Stephen Dubner

Stephen Dubner has spent 20 years proving that things aren't what they seem—and now he's not so sure that's always true. The co-creator of Freakonomics and host of one of podcasting's most enduring shows joins Ben and Max to talk about why he never sold to Spotify, how The New York Times shifted from telling readers things to telling them what to think, and his new self-funded TV experiment that's "like laundering podcast money." Along the way, Dubner explains how he accidentally got sucked into the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni gossip vortex (Candace Owens was involved), makes the case for prediction markets over pundits, and reveals why he's now considering buying a pizza place with a Michelin-starred chef who hated his soup. Plus: the real reason insider trading bans are absurd, and why Mario Cuomo was wrong about vowels.

Podcast : EconTalk (LS 69 · TOP 0.05% what is this? ) Episode : Twenty Years of Freakonomics (with Stephen Dubner) Pub date : 2025-10-20 Get Podcast Transcript → powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarization Quantitative, contrarian, and nuanced: these are the hallmarks of the Freakonomics approach. Hear journalist and podcaster Stephen Dubner speak with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the 20th anniversary of the popular-economics book Dubner co-authored with Steven Levitt. They discuss how the book came to be, how the journey changed Dubner's life, and how it changed his thinking about various economics issues. The conversation includes a lengthy discussion on the role of private equity in the American economy, and Roberts's claim that Dubner and co-author Steven Levitt's treatment of incentives overlooks the role of competition and markets. The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Russ Roberts, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Stephen Dubner (Freakonomics, When to Rob a Bank, Freakonomics Radio) is an award-winning journalist, author, and radio host. Stephen returns once again to the Armchair Expert to discuss the power and necessity of disgust, the ethics of yelling at AI, and reflecting on the 20th publishing anniversary of Freakonomics. Stephen and Dax talk about being prodded by society into binary thinking, the compulsions in being perpetually online that don’t jibe with human nature, and what he does when presented with a ‘for us or against us’ argument. Stephen explains the concept of the illusion of explanatory depth, why during these times he’s in give-a-stranger-a-hug mode, and being exhausted in a good way about this human world.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Stephen Dubner (Freakonomics, When to Rob a Bank, Freakonomics Radio) is an award-winning journalist, author, and radio host. Stephen returns once again to the Armchair Expert to discuss the power and necessity of disgust, the ethics of yelling at AI, and reflecting on the 20th publishing anniversary of Freakonomics. Stephen and Dax talk about being prodded by society into binary thinking, the compulsions in being perpetually online that don’t jibe with human nature, and what he does when presented with a ‘for us or against us’ argument. Stephen explains the concept of the illusion of explanatory depth, why during these times he’s in give-a-stranger-a-hug mode, and being exhausted in a good way about this human world.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info . 💺 The conversation doesn't end when the episode does. 🔗 [CONTINUE THE RABBIT HOLE] 🔗

Quantitative, contrarian, and nuanced: these are the hallmarks of the Freakonomics approach. Hear journalist and podcaster Stephen Dubner speak with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the 20th anniversary of the popular-economics book Dubner co-authored with Steven Levitt. They discuss how the book came to be, how the journey changed Dubner's life, and how it changed his thinking about various economics issues. The conversation includes a lengthy discussion on the role of private equity in the American economy, and Roberts's claim that Dubner and co-author Steven Levitt's treatment of incentives overlooks the role of competition and markets.

Why are humans so bad at predicting the future? What exactly is college for? And does expensive wine really taste better? Those are among the many questions tackled by journalist Stephen Dubner and economist Steven Levitt over the years, since their bestselling book Freakonomics came out in 2005. We’ll talk with Dubner about the duo’s book and podcast empire which aims to reveal “the hidden side of everything” and about whether the field of behavioral economics has lived up to its promise. And we’ll dive into Freakonomics Radio’s recent series on the legal marijuana industry, and why it’s such a mess. Guests: Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics Radio host and best-selling author

Join us in this exclusive interview with Carly Reilly and Stephen Dubner, co-author of Freakonomics, where he shares insights on his storytelling journey, the creation of the Freakonomics media empire, and his perspectives on various topics, including the challenges of brand management, the evolution of his podcast, and the intersection of economics with everyday life. The conversation covers how Dubner approaches complex topics like crime rates, political dynamics, and economic theories with a unique blend of empirical analysis and narrative storytelling, making them accessible and engaging for a broad audience. Humanity Forward Foundation and Freakonomics Radio are joining forces to launch a time banking initiative! To get involved, email time@humanityforwardfoundation.org . Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QNPKXfJk2mE ---- Follow Stephen Dubner: https://x.com/dubnerstephen | https://x.com/freakonomics Follow Carly Reilly: https://x.com/carlypreilly | https://www.linkedin.com/in/carly-reilly-606ab166/ Follow Andrew Yang: https://andrewyang.com | https://x.com/andrewyang Get 50% off Factor at https://factormeals.com/yang50 Get an extra 3 months free at https://expressvpn.com/yang Get 20% off + 2 free pillows at https://helixsleep.com/yang code helixpartner20 ---- Subscribe to Forward: Apple — https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1508035243 Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/25cFfnG3lGuypTerKDxKia

Stephen Dubner, host of Freakonomics Radio, has done more than change the way we think about economics — I consider him a spiritual guide of our time. But for all his success, he’s got a laundry list of careers he’s left behind, from rising-star musician to New York Times writer. We debate the merits of expecting the worst versus hoping for the best and discuss how to trade nuance for novelty as we get older. It’s never too late to keep learning — or, according to him, to start a podcast. Follow me on Instagram at @davidduchovny. Stay up to date with Lemonada on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium . And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/ For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the author and podcast host of “ Freakonomics ,” Stephen Dubner spends a lot of time thinking about and studying what goes into good decision-making. In one of our favorite episodes from the vault, he gives Sam tips on balancing logic with emotion, offers ways to use your imagination to help you make a choice, and defends the coin-flip method. Follow Stephen Dubner @Freakonomics on X. Keep up with Samantha Bee @realsambee on Instagram and X . And stay up to date with us @LemonadaMedia on X , Facebook , and Instagram . For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors . Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephen Dubner, host of Freakonomics Radio, has long been fascinated by the great physicist Richard Feynman. As has Alan. Stephen has devoted a year to making a remarkable podcast series on Feynman, and Alan has played Feynman on the stage for a year. They compare notes on what they’ve come to learn about him. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Stephen Dubner is the New York Times best-selling author and host of the podcast Freakonomics. I met Stephen when he and his Freakonomics crew came to Esalen for an on-site interview that centered around deceased Nobel Prize winner and occasional Esalen lecturer Richard Feynman. Feynman assisted in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II; later in his career, he investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. During the 1980s, in Big Sur, three women who had experience with underground psychedelic therapy, Debby Harlow, Barbara Berg, and Cheryl Haley, initiated Feynman through the psychedelic experience. Now, the Freakonomics team was interested in interviewing these three women, at Esalen, where they had initially met Feynman. We gathered together in the famed Fritz room at the southern most tip of the Esalen property, and I got to see Stephen do his work. He seemed fascinated with Feynman, not just as an intellect, but as a human being. And in many ways, as a person, Feynman exemplified the human potential project — he pursued expansion and fulfillment, right up to the very end of his life. I am thankful for Feynman, if only because it linked me to Stephen Dubner, one of my favorite writers, thinkers and interviewers alive today. In our conversation, we delve into the life of Feynman, but save a little time to talk AI, job loss, storytelling, the future of work, and the critical role of community. In this episode, I play some short clips from one of the recent Freakonomics episodes: "Mr Feynman Takes a Trip — But Doesn’t Fall." I also play a few brief segments from one of Feynman’s talks at Esalen Institute in 1984, which he called Tiny Machines. Enjoy Freakonomics: https://freakonomics.com/series/freakonomics-radio/

As the author and podcast host of “ Freakonomics ,” Stephen Dubner spends a lot of time thinking about and studying what goes into good decision-making. He gives Sam tips on balancing logic with emotion, offers ways to use your imagination to help you make a choice, and defends the coin-flip method. Follow Stephen Dubner @Freakonomics on X (formerly Twitter). Keep up with Samantha Bee @realsambee on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) . And stay up to date with us @LemonadaMedia on X (formerly Twitter) , Facebook , and Instagram . For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors . Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices