People I (Mostly) Admire

Twenty years ago, before the Freakonomics book tour, Bill McGowan taught Steve Levitt to speak in public. In his new book he tries to teach everyone else.   * SOURCES: * Bill McGowan [https://www.claritymediagroup.com/team-overview/bill-mcgowan], founder and C.E.O. of Clarity Media Group.   * RESOURCES: * Speak, Memorably: The Art of Captivating an Audience [https://amzn.to/4lEk08L], by Bill McGowan (2025). * "Sheryl Sandberg Gives UC Berkeley Commencement Keynote Speech [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqm-XEqpayc]," (UC Berkeley, 2016). * "Our failing schools. Enough is enough! [https://www.ted.com/talks/geoffrey_canada_our_failing_schools_enough_is_enough]" by Geoffrey Canada (TED, 2013).   * EXTRAS: * "The Power of a Bad Example – A Field Experiment In Household Garbage Disposal [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2100372]," by Robert Dur and Ben Vollaard (Tilburg Law and Economics Center, 2013). * "Unit pricing of municipal solid waste and illegal dumping: an empirical analysis of Korean experience [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03353988]," by Geum-Soo Kim, Young-Jae Chang and David Kelleher (Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, 2008). * "Garbage, Recycling, and Illicit Burning or Dumping [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0095069685710327]," by Don Fullerton and Thomas Kinnaman (Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2002).

Former professional poker player Annie Duke wrote a book about Steve’s favorite subject: quitting. They talk about why quitting is so hard, how to do it sooner, and why we feel shame when we do something that’s good for us.   * SOURCES: * Annie Duke [https://www.annieduke.com/], author and former professional poker player.   * RESOURCES: * Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away [https://amzn.to/3OsNSWe], by Annie Duke (2022). * "Heads or Tails: The Impact of a Coin Toss on Major Life Decisions and Subsequent Happiness [https://www.nber.org/papers/w22487]," by Steven Levitt (NBER Working Papers, 2016). * Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction [https://amzn.to/3GBmK5v], by Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner (2015). * "Knee-Deep in the Big Muddy: A Study of Escalating Commitment to a Chosen Course of Action [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0030507376900052]," by Barry M. Staw (Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1976). * Alliance for Decision Education [https://alliancefordecisioneducation.org/].   * EXTRAS: * "How to Make Your Own Luck [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-make-your-own-luck-ep-424/]," by Freakonomics Radio (2020). * "How Do You Know When It’s Time to Quit? [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-do-you-know-when-its-time-to-quit-nsq-ep-29/]" by No Stupid Questions (2020). * "The Upside of Quitting [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-upside-of-quitting-3/]," by Freakonomics Radio (2011).

Psychologist David Yeager thinks the conventional wisdom for how to motivate young people is all wrong. His model for helping kids cope with stress is required reading at Steve’s new high school.   * SOURCES: * David Yeager [https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/psychology/faculty/yeagerds], professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.   * RESOURCES: * 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People: A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation―And Making Your Own Life Easier [https://amzn.to/3SWfm9Q], by David Yeager (2024). * "A synergistic mindsets intervention protects adolescents from stress [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04907-7]," by David Yeager, Christopher Bryan, James Gross, Jared Murray, Danielle Krettek Cobb, Pedro Santos, Hannah Gravelding, Meghann Johnson, and Jeremy Jamieson (Nature, 2022). * "Harnessing adolescent values to motivate healthier eating [https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1604586113]," by Christopher Bryan, David Yeager, Cintia Hinojosa, Aimee Chabot, Holly Bergen, Mari Kawamura, and Fred Steubing (Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences, 2016). * "Breaking the Cycle of Mistrust: Wise Interventions to Provide Critical Feedback Across the Racial Divide [https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/xge-a0033906.pdf]," by David Yeager, Julio Garcia, Patti Brzustoski, William Hessert, Valeria Purdie-Vaughns, Nancy Apfel, Allison Master, and Matthew Williams (Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2014). * "The Influence of the National truth Campaign on Smoking Initiation [https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(09)00074-9/fulltext]," by Matthew Farrelly, James Nonnemaker, Kevin Davis, Altijani Hussin (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2009). * "Tobacco is Whacko Commercial [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcpK6P0363Y]," (2002). * "Florida Tobacco Pilot Program: Thanking Customers [https://adsspot.me/media/tv-commercials/florida-tobacco-pilot-program-thanking-customers-234460af6b49]," (2000). * "Think, Don't Smoke PSA Commercial [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZONqeA9f-4]," (1999). * "The Mentor’s Dilemma: Providing Critical Feedback Across the Racial Divide [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167299258011]," by Geoffrey Cohen, Claude Steele, and Lee Ross (Personal and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1999).   * EXTRAS: * "The Suit, Savile Row, and Smartly Dressed Men [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-suit-savile-row-and-smartly-dressed-men/id1537788786?i=1000658061089]," by The Rest is History (2024).

She’s a botanist, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and the author of the bestselling Braiding Sweetgrass. In her new book she criticizes the market economy — but she and Steve find a surprising amount of common ground.   * SOURCES: * Robin Wall Kimmerer [https://www.robinwallkimmerer.com/], botanist and founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.   * RESOURCES: * The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World [https://amzn.to/43FRxt7], by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2024). * Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants [https://amzn.to/3ZPjM5W], by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2015). * Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses [https://amzn.to/456Lizz], by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2003). * "The Deadweight Loss of Christmas [https://www.amherst.edu/media/view/104699/original/christmas.pdf]," by Joel Waldfogel (The American Economic Review, 1993). * "Reproductive Ecology of Tetraphis pellucida. I. Population Density and Reproductive Mode [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3243962?origin=crossref]," by Robin Wall Kimmerer (The Bryologist, 1991).   * EXTRAS: * "The Deadliest Disease in Human History [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-deadliest-disease-in-human-history/]," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2025). * "How Smart Is a Forest? [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-smart-is-a-forest/]" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023). * "Jane Goodall Changed the Way We See Animals. She’s Not Done. [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/jane-goodall-changed-the-way-we-see-animals-shes-not-done/]" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).

Palliative physician B.J. Miller asks: Is there a better way to think about dying? And can death be beautiful?   * SOURCES: * B.J. Miller [https://www.mettlehealth.com/who-we-are], palliative-care physician and President at Mettle Health.   * RESOURCES: * A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501157213/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=freakonomic08-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1501157213&linkId=646d8e50eaff4410847d52e37b3a71dd], by Shoshana Berger and B.J. Miller and (2019). * “After A Freak Accident, A Doctor Finds Insight Into ‘Living Life And Facing Death [https://www.npr.org/transcripts/784401787],'” by Fresh Air (W.Y.P.R., 2019). * “Dying In A Hospital Means More Procedures, Tests And Costs [https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/06/15/481992191/dying-in-a-hospital-means-more-procedures-tests-and-costs],” by Alison Kodjak (W.Y.P.R., 2016). * “The Final Year: Visualizing End Of Life [https://arcadia.io/final-year-visualizing-end-life/],” by Arcadia (2016). * “What Really Matters at the End of Life [https://www.ted.com/talks/bj_miller_what_really_matters_at_the_end_of_life],” by B.J. Miller (TED, 2015). * “The Flexner Report ― 100 Years Later [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3178858/],” by Thomas P. Duffy (Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 2011). * “My Near Death Panel Experience [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/opinion/15blumenauer.html],” by Earl Blumenauer (The New York Times, 2009). * The Center for Dying and Living [https://www.thecenterfordyingandliving.org/].   * EXTRAS: * “Max Tegmark on Why Superhuman Artificial Intelligence Won’t be Our Slave (Part 2) [https://link.chtbl.com/klNhrL1Q?sid=FRep488RB],” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021). * “Max Tegmark on Why Treating Humanity Like a Child Will Save Us All [https://link.chtbl.com/7qya9uzA?sid=FRep488RB],” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021). * “Amanda & Lily Levitt Share What It’s Like to be Steve’s Daughters [https://link.chtbl.com/rGHUDJvk?sid=FRep488RB],” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021). * “Edward Glaeser Explains Why Some Cities Thrive While Others Fade Away [https://link.chtbl.com/bTrTo7An?sid=FRep488RB],” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021). * “Sendhil Mullainathan Explains How to Generate an Idea a Minute (Part 2) [https://link.chtbl.com/qI-1w5HH?sid=FRep488RB],” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021). * “Sendhil Mullainathan Thinks Messing Around Is the Best Use of Your Time [https://link.chtbl.com/6XJ1nIh6?sid=FRep488RB],” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021). * “How Does Facing Death Change Your Life? [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-does-facing-death-change-your-life/]” by No Stupid Questions (2021). * “How to Be Better at Death [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-be-better-at-death-ep-450/],” by Freakonomics Radio (2021).