20 Years of Freakonomics: How It Changed Business

When it first came out in 2005, Freakonomics unearthed the hidden side to everything, helping bring behavioral economics to the forefront of popular culture. But it also has had lasting impacts on how leaders understand problems, how advertisers understand consumers, and how we all understand the workplace. Coauthor Stephen Dubner explains the difficulty of bringing complex economic concepts to the masses, what's surprised him about the hidden side of everything, and what he sees as the impact of his work. Dubner is coauthor of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explains the Hidden Side of Everything and host of the Freakonomics podcast.

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Episode 1049

20 Years of Freakonomics: How It Changed Business

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A conversation with Stephen Dubner on the impact of Freakonomics and bringing behavioral economics to the masses.

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October 21, 2025

When it first came out in 2005, Freakonomics unearthed the hidden side to everything, helping bring behavioral economics to the forefront of popular culture. But it also has had lasting impacts on how leaders understand problems, how advertisers understand consumers, and how we all understand the workplace. Coauthor Stephen Dubner explains the difficulty of bringing complex economic concepts to the masses, what’s surprised him about the hidden side of everything, and what he sees as the impact of his work. Dubner is coauthor of *Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explains the Hidden Side of Everything* and host of the *Freakonomics* podcast.

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This article is about ECONOMICS

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Related Topics:

• Economic systems

• Behavioral economics

• Psychology

• Media industry

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