#154 - Steve Levitt, Ph.D.: A rogue economist's view on climate change, mental health, the ethics of experiments, and more

We discuss:

• How Steve ended up in economics (2:45);
• Current trends in the field of economics: macro vs. micro, usefulness of models, and the relationship between data and theory (8:45);
• Revisiting what Steve wrote about climate change in SuperFreakonomics, and why it's unlikely to be solved with behavioral change (18:45);
• The consequences of a blurred line between climate science and advocacy (27:30);
• Answering climate questions with a "Manhattan Project for climate change" (31:45);
• Steve's reflections on his career path and how he found his way by being himself (40:00);
• How Steve came to write Freakonomics (and its sequels), and the topics which caused the most controversy (53:00);
• How Steve came to appreciate mental health through parenting, and the need to emphasize mental health into the education system (1:10:15);
• Why people are bad at making decisions (1:26:45);
• Deliberating on why horse racing times haven't advance much in decades (1:34:30);
• Reducing the impact of negative emotions by observing the world free of language (1:44:00);
• Changing our thinking about what it means to conduct experiments ethically (1:49:00); and
• More.

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