People I (Mostly) Admire

Latest Episodes:

Drawing from Life (and Death) (Update) Sep 21, 2024

Show notes

Artist Wendy MacNaughton knows the difficulty of sitting in silence and the power of having fun. She explains to Steve the lessons she’s gleaned from drawing hospice residents, working in Rwanda, and reporting from Guantanamo Bay.

SOURCE:
- Wendy MacNaughton, artist and graphic journalist.

RESOURCES:
- "What Happens if Two Complete Strangers Draw Each Other?" video by the National Gallery of Art (2024).
- How to Say Goodbye, by Wendy MacNaughton (2023).
- "How to Have Fun Again," by Wendy MacNaughton (The New York Times, 2022).
- "Inside America’s War Court: Clothing and Culture at Guantánamo Bay," by Carol Rosenberg and Wendy MacNaughton (The New York Times, 2019).
- "Drawing the Guantánamo Bay War Court," by Wendy MacNaughton (The New York Times, 2019).
- Think Like a Freak, by Steve Levitt and Stephen Dubner (2014).
- DrawTogether.
- The Grown-Ups Table.
- Zen Caregiving Project.
- DrawTogether Strangers.

EXTRAS:
- "Rick Rubin on How to Make Something Great," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
- "Does Death Have to Be a Death Sentence?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).
- "Sendhil Mullainathan Explains How to Generate an Idea a Minute (Part 2)," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
- "Sendhil Mullainathan Thinks Messing Around Is the Best Use of Your Time," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).

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140. How to Breathe Better Sep 14, 2024

Show notes

Bestselling author James Nestor believes that we can improve our lives by changing the way we breathe. He’s persuasive enough to get Steve taping his mouth shut at night. He explains how humans dive to depths of 300 feet without supplemental oxygen, and describes what it’s like to be accepted into a pod of whales.

SOURCES:
- James Nestor, author and journalist.

RESOURCES:
- Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, by James Nestor (2020).
- Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves, by James Nestor (2014).
- "Open Your Mouth and You’re Dead," by James Nestor (Outside Magazine, 2012).
- "The Brain on Sonar — How Blind People Find Their Way Around With Echoes," by Ed Yong (National Geographic, 2011).
- "How I Held My Breath for 17 Minutes," by David Blaine (TED Talk, 2009).
- Project CETI.

EXTRA:
- Data Science for Everyone Survey.

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139. How PETA Made Radical Ideas Mainstream Aug 31, 2024

Show notes

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals founder Ingrid Newkirk has been badgering meat-eaters, fur-wearers, and circus-goers for more than 40 years. For a woman who’s leaving her liver to the president of France in her will, she sounds quite sensible when she tells Steve what we can learn from animals, why she supports euthanasia, and who’ll get her other organs.

SOURCE:
- Ingrid Newkirk, founding president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

RESOURCES:
- "Paradoxical Gender Effects in Meat Consumption Across Cultures," by Christopher J. Hopwood, Jahn N. Zizer, Wiebke Bleidorn, et al. (Nature Scientific Reports, 2024).
- "PETA President Bequeaths Her Rump to a Reality Show," (PETA.org, 2023).
- Animalkind: Remarkable Discoveries about Animals and Revolutionary New Ways to Show Them Compassion, by Ingrid Newkirk (2020).
- "One Last U.S. Medical School Still Killed Animals to Teach Surgery. But No More," by Darryl Fears (The Washington Post, 2016).
- "The Naked and the Dead," by Katie Glass (The Times, 2013).
- "The Betrayal of 'No-Kill' Sheltering," by Ingrid Newkirk (PETA YouTube channel, 2013).
- "The Lab-Monkey Controversy That Launched the Animal-Rights Movement," by Caroline Fraser (The New Yorker, 1993).

EXTRAS:
- "Suleika Jaouad’s Survival Mechanisms," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).
- "Jane Goodall Changed the Way We See Animals. She’s Not Done," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).
- "Peter Singer Isn’t a Saint, But He’s Better Than Steve Levitt," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).
- "Bruce Friedrich Thinks There’s a Better Way to Eat Meat," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
- Project Donor.

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Sendhil Mullainathan Thinks Messing Around Is the Best Use of Your Time (Update) Aug 24, 2024

Show notes

Revisiting Steve’s 2021 conversation with the economist and MacArthur “genius” about how to make memories stickier, why change is undervalued, and how to find something new to say on the subject of scarcity.

SOURCE:
- Sendhil Mullainathan, university professor of computation and behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

RESOURCES:
- "Fictional Money, Real Costs: Impacts of Financial Salience on Disadvantaged Students," by Claire Duquennois (American Economic Review, 2022).
- "Do Financial Concerns Make Workers Less Productive?" by Supreet Kaur, Sendhil Mullainathan, Suanna Oh, and Frank Schilbach (NBER Working Paper, 2022).
- Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less, by Leidy Klotz (2021).
- "Heads or Tails: The Impact of a Coin Toss on Major Life Decisions and Subsequent Happiness," by Steve Levitt (NBER Working Paper, 2016).
- Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much, by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir (2013).
- "The End of History Illusion," by Jordi Quoidbach, Daniel T. Gilbert, and Timothy D. Wilson (Science, 2013).

EXTRAS:
- "Leidy Klotz on Why the Best Solutions Involve Less — Not More," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
- "Sendhil Mullainathan Explains How to Generate an Idea a Minute," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).

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138. Chris Anderson on the Power of TED Aug 17, 2024

Show notes

Under his helm, the TED Conference went from a small industry gathering to a global phenomenon. Chris and Steve talk about how to build lasting institutions, how to make generosity go viral, and what Chris has learned about public speaking.

SOURCE:
- Chris Anderson, head of TED.

RESOURCES:
- Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading, by Chris Anderson (2024).
- TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking, by Chris Anderson (2016).
- "The Best Stats You've Ever Seen," by Hans Rosling (TED, 2006).
- "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" by Sir Ken Robinson (TED, 2006).
- "Close-Up Card Magic With a Twist," by Lennart Green (TED, 2005).
- "The Freakonomics of Crack Dealing," by Steve Levitt (TED, 2004).
- ZoeCoral.com.

EXTRAS:
- "Giving It Away," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).
- "We Can Play God Now," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).
- "Self-Help for Data Nerds," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).
- "Steven Pinker: 'I Manage My Controversy Portfolio Carefully,'" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2020).

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EXTRA: Remembering Susan Wojcicki Aug 13, 2024

Show notes

The former YouTube C.E.O. — and sixteenth Google employee — died on August 9, 2024. Steve talked with her in 2020 about her remarkable career, and how her background in economics shaped her work.

SOURCES:
- Susan Wojcicki, former C.E.O. of YouTube.

RESOURCES:
- "Susan Wojcicki, Former Chief of YouTube, Dies at 56," by John Yoon and Mike Isaac (The New York Times, 2024).

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137. Richard Dawkins on God, Genes, and Murderous Baby Cuckoos Aug 03, 2024

Show notes

The author of the classic The Selfish Gene is still changing the way we think about evolution.

SOURCE:
- Richard Dawkins, professor emeritus of the public understanding of science at Oxford University.

RESOURCES:
- The Genetic Book of the Dead, by Richard Dawkins (2024).
- Flights of Fancy: Defying Gravity by Design and Evolution, by Richard Dawkins (2021).
- "About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated," by Gregory A. Smith (Pew Research Center, 2021).
- Cuckoo: Cheating by Nature, by Nick Davies (2015).
- The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins (2006).
- "Why the Universe Seems So Strange," by Richard Dawkins (TED Global, 2005).
- "Surprising Stats About Child Carseats," by Steve Levitt (TED Global, 2005).
- "Genes and Memes," by John Maynard Smith (London Review of Books, 1982).
- The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene, by Richard Dawkins (1982).
- The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins (1976).
- "Child Endowments and the Quantity and Quality of Children," by Gary Becker and Nigel Tomes (Journal of Political Economy, 1976).
- "Selective Pecking in the Domestic Chick," by Richard Dawkins (University of Oxford Ph.D. thesis, 1966).

EXTRAS:
- "The World’s Most Controversial Ornithologist," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).
- "Is Gynecology the Best Innovation Ever?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).

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What It Takes to Know Everything (Update) Jul 27, 2024

Show notes

Victoria Groce is the best trivia contestant on earth. The winner of the 2024 World Quizzing Championship explains the structure of a good question, why she knits during competitions, and how to memorize 160,000 flashcards.

SOURCE:
- Victoria Groce, “The Queen” on the television game show The Chase.

RESOURCES:
- The Chase, TV series (2013-2015, 2021-present).
- LearnedLeague.
- Anki.

EXTRAS:
- "Ken Jennings on How a Midlife Crisis Led Him to Jeopardy! (Replay)," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
- "Mayim Bialik on the Surprising Risks of Academia and Stability of Show Biz (Replay)," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).

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136. The World’s Most Controversial Ornithologist Jul 20, 2024

Show notes

Richard Prum says there's a lot that traditional evolutionary biology can't explain. He thinks a neglected hypothesis from Charles Darwin — and insights from contemporary queer theory — hold the answer. Plus: You won't believe what female ducks use for contraception.

SOURCE:
- Richard Prum, professor of ornithology, ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University.

RESOURCES:
- "Stop Your Populist Grandstanding Over Wendy’s ‘Surge Pricing’," by Catherine Rampell (The Washington Post, 2024).
- "Dynamic Pricing Tech May Brighten Retail Bottom Lines and Put Consumers in the Dark," by Kristin Schwab and Sofia Terenzio (Marketplace, 2024).
- Performance All the Way Down: Genes, Development, and Sexual Difference, by Richard Prum (2023).
- The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World — and Us, by Richard Prum (2017).
- "Duck Sex and the Patriarchy," by Richard Prum (The New Yorker, 2017).
- "Dinosaur Feathers Came before Birds and Flight," by Richard Prum and Alan Brush (Scientific American, 2014).
- "How Chickens Lost Their Penises (And Ducks Kept Theirs)," by Ed Yong (National Geographic, 2013).
- "Media Attacks Duck Genitalia Research," by Emma Goldberg (Yale Daily News, 2013).
- "Mate Choice and Sexual Selection: What Have We Learned Since Darwin?" by Adam G. Jones and Nicholas L. Ratterman (PNAS, 2009).
- "Development and Evolutionary Origin of Feathers," by Richard O. Prum (Journal of Experimental Zoology, 2002).
- The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design, by Richard Dawkins (1986).
- "Display Behavior, Foraging Ecology, and Systematics of the Golden-Winged Manakin (Masius chrysopterus)," by Richard Prum and Ann Johnson (The Wilson Bulletin, 1987).
- The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins (1976).
- The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, by Charles Darwin (1871).

EXTRAS:
- "Is Gynecology the Best Innovation Ever?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).
- "The Price of Doing Business with John List," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).

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135. How to Grow a White Rhino Jul 06, 2024

Show notes

Thomas Hildebrandt is trying to bring the northern white rhinoceros back from the brink of extinction. The wildlife veterinarian tells Steve about the far-out techniques he employs, why we might see woolly mammoths in the future, and why he was frustrated the day the Berlin Wall came down.

SOURCES:
- Thomas Hildebrandt, head of the department of reproduction management at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research and professor of wildlife reproduction medicine at the veterinary faculty of the Freie Universität Berlin.