) Admire

Steve and producer Morgan Levey look back at the first 100 episodes of the podcast, including surprising answers, spectacular explanations,... more

18 Mar 2023 · 49 minutes
100. Chicago’s Renegade Sheriff Wants to Fix Law Enforcement

Tom Dart is transforming Cook County’s jail, reforming evictions, and, with Steve Levitt, trying a new approach to electronic monitoring.

04 Mar 2023 · 1 hour, 3 minutes
99. Greg Norman Takes On the P.G.A. Tour

Since his last visit to "People I (Mostly) Admire," the formerly top-ranked golfer has become the sport's most controversial figure.... more

18 Feb 2023 · 48 minutes
98. Searching for Our Aquatic Ancestors

Neil Shubin hunts for fossils in the Arctic and experiments with D.N.A. in the lab, hoping to find out how... more

04 Feb 2023 · 57 minutes
97. How Smart Is a Forest?

Ecologist Suzanne Simard studies the relationships between trees in a forest: they talk to each other, punish each other, and... more

21 Jan 2023 · 58 minutes
96. Steven Strogatz Thinks You Don’t Know What Math Is

The mathematician and author sees mathematical patterns everywhere — from DNA to fireflies to social connections.

07 Jan 2023 · 58 minutes
95. The One Thing Stephen Dubner Hasn’t Quit

When "Freakonomics" co-authors Steve Levitt and Stephen Dubner first met, one of them hated the other. Two decades later, Levitt... more

24 Dec 2022 · 1 hour, 7 minutes
94. The Price of Doing Business with John List

From baseball card conventions to Walmart, John List has always used field experiments to say revolutionary things about economics. He... more

10 Dec 2022 · 1 hour, 6 minutes
93. Annie Duke Thinks You Should Quit

Former professional poker player Annie Duke has a new book on Steve’s favorite subject: quitting. They talk about why quitting... more

26 Nov 2022 · 55 minutes
92. John Green’s Reluctant Rocket Ship Ride

Author and YouTuber John Green thought his breakout bestseller wouldn’t be a commercial success, wrote 40,000 words for one sentence,... more

12 Nov 2022 · 1 hour, 8 minutes
91. Jane Goodall Changed the Way We See Animals. She’s Not Done.

The ethologist and conservationist discusses the thrill of observing chimpanzees in the wild, the value of challenging orthodoxy, and why... more

29 Oct 2022 · 58 minutes
90. Peter Singer Isn’t a Saint, But He’s Better Than Steve Levitt

The philosopher known for his rigorous ethics explains why Steve is leading a morally inconsistent life.

15 Oct 2022 · 58 minutes
Extra: A Rockstar Chemist Wins the Nobel Prize

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

08 Oct 2022 · 51 minutes
89. A Cross Between Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones

Heeding the warnings of public health officer Charity Dean about Covid-19 could have saved lives. Charity explains why she loves... more

01 Oct 2022 · 53 minutes
88. Ken Burns on Heroism, Horror, and History

The documentary filmmaker, known for "The Civil War," "Jazz," and "Baseball," turns his attention to the Holocaust, and asks what... more

17 Sep 2022 · 49 minutes
87. How Much Are the Right Friends Worth?

Harvard economist Raj Chetty uses tax data to study inequality, kid success, and social mobility. He explains why you should... more

03 Sep 2022 · 53 minutes
86. A Million-Year View on Morality

Philosopher Will MacAskill thinks about how to do as much good as possible. But that's really hard, especially when you're... more

20 Aug 2022 · 52 minutes
85. What It Takes to Know Everything

Victoria Groce is one of the best trivia contestants on earth. She explains the structure of a good question, why... more

06 Aug 2022 · 43 minutes
84. Yuval Noah Harari Thinks Life Is Meaningless and Amazing

The author of "Sapiens" has a knack for finding the profound in the obvious. He tells Steve why money is... more

23 Jul 2022 · 53 minutes
83. “There's So Many Problems — Which Ones Can I Make a Difference On?”

When she's not rescuing chickens from coyotes, Susan Athey uses economics to address real-world challenges — from online ad auctions... more

09 Jul 2022 · 50 minutes
82. Is This the Future of High School?

Khan Academy founder Sal Khan returns to share his vision for a new way to learn — and the conversation... more

02 Jul 2022 · 44 minutes
81. Why Bother Searching for Aliens?

Astronomer Jill Tarter spent her career searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. She explains what civilizations from other planets could teach us... more

25 Jun 2022 · 47 minutes
80. Get Your Share of the Pie

Game theorist Barry Nalebuff explains how he used basic economics to build Honest Tea into a multimillion-dollar business, and shares... more

18 Jun 2022 · 50 minutes
79. Solar Geoengineering Would Be Radical. It Might Also Be Necessary.

David Keith has spent his career studying ways to reflect sunlight away from the earth. It could reduce the risks... more

11 Jun 2022 · 55 minutes
78. Giving It Away

Billionaire John Arnold is figuring out how to do as much good as he can with his wealth. It takes... more

04 Jun 2022 · 51 minutes
77. Can Games Prepare Us for Catastrophes? (Part 2)

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

28 May 2022 · 34 minutes
76. Is Gaming Good for You?

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

21 May 2022 · 41 minutes
75. Self-Help for Data Nerds

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

14 May 2022 · 52 minutes
74. Getting Our Hands Dirty

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

07 May 2022 · 52 minutes
73. Turning Work into Play

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

30 Apr 2022 · 51 minutes
72. “Leaving Black People in the Lurch”

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

23 Apr 2022 · 47 minutes
71. Bombs Away

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

16 Apr 2022 · 46 minutes
70. You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Experiment

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

09 Apr 2022 · 35 minutes
69. Does Death Have to Be a Death Sentence?

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

02 Apr 2022 · 45 minutes
68. “No One Can Resist a Jolly, Happy Pig.”

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

26 Mar 2022 · 46 minutes
67. We Can Play God Now

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

19 Mar 2022 · 41 minutes
66. The Professor Who Said “No” to Tenure

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

12 Mar 2022 · 47 minutes
65. A Rockstar Chemist and Her Cancer-Attacking “Lawn Mower”

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

05 Mar 2022 · 50 minutes
64. How Larry Miller Went from Prison Valedictorian to Nike Executive

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

26 Feb 2022 · 37 minutes
63. The Only Covid-19 Book Worth Reading

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

19 Feb 2022 · 50 minutes
62. How Does Historian Brad Gregory Make a Boring Topic So Mind-Blowing?

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

12 Feb 2022 · 44 minutes
61. Was Austan Goolsbee’s First Visit to the Oval Office Almost His Last?

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

05 Feb 2022 · 52 minutes
60. Cassandra Quave Thinks the Way Antibiotics Are Developed Might Kill Us

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

29 Jan 2022 · 49 minutes
Why Aren’t All Drugs Legal? (Replay Ep. 28)

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

22 Jan 2022 · 43 minutes
Are We Under Threat from a New Kind of Terror? (Replay Ep. 24)

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

15 Jan 2022 · 49 minutes
59. Who Gives the Worst Advice?

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

08 Jan 2022 · 43 minutes
58. Why Is Richard Thaler Such a ****ing Optimist?

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

01 Jan 2022 · 46 minutes
57. What Makes John Doerr Think He Can Save the Planet?

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

25 Dec 2021 · 51 minutes
56. Claudia Goldin: What’s “Greedy Work” and Why Is It a Problem?

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

18 Dec 2021 · 48 minutes
55. Jared Diamond on the Downfall of Civilizations — and His Optimism for Ours

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

11 Dec 2021 · 47 minutes
54. Andrew Yang Is Not Giving Up on Politics — or the U.S. — Yet

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

04 Dec 2021 · 53 minutes
53. The Simple Economics of Saving the Amazon Rainforest

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

27 Nov 2021 · 32 minutes
52. Max Tegmark on Why Superhuman Artificial Intelligence Won’t be Our Slave (Part 2)

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

20 Nov 2021 · 30 minutes
51. Max Tegmark on Why Treating Humanity Like a Child Will Save Us All

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

13 Nov 2021 · 45 minutes
50. Edward Miguel on Collecting Economic Data by Canoe and Correlating Conflict with Rainfall

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

06 Nov 2021 · 52 minutes
49. Mathematician Sarah Hart on Why Numbers are Music to Our Ears

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

30 Oct 2021 · 46 minutes
48. Marc Davis Can’t Stop Watching Basketball — But He Doesn’t Care Who Wins

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

23 Oct 2021 · 47 minutes
Ken Jennings on How a Midlife Crisis Led Him to Jeopardy! (People I (Mostly) Admire, Ep. 4 Replay)

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

16 Oct 2021 · 47 minutes
Mayim Bialik on the Surprising Risks of Academia and Stability of Show Biz (People I (Mostly) Admire, Ep. 2 Replay)

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

09 Oct 2021 · 49 minutes
47. Robert Axelrod on Why Being Nice, Forgiving, and Provokable are the Best Strategies for Life

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

02 Oct 2021 · 44 minutes
46. Amanda & Lily Levitt Share What It’s Like to be Steve’s Daughters

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

25 Sep 2021 · 47 minutes
45. Leidy Klotz on Why the Best Solutions Involve Less — Not More

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

18 Sep 2021 · 40 minutes
44. Edward Glaeser Explains Why Some Cities Thrive While Others Fade Away

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

11 Sep 2021 · 46 minutes
43. Arne Duncan Says All Kids Deserve a Chance — and Criminals Deserve a Second One

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

04 Sep 2021 · 46 minutes
42. America’s Math Curriculum Doesn’t Add Up

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

28 Aug 2021 · 43 minutes
41. Dr. Bapu Jena on Why Freakonomics Is the Best Medicine

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

21 Aug 2021 · 41 minutes
40. Harold Pollack on Why Managing Your Money Is as Easy as Taking Out the Garbage

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

14 Aug 2021 · 46 minutes
39. Aicha Evans Wants You to Take Your Eyes Off the Road

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

07 Aug 2021 · 49 minutes
38. Sendhil Mullainathan Explains How to Generate an Idea a Minute (Part 2)

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

31 Jul 2021 · 37 minutes
37. Sendhil Mullainathan Thinks Messing Around Is the Best Use of Your Time

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

24 Jul 2021 · 52 minutes
People I (Mostly) Admire
37. Sendhil Mullainathan Thinks Messing Around Is the Best Use of Your Time
People I (Mostly) Admire
0:00
-0:00

Listen now on

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Overcast
Podcast Addict
Pocket Casts
Castbox
Stitcher
Podbean
iHeartRadio
Player FM
Podcast Republic
Castro
RadioPublic
RSS

Description

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