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Freakonomics Radio
Freakonomics Radio

What Happens When You Turn 20

November 12, 2025 • 1h 2m

Summary

⏱️ 10 min read

Overview

Stephen Dubner celebrates the 20th anniversary of Freakonomics with a special episode featuring his reading of the new book foreword and a live conversation with PBS NewsHour host Jeff Bennett at Sixth and I in Washington, D.C. The discussion explores the book's unconventional approach to economics, the evolution of data-driven journalism, lessons learned from two decades of work, and reflections on curiosity, collaboration, and making decisions with intention in an increasingly noisy world.

The New Foreword: Reflecting on 20 Years

Dubner reads the newly written foreword for the 20th anniversary edition, describing his hesitation about discarding old files and research materials from his partnership with Steve Levitt. A text from Levitt celebrating their 20-year partnership prompts reflection on how the book exceeded all expectations despite having no central thesis and a disliked title. The foreword captures the carefree spirit of the original work while acknowledging how the world has changed and become more politically polarized.

  • The 20th anniversary edition is being published on November 11th, 2025
  • Dubner contemplated throwing away plastic file boxes full of notebooks and research from his career before Levitt texted him
  • The book had no central thesis and even their publisher disliked the title 'Freakonomics'
  • Low expectations freed them to write exactly the book they wanted, mashing up empirical research with narrative nonfiction
  • The world has changed significantly in 20 years, with the political center struggling to hold
" Not many people get to ride the same train for two decades. Let's hope we've got 20 more years ahead just as good. "
" I like to think of it as an exercise in curiosity without the cynicism. "
" It has been the thrill of a lifetime to create a body of work that reverberates with so many people. Not just fans, but the good faith critics too. "

Rebelling Against Convention in Journalism

Dubner explains how Freakonomics rebelled against conventional journalism by combining narrative nonfiction storytelling with rigorous data analysis from economics and social sciences. He emphasizes the importance of journalists who can be good researchers, good thinkers, and good writers simultaneously—a rare combination. The goal was to create multidisciplinary journalism that told compelling stories while revealing the data underneath.

  • Good journalism requires three traits: being a good reporter/researcher, a good thinker, and a good writer—very few can do all three
  • Dubner wanted to bring data layers to narrative journalism, creating a natural blend that makes journalism better
  • The more multidisciplinary journalism can get, the better it becomes
  • After 20 years, if forced to name a thesis, it would be that any topic can become fascinating if you examine it deeply enough
" Turn it and turn it for everything is in it. So the idea is that any topic you can take, and this is what we love about doing what we do, you can take any curiosity you have and talk to enough interesting people and it becomes fascinating for you. "

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