People I (Mostly) Admire
Society

People I (Mostly) Admire

by 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 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.

102 episodes
EN-US language
All Episodes
1
15. Tim Harford: “If You Can Make Sure You're Not An Idiot, You've Done Well.”
42:25 Mar 28, 2026
2
13. Yul Kwon: “Don't Try to Change Yourself All at Once.” (UPDATE)
43:23 Mar 21, 2026
3
12. Sue Bird: “You Have to Pay the Superstars.”
39:25 Mar 14, 2026
4
11. Paul Romer: “I Figured Out How to Get Myself Fired From the World Bank.”
34:20 Mar 7, 2026
5
10. Suzanne Gluck: “I'm a Person Who Can Convince Other People to Do Things”
36:07 Feb 28, 2026
6
8. Peter Attia: “I Definitely Lost a Lot of IQ Points That Day”
38:36 Feb 21, 2026
7
7. Caverly Morgan: "I Am Not This Voice. I Am Not This Narrative."
38:38 Feb 14, 2026
8
6. Nathan Myhrvold: “I Am Interested in Lots of Things, and That's Actually a Bad Strategy”
47:46 Feb 7, 2026
9
5. Susan Wojcicki: “Hey, Let’s Go Buy YouTube!”
30:43 Jan 31, 2026
10
4. Ken Jennings: “Don’t Neglect the Thing That Makes You Weird”
42:18 Jan 24, 2026
11
3. Kerwin Charles: “One Does Not Know Where an Insight Will Come From”
39:29 Jan 17, 2026
12
2. Mayim Bialik: “I Started Crying When I Realized How Beautiful the Universe Is”
45:30 Jan 10, 2026
13
1. Steven Pinker: "I Manage My Controversy Portfolio Carefully”
42:40 Jan 3, 2026
14
173. Steve Levitt Says Goodbye to People I (Mostly) Admire
51:02 Dec 20, 2025
15
Ninety-Eight Years of Economic Wisdom (Replay)
49:09 Dec 13, 2025
16
172. A New Kind of University
51:58 Dec 6, 2025
17
171. Measuring Pollution on Parallel Earths
56:01 Nov 22, 2025
18
Suleika Jaouad’s Survival Mechanisms (Replay)
58:46 Nov 15, 2025
19
170. Finding the God Particle
59:10 Nov 8, 2025
20
169. Decoding the World’s First Writing
49:35 Oct 25, 2025
21
Is There a Fair Way to Divide Us? (Update)
1:00:06 Oct 18, 2025
22
168. Chemistry, Evolved
56:53 Oct 11, 2025
23
167. The Secret of Humanity? It’s Common Knowledge.
58:45 Sep 27, 2025
24
How to Have Great Conversations (Update)
44:24 Sep 20, 2025
25
166. The World’s Most Effective Public Health Intervention Is Under Attack
1:01:47 Sep 13, 2025
26
165. The Economist Who (Gasp!) Asks People What They Think
53:14 Aug 30, 2025
27
Rick Rubin on How to Make Something Great (Update)
53:24 Aug 23, 2025
28
164. Unravelling the Universe, Again
1:02:14 Aug 16, 2025
29
163. The Data Sleuth Taking on Shoddy Science
56:25 Aug 2, 2025
30
Arne Duncan Says All Kids Deserve a Chance — and Criminals Deserve a Second One (Update)
46:11 Jul 26, 2025
31
162. Will We Solve the Climate Problem?
57:56 Jul 19, 2025
32
161. How to Captivate an Audience
48:48 Jul 5, 2025
33
Annie Duke Thinks You Should Quit (Update)
48:25 Jun 28, 2025
34
160. How to Help Kids Succeed
1:00:09 Jun 21, 2025
35
159. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Manifesto for a Gift Economy
57:16 Jun 7, 2025
36
Does Death Have to Be a Death Sentence? (Update)
42:22 May 31, 2025
37
158. Why Did Rome Fall — and Are We Next?
55:24 May 24, 2025
38
157. The Deadliest Disease in Human History
1:05:19 May 10, 2025
39
Abraham Verghese Thinks Medicine Can Do Better (Update)
46:59 May 3, 2025
40
156. A Solution to America’s Gun Problem
59:24 Apr 26, 2025
41
155. Helping People Die
54:57 Apr 12, 2025
42
Yul Kwon: “Don't Try to Change Yourself All at Once.” (Update)
44:49 Apr 5, 2025
43
154. Can Robots Get a Grip?
57:52 Mar 29, 2025
44
153. We’re Not Getting Sicker — We’re Overdiagnosed
1:03:45 Mar 15, 2025
45
Reading Dostoevsky Behind Bars (Update)
49:22 Mar 8, 2025
46
152. Hunting for the Origins of Life
46:53 Mar 1, 2025
47
151. Neurobiologist, Philosopher, and Addict
53:29 Feb 15, 2025
48
Jane Goodall Changed the Way We See Animals. She’s Not Done. (Replay)
53:48 Feb 8, 2025
49
150. His Brilliant Videos Get Millions of Views. Why Don’t They Make Money?
58:47 Feb 1, 2025
50
149. Stanford’s President Knows He Can’t Make Everyone Happy
56:18 Jan 18, 2025
Select an episode
0:00 0:00