People I (Mostly) Admire cover art

People I (Mostly) Admire

Freakonomics co-author Steve Levitt tracks down other high achievers for surprising, revealing conversations about their lives and obsessions.

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Every guest on People I (Mostly) Admire

160 guests, ranked by how many people never want them back.

  1. —
    Ken Ono

    141. The Language of the Universe · Sep 2024

    0 votes
  2. —
    Kerwin Charles

    3. Kerwin Charles: “One Does Not Know Where an Insight Will Come From” · 2 episodes

    0 votes
  3. —
    Larry Miller

    64. How Larry Miller Went from Prison Valedictorian to Nike Executive · Feb 2022

    0 votes
  4. —
    Leidy Klotz

    45. Leidy Klotz on Why the Best Solutions Involve Less — Not More · Sep 2021

    0 votes
  5. —
    Lily Levitt

    What It’s Like to Be Steve Levitt’s Daughters (Update) · 2 episodes

    0 votes
  6. —
    Marc Davis

    48. Marc Davis Can’t Stop Watching Basketball — But He Doesn’t Care Who Wins · Oct 2021

    0 votes
  7. —
    Marina Nitze

    19. Marina Nitze: “If You Googled ‘Business Efficiency Consultant,’ I Was the Only Result.” · 2 episodes

    0 votes
  8. —
    Mark Broadie
    0 votes
  9. —
    Michael D. Smith

    119. Higher Education Is Broken. Can It Be Fixed? · Nov 2023

    0 votes
  10. —
    Moncef Slaoui

    9. Moncef Slaoui: "It’s Unfortunate That It Takes a Crisis for This to Happen" · Dec 2020

    0 votes
  11. —
    Monica Bertagnolli

    129. How to Fix Medical Research · Apr 2024

    0 votes
  12. —
    Morgan Levey

    101. Celebrating 100 People I (Mostly) Admire · Mar 2023

    0 votes
  13. —
    Nathan Myhrvold

    6. Nathan Myhrvold: “I Am Interested in Lots of Things, and That's Actually a Bad Strategy” · 3 episodes

    0 votes
  14. —
    Neil Shubin

    98. Searching for Our Aquatic Ancestors · Feb 2023

    0 votes
  15. —
    Nelson Dellis

    26. Memory Champion Nelson Dellis Helps Steve Train His Brain · 2 episodes

    0 votes
  16. —
    Obi Felten

    111. Can a Moonshot Approach to Mental Health Work? · Aug 2023

    0 votes
  17. —
    Paul Romer

    11. Paul Romer: “I Figured Out How to Get Myself Fired From the World Bank.” · 2 episodes

    0 votes
  18. —
    Peter Leeson

    31. Peter Leeson on Why Trial-by-Fire Wasn’t Barbaric and Why Pirates Were Democratic · 2 episodes

    0 votes
  19. —
    Raj Chetty

    87. How Much Are the Right Friends Worth? · Sep 2022

    0 votes
  20. —
    Richard Prum

    136. The World’s Most Controversial Ornithologist · Jul 2024

    0 votes
  21. —
    Robert Axelrod

    47. Robert Axelrod on Why Being Nice, Forgiving, and Provokable are the Best Strategies for Life · Oct 2021

    0 votes
  22. —
    Sarah Hart

    Why Numbers are Music to Our Ears (Update) · 3 episodes

    0 votes
  23. —
    Sarah Stein Greenberg

    148. How to Have Good Ideas · Jan 2025

    0 votes
  24. —
    Sendhil Mullainathan

    38. Sendhil Mullainathan Explains How to Generate an Idea a Minute (Part 2) · 5 episodes

    0 votes
  25. —
    Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

    75. Self-Help for Data Nerds · May 2022

    0 votes
  26. —
    Steven Strogatz

    96. Steven Strogatz Thinks You Don’t Know What Math Is · Jan 2023

    0 votes
  27. —
    Susan Athey

    83. “There's So Many Problems — Which Ones Can I Make a Difference On?” · Jul 2022

    0 votes
  28. —
    Suzanne Gluck

    10. Suzanne Gluck: “I'm a Person Who Can Convince Other People to Do Things” · 2 episodes

    0 votes
  29. —
    Suzanne Simard

    97. How Smart Is a Forest? · Jan 2023

    0 votes
  30. —
    Sy Montgomery

    68. “No One Can Resist a Jolly, Happy Pig.” · Mar 2022

    0 votes
  31. —
    Talithia Williams

    107. Bringing Data to Life · Jun 2023

    0 votes
  32. —
    Thomas Curran

    114. Is Perfectionism Ruining Your Life? · Sep 2023

    0 votes
  33. —
    Thomas Hildebrandt

    135. How to Grow a White Rhino · Jul 2024

    0 votes
  34. —
    Tom Dart

    100. Chicago’s Renegade Sheriff Wants to Fix Law Enforcement · Mar 2023

    0 votes
  35. —
    Travis Tygart

    33. Travis Tygart Is Coming for Cheaters — Just Ask Lance Armstrong · 2 episodes

    0 votes
  36. —
    Victoria Groce

    What It Takes to Know Everything (Update) · 2 episodes

    0 votes
  37. —
    Walt Hickey

    123. Walt Hickey Wants to Track Your Eyeballs · Jan 2024

    0 votes
  38. —
    Sam Harris

    25. Sam Harris: “Spirituality Is a Loaded Term.” · 2 episodes

    0 votes
  39. —
    Stephen Dubner

    173. Steve Levitt Says Goodbye to People I (Mostly) Admire · 2 episodes

    0 votes
  40. —
    BJ Miller

    Does Death Have to Be a Death Sentence? (Update) · 2 episodes

    0 votes

Recent episodes

245 episodes from the feed, newest first.

  1. 38. Sendhil Mullainathan Explains How to Generate an Idea a Minute (Part 2)

    with Sendhil Mullainathan

    Sep 2026
  2. 37. Sendhil Mullainathan Thinks Messing Around Is the Best Use of Your Time

    with Sendhil Mullainathan

    Aug 2026
  3. 36. How Rahm Emanuel Would Run the World

    with Rahm Emanuel

    Aug 2026
  4. 35. David Epstein Knows Something About Almost Everything

    with David Epstein

    Aug 2026
  5. 34. Maya Shankar Is Changing People’s Behavior — and Her Own

    with Maya Shankar

    Aug 2026
  6. 33. Travis Tygart Is Coming for Cheaters — Just Ask Lance Armstrong

    with Travis Tygart

    Aug 2026
  7. 32. Angela Duckworth Explains How to Manage Your Goal Hierarchy

    with Angela Duckworth

    Jul 2026
  8. 31. Peter Leeson on Why Trial-by-Fire Wasn’t Barbaric and Why Pirates Were Democratic

    with Peter Leeson

    Jul 2026
  9. 30. Dambisa Moyo Says Foreign Aid Can’t Solve Problems, but Maybe Corporations Can

    with Dambisa Moyo

    Jul 2026
  10. 29. Bruce Friedrich Thinks There’s a Better Way to Eat Meat

    with Bruce Friedrich

    Jul 2026
  11. 28. Professor Carl Hart Argues All Drugs Should Be Legal — Can He Convince Steve?

    with Carl Hart

    Jun 2026
  12. 27. Daniel Kahneman on Why Our Judgment is Flawed — and What to Do About It

    with Daniel Kahneman

    Jun 2026
  13. 26. Memory Champion Nelson Dellis Helps Steve Train His Brain

    with Nelson Dellis

    Jun 2026
  14. 25. Sam Harris: “Spirituality Is a Loaded Term.”

    with Sam Harris

    Jun 2026
  15. 24. Are We Under Threat from a New Kind of Terror? (Replay Ep. 24)

    with Amaryllis Fox

    May 2026
  16. 23. Greg Norman & Mark Broadie: Why Golf Beats an Orgasm and Why Data Beats Everything

    with Greg Norman

    May 2026
  17. 22. Sal Khan: “If It Works for 15 Cousins, It Could Work for a Billion People.”

    with Sal Khan

    May 2026
  18. 21. Pete Docter: “What If Monsters Really Do Exist?”

    with Pete Docter

    May 2026
  19. 20. John Donohue: “I'm Frequently Called a Treasonous Enemy of the Constitution.”

    with John Donohue

    May 2026
  20. 19. Marina Nitze: “If You Googled ‘Business Efficiency Consultant,’ I Was the Only Result.”

    with Marina Nitze

    Apr 2026
  21. 18. Robert Sapolsky: “I Don’t Think We Have Any Free Will Whatsoever.”

    with Robert Sapolsky

    Apr 2026
  22. 17. Emily Oster: “I Am a Woman Who Is Prominently Discussing Vaginas.”

    with Emily Oster

    Apr 2026
  23. 16. Joshua Jay: “Humans Are So, So Easy to Fool.”

    with Joshua Jay

    Apr 2026
  24. 15. Tim Harford: “If You Can Make Sure You're Not An Idiot, You've Done Well.”

    with Tim Harford

    Mar 2026
  25. 13. Yul Kwon: “Don't Try to Change Yourself All at Once.” (UPDATE)

    with Yul Kwon

    Mar 2026