81. Why Bother Searching for Aliens?
Astronomer Jill Tarter spent her career searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. She explains what civilizations from other planets could teach us about our own future.
Episodes
People I (Mostly) Admire
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.
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Episodes
80. Get Your Share of the Pie
Game theorist Barry Nalebuff explains how he used basic economics to build Honest Tea into a multimillion-dollar business, and shares his innovative approach to negotiation.
79. Solar Geoengineering Would Be Radical. It Might Also Be Necessary.
David Keith has spent his career studying ways to reflect sunlight away from the earth. It could reduce the risks of climate change — but it won’t save us.
78. Giving It Away
Billionaire John Arnold is figuring out how to do as much good as he can with his wealth. It takes hard work, risk tolerance, and a lot of spending.
77. Can Games Prepare Us for Catastrophes? (Part 2)
Many of us hate to think about future crises. Game designer Jane McGonigal wants to make it fun.
76. Is Gaming Good for You?
Jane McGonigal designed a game to help herself recover from a traumatic brain injury — and she thinks playing games can help us all lead our best lives.
75. Self-Help for Data Nerds
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz combs through mountains of information to find advice for everyday life.
74. Getting Our Hands Dirty
Soil scientist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe could soon hold one of the most important jobs in science. She explains why the ground beneath our feet is one of our greatest resources — and, possibly, one of our deadliest threats.
73. Turning Work into Play
How psychologist Dan Gilbert went from high school dropout to Harvard professor, found the secret of joy, and inspired Steve Levitt's divorce.
72. “Leaving Black People in the Lurch”
Linguist and social commentator John McWhorter explains how good intentions may be hurting Black America — and where the word “motherf*cker” comes from.
71. Bombs Away
Beatrice Fihn wants to rid the world of nuclear weapons. As Russian aggression raises the prospect of global conflict, can she put disarmament on the world's agenda?
70. You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Experiment
Nobel Prize winner Joshua Angrist explains how the draft lottery, the Talmud, and West Point let economists ask — and answer — tough questions.
69. Does Death Have to Be a Death Sentence?
Palliative physician B.J. Miller asks: Is there a better way to think about dying? And can death be beautiful?
68. “No One Can Resist a Jolly, Happy Pig.”
Naturalist Sy Montgomery explains how she learned to be social from a pig, discovered octopuses have souls, and came to love a killer that will never love her back.
67. We Can Play God Now
Gene-editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna worries that humanity might not be ready for the technology she helped develop.
66. The Professor Who Said “No” to Tenure
Columbia astrophysicist David Helfand is an academic who does things his own way — from turning down job security to helping found a radically unconventional university.
65. A Rockstar Chemist and Her Cancer-Attacking “Lawn Mower”
Stanford professor Carolyn Bertozzi’s imaginative ideas for treating disease have led to ten start-ups. She talks with Steve about the next generation of immune therapy she’s created, and why she might rather be a musician.
64. How Larry Miller Went from Prison Valedictorian to Nike Executive
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 it was easier to be bookish behind bars.
63. The Only Covid-19 Book Worth Reading
Steve loved Michael Lewis’s latest, The Premonition, but has one critique: Why aren’t there even more villains? Also, why the author of best-sellers Moneyball and The Big Short can barely read a page of his first book without cringing.
62. How Does Historian Brad Gregory Make a Boring Topic So Mind-Blowing?
A leading expert on the Reformation era, Brad, a University of Notre Dame professor, tells Steve about how the “blood gets sucked out of history,” and why historians and economists don’t quite see eye to eye.
61. Was Austan Goolsbee’s First Visit to the Oval Office Almost His Last?
The former chairman of the Obama administration’s Council of Economic Advisors tells Steve how improv comedy was a better training ground for teaching than a Ph.D. from M.I.T., and why he’s glad he was wrong about the automotive-industry bailout.
60. Cassandra Quave Thinks the Way Antibiotics Are Developed Might Kill Us
By mid-century, 10 million people a year are projected to die from untreatable infections. Can Cassandra, an ethnobotanist at Emory University convince Steve that herbs and ancient healing are key to our medical future?
Why Aren’t All Drugs Legal? (Replay Ep. 28)
The Columbia neuroscientist and psychology professor Carl Hart believes that recreational drug use, even heroin, methamphetamines, and cocaine, is an inalienable right. Can he convince Steve?
Are We Under Threat from a New Kind of Terror? (Replay Ep. 24)
Amaryllis Fox is a former C.I.A. operative and host of the Netflix show The Business of Drugs . She explains why intelligence work requires empathy, and she soothes Steve’s fears about weapons of mass destruction.
59. Who Gives the Worst Advice?
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 instead?
58. Why Is Richard Thaler Such a ****ing Optimist?
The Nobel laureate and pioneering behavioral economist spars with Steve over what makes a nudge a nudge, and admits that even economists have plenty of blind spots.
57. What Makes John Doerr Think He Can Save the Planet?
The legendary venture capitalist believes the same intuition that led him to bet early on Google can help us reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But Steve wonders why his plan doesn’t include a carbon tax.
56. Claudia Goldin: What’s “Greedy Work” and Why Is It a Problem?
Harvard economist Claudia Goldin and Steve talk about how inflexible jobs and family responsibilities make it harder for women to earn wages equal to their male counterparts. But could Covid actually level the playing field?
55. Jared Diamond on the Downfall of Civilizations — and His Optimism for Ours
He’s the award-winning author of hugely popular books like Guns, Germs, and Steel ; Collapse ; and Upheaval . But Jared actually started his varied career as an expert on gallbladders and birds. The physiologist turned geographer talks with Steve about his brushes with death, why the Norse Greenlanders wouldn’t eat fish, and why he has never been invited to a cannibal ceremony.
54. Andrew Yang Is Not Giving Up on Politics — or the U.S. — Yet
He’s tried to shake up the status quo — as a Democratic presidential candidate, a New York City mayoral candidate, and now the founder of the Forward party. Will his third try be the charm? Andrew talks with Steve about what it’s like to lose an election and why a third political party might be the best chance for avoiding a new civil war.