Cover of Nudge

Book · 2021 · Business & Economics

Nudge

The Final Edition

by Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein · Brought up by 12 people on 12 podcasts

#241 of 16,905 books, ranked by how many different people bring it up on podcasts

episodes
24
podcasts
12
people
12
episodes recommend it
4

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If I had to pick one I guess I would say Nudge by Richard thaler and kessenstein and the basic idea is so simple and so obvious.
Steve Levitt · People I (Mostly) Admire · Jan 2023 Listen at 28:02

Questions about Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein

Who recommends Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein on podcasts?

Stephen Dubner (2 episodes) and Steve Levitt (2 episodes) have recommended Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein on podcasts. In all, 12 people brought it up across 12 podcasts (2 people recommended it).

Which podcasts mention Nudge the most?

Freakonomics Radio (9 episodes), EconTalk (2 episodes), No Stupid Questions (2 episodes), People I (Mostly) Admire (2 episodes) and The Daily Stoic (2 episodes), among 12 podcasts in all.

Is Nudge recommended, or only discussed?

Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein was recommended in 4 episodes and discussed without a recommendation in 20 episodes, as of 2026-06-24.

What do people say about Nudge?

Steve Levitt on People I (Mostly) Admire (2023-01-21): "If I had to pick one I guess I would say Nudge by Richard thaler and kessenstein and the basic idea is so simple and so obvious."

When was Nudge last mentioned on a podcast?

Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein was last discussed on Freakonomics Radio by Stephen Dubner on 2026-06-24.

What they say about it

Grouped from 24 episodes
  • Discusses updated final edition“updated edition of his Landmark 2008 book Nudge”
    6
  • Mentions urinal fly example“putting an image of a fly”
    3

The best things said about it

5 of 33 · every mention
Discussed
You can think of Nudge as the culmination of my career as a clinical economist, because what Cass and I try to do in that book is help people think about organizing their lives in a more successful way.
Richard Thaler Freakonomics Radio · Jun 2015
Discussed
Dick is the co-author of an excellent book called Nudge, Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, which shows how behavioral economics can be used in the real world.
Stephen Dubner Freakonomics Radio · Nov 2013
Discussed
One of the most famous examples from the book Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein was about putting an image of a fly, a housefly, on a urinal in the airport.
Stephen Dubner No Stupid Questions · Sep 2022
Discussed
After the book Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, it has become a bit of a Bible in how behavioral tricks or nudges can help a government increase the rate of pension take-up, showing up for court.
Stephen Dubner Freakonomics Radio · Sep 2015
Discussed
Thaler is also the co-author of a book called Nudge, which is about using cheap, simple, and easy ways to encourage pro-social behavior, whether it's saving more money for retirement or increasing organ donations or using less energy.
Stephen Dubner Freakonomics Radio · Nov 2013

Where and when it comes up

Mentions by year

02017020183201912020120215202252023020244202512026so far

Podcast episodes that discussed Nudge, by year. One episode counts once, however often the book came up.

Number 89 of the most mentioned books on podcasts in 2025

How it comes up

Recommended means the speaker tells listeners to read it.

Episodes, each counted once, by the strongest way it came up.

Most episodes, by podcast

Top 9 of 12 shows

12 people who brought it up

Most recommendations first

Why people recommend it

Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein is a popular behavioral economics book that explores choice architecture and how subtle changes in environments can influence human decision-making and make life easier. The book received widespread praise and recommendations across multiple episodes of Freakonomics Radio and People I (Mostly) Admire. Steve Levitt recommended listeners pick up a copy of Nudge: The Final Edition on People I (Mostly) Admire, calling its basic ideas simple, powerful, and remarkably obvious. Similarly, Stephen Dubner on Freakonomics Radio repeatedly promoted the newly published final edition of the landmark 2008 book, featuring it in episode previews and interviewing Thaler about the ongoing struggle against administrative sludge and government paternalism. Other commentators and guests, such as Gerd Gigerenzer on EconTalk, also brought up the text to discuss the origin and popularization of the term nudging. Across these various appearances, speakers highlighted the book as a beloved and accessible guide to understanding cognitive biases, improving public policy, and shaping human behavior without resorting to heavy-handed mandates.

Every mention

33 quotes from 24 episodes · 10 passing or ad reads below
Stephen Dubner and he's just published an updated edition of his Landmark 2008 book Nudge 11
Discussed
“And you co-wrote a book years ago, a beloved book really, called Nudge. Correct. For anyone who's had the ill fortune to have not read Nudge, how would you describe it?”
Discussed
“He is the University of Chicago economist who co-wrote the book Nudge and who helped popularize the word sludge as we've been using it over these past couple episodes.”
Discussed
“and you co-wrote a book years ago a beloved book really called nudge correct for anyone who's had the ill Fortune to have not read nudge how would you describe it”
Recommended
“and he's just published an updated edition of his Landmark 2008 book Nudge”
Discussed
“the book today is a new and radically revised edition of nudge we'll ask how useful nudging can be if you want to solve big problems”
Discussed
“the title of the new edition is nudge the final Edition I don't know quite how to read that”
Recommended
“his book Nudge the final Edition was recently published by Penguin Books”
Discussed
“one of the most famous examples from the book Nudge by thaler and sunstein was about putting an image of a fly a housefly on a urinal in the airport”
Discussed
“One of the most famous examples from the book Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein was about putting an image of a fly, a housefly, on a urinal in the airport. I think it was the airport in Amsterdam. Thaler and Sunstein didn't come up with this; they just thought it was a great example of the nudge framework, which is”
Discussed
“and many behavioral economists Richard thaler and so on who wrote a book called nudge talking about the way to nudge people towards pro-social Behavior as opposed to mandates”
Discussed
“So you are best known as a primary architect of what's come to be called behavioral economics, also as co-author of the wonderful book Nudge and the resultant Nudge Movement.”
Discussed
“After the book Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, it has become a bit of a Bible in how behavioral tricks or nudges can help a government increase the rate of pension take-up, showing up for court.”
Discussed
“Thaler's public breakthrough came a few years ago when he co-authored a book with the legal scholar Cass Sunstein. We ended up calling our book and the tools we use nudges.”
Discussed
“Dick is the co-author of an excellent book called Nudge, Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, which shows how behavioral economics can be used in the real world.”
Discussed
“Thaler is also the co-author of a book called Nudge, which is about using cheap, simple, and easy ways to encourage pro-social behavior, whether it's saving more money for retirement or increasing organ donations or using less energy.”
Steve Levitt if I had to pick one I guess I would say Nudge by Richard thaler and kessenstein and the basic idea is so s… 2
Recommended
“if I had to pick one I guess I would say Nudge by Richard thaler and kessenstein and the basic idea is so simple and so obvious”
Discussed
“I still remember the moment when you told me you were going to write the book Nudge”
Recommended
“if you're interested in more from Richard thaler pick up nudge the final Edition”
Annie Duke So Richard Thaler, author of Nudge, Nobel laureate, he's done some really cool work on, on what's called me… 2
Discussed
“richard thaler author of nudge nobel laureate”
Discussed
“So Richard Thaler, author of Nudge, Nobel laureate, he's done some really cool work on, on what's called mental accounting.”
Gerd Gigerenzer So, the term nudging is from uh Thalen Sunstein's book nudge. 2
Discussed
“So, the term nudging is from uh Thalen Sunstein's book nudge.”
Discussed
“and I take this example from the nudge book by sailor”
Maya Shankar But Lori had heard Cass Sunstein, the co-author of the book Nudge. It's kind of one of the fathers of this… 2
Discussed
“But Lori had heard Cass Sunstein, the co-author of the book Nudge. It's kind of one of the fathers of this space and had worked for Obama for four years, had heard him speak at a conference.”
Discussed
“I'm riding off the coattails of famous people like Lori Santos and Cass Sunstein, who wrote the book Nudge, and they're helping guide the way.”
Richard Thaler you want to buy a copy of nudge the final Edition or your 15th copy of Freakonomics on Amazon 2
Discussed
“you want to buy a copy of nudge the final Edition or your 15th copy of Freakonomics on Amazon”
Discussed
“You know, you can think of Nudge as the culmination of my career as a clinical economist, because what Cass and I try to do in that book is help people think about organizing their lives in a more successful way”
Ben Shapiro there's a scholar named cass sunstein as a legal scholar and he wrote a book called nudge he was very famou… 1
Discussed
“there's a scholar named cass sunstein as a legal scholar and he wrote a book called nudge he was very famous it was”
Cass Sunstein I mean, not in a way that’s fundamentally different from how I’ve been. And so, Nudge — the title for Nudge… 1
Discussed
“I mean, not in a way that’s fundamentally different from how I’ve been. And so, Nudge — the title for Nudge — we were committed to calling it Libertarian Paternalism.”
Mike Benz then he then quickly thereafter he writes a book called nudge nudge is basically basically the Holy Bible f… 1
Discussed
“then he then quickly thereafter he writes a book called nudge nudge is basically basically the Holy Bible for the the censorship industry”
Richard Shotton you know it's a debate I think of the the Richard daler goes back and forth on the beginning of his book Nudge 1
Discussed
“you know it's a debate I think of the the Richard daler goes back and forth on the beginning of his book Nudge”
Tali Sharot while writing the current book that I'm writing which I'm writing together with Cass Einstein um who is the… 1
Discussed
“while writing the current book that I'm writing which I'm writing together with Cass Einstein um who is the co-author of nudge”
Tyler Cowen Now let’s go to your famous work on Nudge with Dick Thaler. 1
Discussed
“Now let’s go to your famous work on Nudge with Dick Thaler.”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker1
Discussed
“Stephen says that he's unsure about certain details in the story about flies etched into urinals from Richard thaler and Cass sunstein's 2008 book Nudge”
Other mentions (10: passing, ad reads, own books)
Passing
“There's a wonderful story I always tell, which is Richard Thaler, the Nobel Prize-winning economist and behavioral economist, the author of Nudge.”
Passing
“and you co-wrote a book years ago a beloved book really called nudge correct”
Passing
“back in 2008 thaler published a book called nudge improving decisions about health wealth and happiness”
Passing
“nudge proved to be phenomenally popular I think something like 2 million people have read nudge around the world”
Passing
“it's a U.S version of the highly successful British nudge unit which was launched by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010 and named after Richard thaler and Cass sunstein's hugely impactful book Nudge”
Passing
“It's the U.S. version of the highly successful British nudge unit, which was launched by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010 and named after Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein's hugely impactful book, Nudge.”
Passing
“...and many behavioral economists Richard thaler and so on who wrote a book called nudge talking about the way to nudge people towards pro-social Behavior as opposed to mandates”
Passing
“It came to be called the nudge unit after the book of that name by the American academics Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein.”
Passing
“His older book, Nudge, and his new book on Star Wars are both best sellers, and he was head of OIRA”
Passing
“They are more informally called the Nudge Unit, after the book Nudge by the American academics Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. Halpern himself is an academic, very well regarded.”

Portraits from Wikimedia Commons: Steve Levitt, Stephen Foskett / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0); Stephen Dubner, Audrey S. Bernstein / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); Annie Duke, Annie Duke / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); Ben Shapiro, Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).