People I (Mostly) Admire

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher•freakonomics.com

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 memorized 160,000 flashcards. To get every show in the Freakonomics Radio Network without ads and a monthly bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio, start a free trial for SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

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Episodes

155. Helping People Die

Ellen Wiebe is a physician who helps seriously ill patients end their lives in Canada, where assisted suicide is legal. Is death a human right? SOURCES: Ellen Wiebe , clinical professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia. RESOURCES: " The Last Decision by the World’s Leading Thinker on Decisions ," by Jason Zweig ( The Wall Street Journal , 2025). " Most Americans Favor Legal Euthanasia ," by Rachael Yi ( Gallup , 2024). Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Providers . " Med...

Apr 12, 2025•55 min•Ep. 155

Yul Kwon: “Don't Try to Change Yourself All at Once.” (Update)

He has been a lawyer, an instructor at the F.B.I. Academy, the owner of a frozen-yogurt chain, and a winner of the TV show Survivor . Today, Kwon works at Google, but things haven’t always come easily for him. Steve Levitt talks to Kwon about his debilitating childhood anxieties, his compulsion to choose the hardest path in life, and how Kwon used game theory to stage a victory on Survivor . SOURCES: Yul Kwon , vice president of product management at Google. RESOURCES: Teacher Application for AS...

Apr 05, 2025•45 min•Ep. 13