Book · 2015 · behavioral economics
Misbehaving
The Making of Behavioral Economics
Misbehaving by Richard H. Thaler has been mentioned in 7 episodes across 5 podcasts (3 episodes recommend it and 4 episodes discuss it), through . Most frequently brought up by Benjamin Lauzier (1 episode), Evan LaPointe (1 episode) and Steve Levitt (1 episode) on Freakonomics Radio (2 episodes), Lenny's Podcast (2 episodes) and Conversations with Tyler (1 episode).
- episodes
- 7
- podcasts
- 5
- people
- 7
- episodes recommend it
- 3
There should be more books about economics and economists, and that was a good one.
Tyler Cowen · Conversations with Tyler · Dec 2025 Listen at 42:40 Questions about Misbehaving by Richard H. Thaler
Who recommends Misbehaving by Richard H. Thaler on podcasts?
Benjamin Lauzier (1 episode), Evan LaPointe (1 episode) and Steve Levitt (1 episode) have recommended Misbehaving by Richard H. Thaler on podcasts. In all, 7 people brought it up across 5 podcasts (3 people recommended it).
Which podcasts mention Misbehaving the most?
Freakonomics Radio (2 episodes), Lenny's Podcast (2 episodes), Conversations with Tyler (1 episode), People I (Mostly) Admire (1 episode) and The Knowledge Project (1 episode).
Is Misbehaving recommended, or only discussed?
Misbehaving by Richard H. Thaler was recommended in 3 episodes and discussed without a recommendation in 4 episodes, as of 2025-12-23.
What do people say about Misbehaving?
Tyler Cowen on Conversations with Tyler (2025-12-23): "There should be more books about economics and economists, and that was a good one."
When was Misbehaving last mentioned on a podcast?
Misbehaving by Richard H. Thaler was last discussed on Conversations with Tyler by Tyler Cowen on 2025-12-23.
What they say about it
- Making of behavioral economics“the making of Behavioral economics”5
The best things said about it
Misbehaving: The Makings of Behavioral Economics. I'm really interested in behavioral economics. I love this intersection between economics and human psychology.
If you instead want to keep it more in the experi you know the part of the world you experience and can see and not the the brain uh theor wrote a book called misbehaving it was kind of the the major book about uh behavioral economics.
I suspect you'd also enjoy Richard's semi-autobiographical book entitled Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics.
Steve Levitt People I (Mostly) Admire · Jan 2022 I started early in my career noticing ways in which people behaved that were different from the way they were supposed to behave, that they were misbehaving, thus the title of my book.
Where and when it comes up
Most episodes, by podcast
7 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
Misbehaving by Richard H. Thaler is a foundational work in behavioral economics that chronicles how human psychological realities systematically clash with traditional economic models. The book serves as an insightful exploration of how individuals actually make decisions, contrasting real-world behavior with the rational actor assumption. On Lenny's Podcast, Benjamin Lauzier recommended the text as an engaging introduction to behavioral economics, praising its intersection of economics and human psychology. Evan LaPointe similarly endorsed the book on Lenny's Podcast, describing it as an accessible entry point to understanding everyday human behavior without getting bogged down in overly complex brain theory. Steve Levitt recommended Thaler's semi-autobiographical book to listeners on People I (Mostly) Admire. Tyler Cowen offered praise on Conversations with Tyler, expressing his view that there should be more economics books written about economists and highlighting Thaler's work as a strong example. Stephen Dubner discussed the book across multiple episodes of Freakonomics Radio, noting during narrative introductions that Thaler's work eventually gained wide acceptance and describing Misbehaving as an entertaining chronicle of the author questioning standard economic assumptions. Annie Duke brought up the text on The Knowledge Project while exploring theories of learning and feedback. Richard H. Thaler himself appeared on Freakonomics Radio to explain that the title derived from his early career observations of people acting differently than economic theory predicted.
Every mention
Benjamin Lauzier one is misbehaving uh the makings of Behavioral economics I'm really interested in behavioral economics I l… 1
“one is misbehaving uh the makings of Behavioral economics I'm really interested in behavioral economics I love this intersection between economics and human psychology”
Evan LaPointe if you instead want to keep it more in the experi you know the part of the world you experience and can see… 1
“if you instead want to keep it more in the experi you know the part of the world you experience and can see and not the the brain uh theor wrote a book called misbehaving it was kind of the the major book about uh behavioral economics”
Steve Levitt I suspect you'd also enjoy Richard's semi-autobiographical book entitled misbehaving the making of Behavior… 1
“I suspect you'd also enjoy Richard's semi-autobiographical book entitled misbehaving the making of Behavioral economics”
Stephen Dubner Over time however failor work came to be tolerated if not outright accepted along the way he wrote A Few bo… 2
“Over time however failor work came to be tolerated if not outright accepted along the way he wrote A Few books including misbehaving the making of behaviorally econom I omics and nudge improving decisions about health wealth and happiness”
“Because most of us, from the economist's perspective, misbehave, which is the theme of Richard Thaler's new book. So the book is called Misbehaving, the Making of Behavioral Economics.”
Annie Duke Here's this thing, you know, actually a place I just saw it was in Richard Thaler's misbehaving and he's go… 1
“Here's this thing, you know, actually a place I just saw it was in Richard Thaler's misbehaving and he's got it right there pretty early in the book, like this sentence about, you know, how you learn.”
Richard Thaler So I started early in my career noticing ways in which people behaved that were different from the way they… 1
“So I started early in my career noticing ways in which people behaved that were different from the way they were supposed to behave, that they were misbehaving, thus the title of my book.”
“Well, I would say two things. One, in the book, I coin a possibly obnoxious phrase called the invisible hand wave. And you were basically using the invisible hand wave in the question you asked me.”
Tyler Cowen Richard Thaler, Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics, speaking of Cass Sunstein. COWEN: There sh… 1
“Richard Thaler, Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics, speaking of Cass Sunstein. COWEN: There should be more books about economics and economists, and that was a good one.”
Other mentions (5: passing, ad reads, own books)
“Along the way, he wrote a few books, including 'Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics' and 'Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness.'”
“I wrote a chapter about that in my other book misbehaving”
“The first review of my book, Misbehaving, came out in the Times of London.”
“and there are books you know thaler has published a book misbehaving on it kahneman's book thinking fast and slow really opened a lot of eyes around the world”
“When a subfield or an area of economics gets more popular, so behavioral economics, which I've been fascinated by for a lot of years, and therefore was thrilled to see Danny Kahneman win the Nobel in economics for it. It's really gained momentum in the public sphere and in the governmental sphere. And there are books, you know, Thaler has”