Stephen J. Dubner

In 2010, Dubner launched a weekly podcast, Freakonomics Radio, which gets 15 million global monthly downloads as of 2018. On March 5th, 2020, Dubner appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast.

After publication of Dubner’s 2003 Times Magazine article, Dubner and Levitt were asked to write a book, which cemented their partnership. In 2005, William Morrow published Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, a book about cheating teachers, bizarre baby names, self-dealing Realtors, and crack-selling mama's boys. Freakonomics would go on to be translated into 40 languages and sell 5 million copies worldwide.

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.

Dubner currently resides in New York City with his wife, documentary photographer Ellen Binder, 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 early morning, watches an FC Barcelona game with his son, and spends the afternoon cooking dinner with his daughter.

Dubner and Levitt co-authored three other books: SuperFreakonomics (2009), Think Like a Freak (2014), and When to Rob a Bank (2015). Throughout their authorship, Dubner and Levitt use economics to explore real-world phenomena, answer perplexing questions, and offer unconventional analysis.

In 1998, Dubner authored his first full-length book, Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son's Return to His Jewish Family, for which Dubner was named a finalist for the Koret Jewish Book Award. Dubner has since written Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper, published in 2003, and a children's book, The Boy With Two Belly Buttons, published in 2007.

In 1984, Dubner graduated from Appalachian State University in North Carolina, where he studied in the College of Fine and Applied Arts. 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 in Writing from Columbia University, where he also taught English.

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 and host of Freakonomics Radio, which gets 15 million global monthly downloads and is heard by millions more on public radio stations throughout the United States.

Born in 1963 in Duanesburg, New York to Solomon Dubner (also known as Paul) and Florence Greenglass (also known as Florence Winters and Veronica Dubner), Dubner grew up as the youngest of eight children. His father, who died in 1973 when Dubner was 10 years old, worked as a copy editor at the Troy Record. Dubner grew up in a devout Roman Catholic household, his parents having converted from Judaism to Catholicism before his birth. As an adult, Dubner himself converted to Judaism, an experience he chronicles in his first book, Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son's Return to His Jewish Family.