Stephen J. Dubner

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Stephen Dubner
Stephen Dubner in 2012
Born
Stephen Joseph Dubner

(1963-08-26) August 26, 1963 (age 60)
Duanesburg, New York, U.S.
EducationAppalachian State University (BA)
Columbia University (MFA)
OccupationJournalist
Known for
Spouses
  • Abigail Seymour
    ​
    (divorced)​
    [1]
  • Ellen Binder
    ​
    (m. 1998)​
    [2]
Children2
AwardsQuill Award (2005)
Websitefreakonomics.com/about

Stephen Joseph Dubner (born August 26, 1963) is an American author, journalist, and podcast and radio host. He is co-author of the popular Freakonomics book series: Freakonomics,[3] SuperFreakonomics,[4] Think Like a Freak[5] and When to Rob a Bank.[6] He is the host of Freakonomics Radio.

Early life and education

Born in 1963 in

Catholicism before his birth. As an adult, Dubner himself converted back to Judaism, an experience he chronicles in his first book, Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son's Return to His Jewish Family.[8]

Dubner completed his high school education at Duanesburg Central High School in 1980, a year ahead of his graduating class.[9][10] In 1984, he graduated from Appalachian State University in North Carolina, where he studied in the College of Fine and Applied Arts.[11] There, Dubner played in a rock band, The Right Profile, which later signed with Arista Records shortly before he decided against a career in music. In 1990, Dubner earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in writing from Columbia University, where he also taught English.[12]

Career

Dubner's first published work appeared in

Highlights for Children, when he was 11 years old. Since then, his journalism has been published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Time, and has been anthologized in The Best American Sports Writing, The Best American Crime Writing, and elsewhere.[12]

In 1998, Dubner wrote his first full-length book, Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son's Return to His Jewish Family,[8] for which he was named a finalist for the Koret Jewish Book Award.[8][13] Dubner has since written Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper,[14] and a children's book, The Boy With Two Belly Buttons.[15]

Books

Dubner met Steven Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, when his editor asked him to write a profile on Levitt for The New York Times Magazine. At the time, Dubner was writing a book on the psychology of money and didn't have much interest in meeting the young economist from Chicago. Likewise, Levitt had little interest in the profile, but agreed to a two-hour interview because his mom liked The New York Times Magazine.[16] Upon meeting Levitt, Dubner extended the two-hour interview to three days.

After publication of Dubner's 2003 Times Magazine article,

realtors, and crack-selling mama's boys.[12] Freakonomics would go on to be translated into 40 languages and sell 5 million copies worldwide.[12]

Dubner and Levitt have co-authored three other books: SuperFreakonomics,[4] Think Like a Freak,[5] and When to Rob a Bank.[6] Throughout their work, Dubner and Levitt use economics to explore real-world phenomena, answer perplexing questions, and offer unconventional analysis.

Dubner has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans.[18]

Radio

In 2010, Dubner launched a weekly podcast,

Joe Rogan Experience
podcast.

Dubner also hosts Freakonomics Radio Live! (formerly Tell Me Something I Don’t Know), a game-show version of the podcast in which contestants share incredible, little-known facts in front of a live audience.

Other shows include:

  • Tell Me Something I Don't Know is a game-show podcast that Dubner created in partnership with The New York Times in 2016 and that is now part of Freakonomics Radio
  • Footy for Two[19] is a podcast produced by Stephen Dubner and his son, Solomon Dubner, in which Solomon educates his father on the politics, personalities, and news of international football.
  • No Stupid Questions[20] is podcast that is part of Freakonomics Radio, where Dubner and Angela Duckworth ask each other questions about a range of subjects.

A film called Freakonomics: The Movie was released in 2010.[21]

Awards and honors

Personal life

As of June 2023, Dubner resides in New York City with his wife, documentary photographer Ellen Binder,[2] their two children, and their dog. In a 2017 New York Times profile, Dubner described his ideal Sunday as one in which he walks his dog in Central Park early in the morning, watches an FC Barcelona game with his son, and spends the afternoon cooking dinner with his daughter.[22]

References

  1. ISBN 978-0061132995
    .
  2. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-06-089637-X
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-060-88957-8
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-062-21833-6
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-062-38532-1
  7. ^ Dubner, Stephen (March 31, 1996). "Choosing My Religion". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 21, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0688151805
    .
  9. ^ Foss, Sara (2011-09-25). "Writer Stephen Dubner recalls Duanesburg childhood". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  10. ^ Moncure, Katherine. "Is Envy Healthy?". Freakonomics. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  11. ^ "Alumni Awards 2012: Stephen J. Dubner '84". appalachianmagazine.org. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  12. ^ a b c d e "About". freakonomics.com. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  13. ISBN 0061132993
  14. ISBN 0-688-17365-9
  15. ISBN 978-0061134029
  16. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  17. ^ Dubner, Stephen (2003). "The Probability That a Real-Estate Agent Is Cheating You (and Other Riddles of Modern Life)". The New York Times.
  18. OCLC 1120516758
  19. ^ "Freakonomics".
  20. ^ "No Stupid Questions Archives".
  21. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  22. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2019-01-10.
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