Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Freakonomics

By: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
Narrated by: Stephen J. Dubner
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.59

Buy for $21.59

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Which is more dangerous: a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?

These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life, from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing, and whose conclusions turn the conventional wisdom on its head. Thus the new field of study contained in this audiobook: Freakonomics.

Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives: how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they explore the hidden side of...well, everything. The inner working of a crack gang...the truth about real-estate agents...the secrets of the Klu Klux Klan.

What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking, and Freakonomics will redefine the way we view the modern world.

©2006 Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (P)2006 HarperAudio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Refreshingly accessible and engrossing." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Freakonomics

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7,062
  • 4 Stars
    3,609
  • 3 Stars
    1,209
  • 2 Stars
    250
  • 1 Stars
    130
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5,868
  • 4 Stars
    2,518
  • 3 Stars
    750
  • 2 Stars
    131
  • 1 Stars
    80
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5,527
  • 4 Stars
    2,541
  • 3 Stars
    945
  • 2 Stars
    200
  • 1 Stars
    119

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting, but not riveting

I listened to Freakonomics while driving to and from work. While I found it interesting, I didn't find myself engaged in the reading of the book or its content. Frankly, based on its rating, I expected more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The Podcast is Better

I love the Freakonomics podcast and I am a big fan of Levitt and Dubner, so I was excited about listening to this wildly popular bestseller. What a disappointment! I was bored but listened all the way through; when I finished, I thought, "Is this it? There is nothing new and exciting in this book. I've heard or read all this stuff before. I don't get what all the fuss was about." Perhaps the book was original and ground-breaking when it first came out and that would account for it's popularity. Perhaps the book was aimed at people who have never heard of behavioral economics or the statistics of sociology. Maybe the aim of this book was to educate people who don't think logically or rationally and for whom this material would be life-changing. But as someone who thinks logically and rationally and as someone who listens to the weekly Freakonomics podcast and stays informed about studies in behavioral economics and sociology statistics, I found this book disappointing and not worth my time or credit.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

enjoyed

only negative I have is I HATE how there was music added it was too frequent and random most of the time. Very annoying.. whyyy add music

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Why the Muzak?

I can’t stand the Muzak that was played inbetween certain portions of this audiobook, really annoying.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

This is a fascinating book filled with interesting statistics which reveal many interesting things. It was very enjoyable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting thoughts...

Provides another side to the story of personal economics. Now, in the days of social media, I have similar to the ‘homeless man with nice ear buds’ question. How do self-described middle- or lower-middle class people go on so many exotic vacations? Etc. someone needs to ask those questions...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Its OK!

What did you like best about Freakonomics? What did you like least?

Well, the start takes you by a storm before you realise that the second part of the book is mainly spent in somehow irrelevant less

Which scene was your favorite?

The first two chapters.

Could you see Freakonomics being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good but...

Lots of repetitive bonus material. Dives deep on a few topics, none of which really interested me much. I wish there had been more content. A book like this would likely be better read than listened to due to the data and charts cited.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable.

Cause and effect stated simply by an economist. I enjoyed this book very much. I recommend it to all high school kids to spark innovative thinking.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

a good example of proper research/analysis

interesting he used regression analysis since I used that at uni. simple data analysis getting at the core of questions who's answers people peddle around without an actual factual basis.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!