Abortion and crime: who should you believe?
Two very vocal critics, Steve Sailer and John Lott, have been exerting a lot of energy lately trying to convince the world that the abortion reduces crime hypothesis is not…
It’s awkward, random, confusing — and probably discriminatory too.
Dubner and Levitt talk about circadian rhythms, gay marriage, autism, and whether “pay what you want” is everything it’s cracked up to be.
What “Sleep No More” and the Stanford Prison Experiment tell us about who we really are.
Steve Levitt has a novel idea for helping people make tough decisions.
We know it’s terribly dangerous to drive drunk. But heading home on foot isn’t the solution.
College tends to make people happier, healthier, and wealthier. But how?
Steve usually asks his guests for advice, whether they’re magicians or Nobel laureates. After nearly 60 episodes, is any of it worth following — or should we just ask listeners…
Climbing the corporate ladder to become head of Nike’s Jordan brand, he kept his teenage murder conviction a secret from employers. Larry talks about living in fear, accepting forgiveness, and…
Why are humans so eager for magic-bullet solutions? Can you explain how a pen works? And how does Angela feel about being forever branded “the grit lady”?…
In one of the earliest Freakonomics Radio episodes, we asked a bunch of economists with young kids how they approached child-rearing. Now the kids are old enough to talk —…
Why do some activities tire your brain more than others? How exhausting is poverty? And could most of the world’s problems be solved with a sandwich?…
Should you visualize success or failure? How do you bounce back from a mistake? And will Maria hustle Angela into a poker game?…
How can you strive for excellence without overworking yourself? Why is perfectionism on the rise? And is Angela part of the problem?…
Would you be more adventurous if you had more structure? Do you multitask while brushing your teeth? And what would Mike’s perfect brother Peter do?…
It’s hard to know whether the benefits of hiring a celebrity are worth the risk. We dig into one gruesome story of an endorsement gone wrong, and find a surprising…
What do Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Malcolm Gladwell have in common? Are interesting theories more significant than true ones? And what has been keeping Angela up at night? Plus:…
Reginald Dwayne Betts spent more than eight years in prison. Today he’s a Yale Law graduate, a MacArthur Fellow, and a poet. His nonprofit works to build libraries in prisons…
…had an extraordinary creative life. In this episode he talks about his new book and his art-making process — and helps Steve get in touch with his own artistic side….
Two very vocal critics, Steve Sailer and John Lott, have been exerting a lot of energy lately trying to convince the world that the abortion reduces crime hypothesis is not…
…academia, journalism, etc. Here’s what Hunter writes about the YouTube operation: Personally it’s been interesting to get to know Steve [Chen] and Chad [Hurley]. … But the YouTube story doesn’t…
(Photo: Keith Allison) The NBA free agent market opened this month and the moves making headlines include: Steve Nash signing with the L.A. Lakers Ray Allen signing with the Miami…
…and the children’s book The Boy With Two Belly Buttons. He lives in New York City. Steven D. Levitt Steve is the host of People I (Mostly) Admire and co-author…
Steve Levitt is such a big deal in Chicago that he has been asked to donate an original haiku (!) for a fund-raiser on Wed., Sept. 14. So he went…
…Head.” He’d bought the book due to Steve Levitt’s recommendation from an article in the Financial Times. He still has a bruise on his forehead. He blames Steve for it….
…couple eating breakfast on their stoop. The woman called out, “Aren’t you Steve Levitt?” So I stopped to talk to them. I asked her how she knew who I was,…
…is unfortunately best known as the older brother of Tobias Wolff, whose own memoir, This Boy’s Life, was also pretty great. Steve Levitt’s father Michael is also worth writing about…
…grandmother. 2. TheStreet.com columnist Brett Arends reports that, with Apple stock’s gain of 1,600% since 2003, CEO Steve Jobs missed out on $4 billion in profits from stock options that…
…Stiglitz-Atkinson–Leigh-Wolfers, or Stiglitz-Blinder–Reis-Wolfers. Steve Levitt is also a three: Stiglitz-Sachs–Poterba-Levitt, and so Steve endows both Stephen Dubner and Sudhir Venkatesh with a four. Dan Hamermesh has written so many papers…
…for either of us will decrease as time goes on, since both the “Steven” and “Stephen” spellings of the name peaked decades ago (“Steven” at No. 11, “Stephen” at No….