People I (Mostly) Admire
Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
Freakonomics co-author Steve Levitt tracks down other high achievers for surprising, revealing conversations about their lives and obsessions. Join Levitt as he goes through the most interesting midlife crisis you’ve ever heard — and learn how a renegade sheriff is transforming Chicago's jail, how a biologist is finding the secrets of evolution in the Arctic tundra, and how a trivia champion…
Episodes HN recommended
75. Self-Help for Data Nerds
May 14, 2022 • 53 min53. The Simple Economics of Saving the Amazon Rainforest
Nov 27, 2021 • 33 min
Recent episodes
46. What It’s Like to Be Steve Levitt’s Daughters
Oct 31, 2026 • 46 min45. Leidy Klotz on Why the Best Solutions Involve Less — Not More
Oct 24, 2026 • 40 min44. Edward Glaeser Explains Why Some Cities Thrive While Others Fade Away
Oct 17, 2026 • 46 min43. Arne Duncan Says All Kids Deserve a Chance — and Criminals Deserve a Second One
Oct 10, 2026 • 45 min42. America’s Math Curriculum Doesn’t Add Up
Oct 3, 2026 • 42 min41. Dr. Bapu Jena on Why Freakonomics Is the Best Medicine
Sep 26, 2026 • 40 minHow a Great Architect Thinks, with Bjarke Ingels | Better in Person
Sep 23, 2026 • 43 min40. Harold Pollack on Why Managing Your Money is as Easy as Taking Out the Garbage
Sep 19, 2026 • 46 min39. Aicha Evans Wants You to Take Your Eyes Off the Road
Sep 12, 2026 • 49 min38. Sendhil Mullainathan Explains How to Generate an Idea a Minute (Part 2)
Sep 5, 2026 • 37 min37. Sendhil Mullainathan Thinks Messing Around Is the Best Use of Your Time
Aug 29, 2026 • 51 min36. How Rahm Emanuel Would Run the World
Aug 22, 2026 • 42 min35. David Epstein Knows Something About Almost Everything
Aug 15, 2026 • 49 min34. Maya Shankar Is Changing People’s Behavior — and Her Own
Aug 8, 2026 • 45 min33. Travis Tygart Is Coming for Cheaters — Just Ask Lance Armstrong
Aug 1, 2026 • 45 min32. Angela Duckworth Explains How to Manage Your Goal Hierarchy
Jul 25, 2026 • 51 min30. Dambisa Moyo Says Foreign Aid Can’t Solve Problems, but Maybe Corporations Can
Jul 11, 2026 • 44 min29. Bruce Friedrich Thinks There’s a Better Way to Eat Meat
Jul 4, 2026 • 45 min28. Professor Carl Hart Argues All Drugs Should Be Legal — Can He Convince Steve?
Jun 27, 2026 • 45 min27. Daniel Kahneman on Why Our Judgment is Flawed — and What to Do About It
Jun 20, 2026 • 44 min26. Memory Champion Nelson Dellis Helps Steve Train His Brain
Jun 13, 2026 • 35 min25. Sam Harris: “Spirituality Is a Loaded Term.”
Jun 6, 2026 • 43 min24. Are We Under Threat from a New Kind of Terror? (Replay Ep. 24)
May 30, 2026 • 44 min22. Sal Khan: “If It Works for 15 Cousins, It Could Work for a Billion People.”
May 16, 2026 • 44 min21. Pete Docter: “What If Monsters Really Do Exist?”
May 9, 2026 • 43 min18. Robert Sapolsky: “I Don’t Think We Have Any Free Will Whatsoever.”
Apr 18, 2026 • 42 min
What HN said
- sienJun 2022The book that the author wrote "Don't Trust Your Gut : Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life" ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58490565-don-t-trust-you... ) is well worth a read.
There is also a good podcast episode with an interview by Steven Levitt with the author ( https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/75-self-help-for-data-... )
It might be of interest to HN types because it's essentially using loads of data to see what helps people.
- ternSep 2022There are huge geopolitical forces fighting to preserve the Amazon. The cost of deforestation is quantified and states pay millions if not billions (I forget the numbers) to people in order to leave it untouched.
Of course, it's political and 'we're not doing enough,' etc. but individuals have more influence over the Amazon than most things.
Great podcast on the subject: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/people-i-mostly-admire...
- DowwieDec 2020Related to this topic is a conversation Steve Levitt had the other day with Moncef Slaoui, who has been a scientific lead for "Operation Warp Speed": https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/moncef-slaoui-its-unfo...