Dr. Monica Bertagnolli (Dr. Monica M. Bertagnolli) went from a childhood on a cattle ranch to a career as a surgeon to a top post in the Biden administration. As director of the @NIH, she’s working to improve the way we find new treatments. freak.ws/3TV8tWl

Nobel laureate, bestselling author, and groundbreaking psychologist Daniel Kahneman died in March. In 2021 he talked with Steve Levitt — his friend and former business partner — about his life and career. freak.ws/3xoTn3H

Google researcher Blaise Agüera y Arcas (Blaise Aguera) spends his work days developing A.I. models and his free time conducting surveys for fun. He tells Steve how he designed an algorithm for the U.S. Navy at 14, and when A.I. first blew his mind. freak.ws/4cGSUu2

As chief economist of the Gates Foundation, Rajiv Shah (@rajshah) tried to immunize almost a billion children. He tells Steve why it’s important to take big gambles, follow the data, and own up to your mistakes. freak.ws/4chWsm6

The Power of Habit author Charles Duhigg (Charles Duhigg) wrote his new book in an attempt to learn how to communicate better. Steve shares how the book helped him understand his own conversational weaknesses. freak.ws/3T5e1Nx

Writer Cat Bohannon's new book puts female anatomy at the center of human evolution. She tells Steve Levitt why it takes us so long to give birth, what breast milk is really for, and why the human reproductive system is a flaming pile of garbage. freak.ws/48qRujE

Economist Daron Acemoglu (Daron Acemoglu) likes to tackle big questions. He tells StevenDLevitt how colonialism still affects us today, who benefits from new technology, and why democracy wasn’t always a sure thing. freak.ws/3ulJFhi

Journalist Walter Hickey uses data to understand how culture works. He and Steve Levitt talk about why China hasn’t produced any hit movies yet and how he got his own avatar in the Madden NFL video game. freak.ws/3HtLaNp

Arnold Arnold has been a bodybuilder, an actor, a governor, and, now, an author. He tells Steve Levitt how he’s managed to succeed in so many fields — and what to do when people throw eggs at you. freak.ws/4aRhbN1

Physicist Helen Czerski loves to explain how the world works. She talks with Steve Levitt about studying bubbles, setting off explosives, and how ocean waves have changed the course of history. freak.ws/3GYLCD8

Werner Herzog doesn’t want to be known only for his movies. He tells Steve Levitt why he considers himself a writer first, how it feels to be recognized for his role in The Mandalorian, and why he once worked as a rodeo clown. freak.ws/3RgDP8j

Higher education is broken. Can it be fixed? Economist Michael D. Smith says universities are scrambling to protect a status quo that deserves to die. He tells Steve why the current system is unsustainable, and what’s at stake if nothing changes. freak.ws/3GjOIBk

Computer scientist Fei-Fei Li had a wild idea: download one billion images from the internet and teach a computer to recognize them. She ended up advancing the state of artificial intelligence — and hopes that will turn out to be a good thing for humanity. freak.ws/3svd1c8

Data scientist Nate Silver gained attention for his election predictions. But even the best prognosticators get it wrong sometimes. He talks to Steve about making good decisions with data and how online poker led him to the world of politics. freak.ws/40eDOpG

Abraham Verghese (Abraham Verghese) is a physician and a best-selling author — in that order. He explains the difference between curing and healing, and tells Steve why doctors should spend more time with patients and less with electronic health records. freak.ws/3Q1b92I

For 37 years, Rick Doblin, Ph.D., of MAPS has been pushing the F.D.A. to approve treating post-traumatic stress disorder with MDMA. He tells Steve why he persisted for so long, why he doesn’t like calling drug use “recreational,” and what he learned from his pet wolf. freak.ws/45ffUv7

Is perfectionism ruining your life? Psychologist Thomas Curran argues that perfectionism isn’t about high standards — it’s about never being enough. He explains how the drive to be perfect is harming education, the economy, and our mental health. freak.ws/45VltQy

Avi Loeb is a Harvard astronomer who argues that we’ve already encountered extraterrestrial technology. His approach to the search for interstellar objects is scientific, but how plausible is his argument? freak.ws/484GoBW

Reginald Dwayne Betts (Dwayne Betts) spent more than eight years in prison. Today he’s a Yale Law graduate, a MacArthur Fellow, and a poet. His nonprofit works to build libraries in prisons so that more incarcerated people can find hope. freak.ws/47OFHNh

Obi Felten (Obi Felten) used to launch projects for X, Google’s innovation lab, but she’s now tackling mental health. She explains why Steve’s dream job was soul-destroying for her, and how peer support could transform the therapeutic industry. freak.ws/3rVJAiJ