In her book, "Rumbles," medical historian Elsa Richardson explores the history of the human gut. She talks with Steve about... more

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

Moon Duchin is a math professor at Cornell University whose theoretical work has practical applications for voting and democracy. Why... more

The director of the Hayden Planetarium is one of the best science communicators of our time. He and Steve talk... more

He’s the chief creative officer of Pixar, and the Academy Award-winning director of "Soul, Inside Out, Up, and Monsters, Inc."... more

David Eagleman is a Stanford neuroscientist, C.E.O., television host, and founder of the Possibilianism movement. He and Steve talk about... more

Boys and men are trending downward in education, employment, and mental health. Richard Reeves, author of the book "Of Boys... more

Daron Acemoglu was just awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in economics. Earlier this year, he and Steve talked about his... more

David Autor took his first economics class at 29 years old. Now he’s one of the central academics studying the... more

Kate Douglass is a world-class swimmer and data scientist who’s used mathematical modeling to help make her stroke more efficient.... more

Ken Ono is a math prodigy whose skills have helped produce a Hollywood movie and made Olympic swimmers faster. The... more

Artist Wendy MacNaughton knows the difficulty of sitting in silence and the power of having fun. She explains to Steve... more

Bestselling author James Nestor believes that we can improve our lives by changing the way we breathe. He’s persuasive enough... more

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals founder Ingrid Newkirk has been badgering meat-eaters, fur-wearers, and circus-goers for more than... more

Revisiting Steve’s 2021 conversation with the economist and MacArthur “genius” about how to make memories stickier, why change is undervalued,... more

Under his helm, the TED Conference went from a small industry gathering to a global phenomenon. Chris and Steve talk... more

The former YouTube C.E.O. — and sixteenth Google employee — died on August 9, 2024. Steve talked with her in... more

The author of the classic "The Selfish Gene" is still changing the way we think about evolution.

Victoria Groce is the best trivia contestant on earth. The winner of the 2024 World Quizzing Championship explains the structure... more

Richard Prum says there's a lot that traditional evolutionary biology can't explain. He thinks a neglected hypothesis from Charles Darwin... more

Thomas Hildebrandt is trying to bring the northern white rhinoceros back from the brink of extinction. The wildlife veterinarian tells... more

She is one of the best basketball players ever. She’s won multiple championships, including five Olympic gold medals and four... more

Conrad Wolfram wants to transform the way we teach math — by taking advantage of computers. The creator of Computer-Based... more

Ellen Langer is a psychologist at Harvard who studies the mind-body connection. She’s published some of the most remarkable scientific... more

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

Suleika Jaouad was diagnosed with cancer at 22. She made her illness the subject of a New York Times column... more

Caroline Paul is a thrill-seeker and writer who is on a quest to encourage women to get outside and embrace... more

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

The economist Joseph Stiglitz has devoted his life to exposing the limits of markets. He tells Steve about winning an... more

Monica Bertagnolli went from a childhood on a cattle ranch to a career as a surgeon to a top post... more

Nobel laureate, bestselling author, and groundbreaking psychologist Daniel Kahneman died in March. In 2021 he talked with Steve Levitt —... more

Google researcher Blaise Agüera y Arcas spends his work days developing artificial intelligence models and his free time conducting surveys... more

After Haiti’s devastating earthquake, Rajiv Shah headed the largest humanitarian effort in U.S. history. As chief economist of the Gates... more

"The Power of Habit" author Charles Duhigg wrote his new book in an attempt to learn how to communicate better.... more

Cat Bohannon’s new book puts female anatomy at the center of human evolution. She tells Steve why it takes us... more

Economist Daron Acemoglu likes to tackle big questions. He tells Steve how colonialism still affects us today, who benefits from... more

Journalist Walt Hickey uses data to understand how culture works. He and Steve talk about why China hasn’t produced any... more

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a bodybuilder, an actor, a governor, and, now, an author. He tells Steve how he’s managed... more

Physicist Helen Czerski loves to explain how the world works. She talks with Steve about studying bubbles, setting off explosives,... more

The filmmaker doesn’t want to be known only for his movies. He tells Steve why he considers himself a writer... more

Economist Michael D. Smith says universities are scrambling to protect a status quo that deserves to die. He tells Steve... more

Computer scientist Fei-Fei Li had a wild idea: download one billion images from the internet and teach a computer to... more

Data scientist Nate Silver gained attention for his election predictions. But even the best prognosticators get it wrong sometimes. He... more

Abraham Verghese is a physician and a best-selling author — in that order, he says. He explains the difference between... more

Claudia Goldin is the newest winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. Steve spoke to her in 2021 about how... more

For 37 years, Rick Doblin has been pushing the F.D.A. to approve treating post-traumatic stress disorder with MDMA, better known... more

Psychologist Thomas Curran argues that perfectionism isn’t about high standards — it’s about never being enough. He explains how the... more

Avi Loeb is a Harvard astronomer who argues that we’ve already encountered extraterrestrial technology. His approach to the search for... more

Reginald Dwayne Betts spent more than eight years in prison. Today he's a Yale Law graduate, a MacArthur Fellow, and... more

Obi Felten used to launch projects for X, Google’s innovation lab, but she’s now tackling mental health. She explains why... more

Artist Wendy MacNaughton knows the difficulty of sitting in silence and the power of having fun. She explains to Steve... more

Sal Khan returns to discuss his innovative online high school’s first year — and Steve grills a member of the... more

The creator of "The Wire", "The Deuce", and other shows is leading the Writers Guild on the picket lines. He... more

In the newest show from the Freakonomics Radio Network, host Zachary Crockett explores the hidden side of the things around... more

Robert Solow is 98 years old and a giant among economists. He tells Steve about cracking German codes in World... more

Talithia Williams thinks you should rigorously track your body's data. She and Steve Levitt trade birth stories and bemoan the... more

Kevin Kelly believes A.I. will create more problems for humanity — and help us solve them. He talks to Steve... more

Clementine Jacoby went from performing in a circus to founding a nonprofit that works to shrink the prison population.

Steve is on a mission to reform math education, and Sarah Hart is ready to join the cause. In her... more

From recording some of the first rap hits to revitalizing Johnny Cash's career, the legendary producer has had an extraordinary... more

Physician Peter Attia returns to the show to talk about the science of longevity — which focuses not only on... more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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