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How to Think Like a Freak

Politics &
Economics

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the podcast
On 28th May Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner came to Intelligence Squared to discuss their new book, Think Like a Freak.

The books Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics have been worldwide sensations, selling tens of millions of copies. They have come to stand for challenging conventional wisdom using data rather than emotion. Questions they examine are typically: Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? How much do parents really matter? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it’s so ineffective?

Now the books’ two authors, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, have turned what they’ve learned into a readable and practical toolkit for thinking smarter, harder, and different – thinking, that is, like a Freak.

On 28th May they came to Intelligence Squared to discuss their new Frequel, Think Like a Freak. They offered entertaining and practical insights such as ‘Put Your Moral Compass in Your Pocket,’ ‘If You Have No Talent, Follow Levitt’s Path to Success,’ and ‘The Upside of Quitting,’. By analysing the plans we form and the morals we choose, they showed how their insights can be applied to help us make smarter decisions in our daily lives.

Featuring

  • Stephen J Dubner

    Bestselling author and journalist

  • Steven D Levitt

    Professor of economics, University of Chicago

Chair

  • Clive Anderson

    Award-winning presenter and comedy writer

Speakers

Chair

Clive Anderson

Award-winning presenter and comedy writer

Award-winning presenter and comedy writer. He has fronted ten series of his own show, Clive Anderson Talks Back on Channel 4 and four series of Clive Anderson All Talk on BBC 1. He currently hosts Loose Ends and Unreliable Evidence on Radio 4.
Featuring

Stephen J Dubner

Bestselling author and journalist

Bestselling author and journalist whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker and Time. He wrote a profile of Levitt in The New York Times magazine in 2003 which provoked an extraordinary response and led to the remarkable Freakonomics collaboration.

Steven D Levitt

Professor of economics, University of Chicago

Professor of economics at the University of Chicago. His idiosyncratic economic research into areas as varied as guns and game shows has triggered broad debate.