Person
Emily Oster books: every book Emily Oster wrote and recommended
Across 2 podcasts. Every show Emily Oster appears on, in one place — not just one.
Books by Emily Oster
Emily Fair Oster is an American economist who has served since 2019 as the Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence at Brown University, where she has been a professor of economics since 2015. Her research interests span from development economics and health economics to research design and experimental methodology. Her research was brought to the attention of non-economists through The Wall Street Journal, the book SuperFreakonomics, and her 2007 TED Talk. Oster appeared on Freakonomics Radio and EconTalk to discuss various literary works connected to family and parenting. On Freakonomics Radio, she mentioned Dr. Benjamin Spock's classic parenting text, referencing an edition used by her mother during the 1980s while talking about parenting advice. On EconTalk, Oster brought up F.A. Hayek's The Fatal Conceit to illustrate arguments regarding the perceived dangers of mixing family dynamics with the broader macroeconomy. Additionally, during her EconTalk appearances, she discussed her own written works, including Expecting Better and Cribsheet. She reflected on the long journey since the 2013 publication of her first book, noting how her perspective and the surrounding public discourse had evolved over time, and addressed the contrasting tones and personal conflicts reflected in her writing processes between her first and second books.
Books recommended by Emily Oster
-
Common sense book of baby and child care
The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Benjamin Spock is a landmark 1946 parenting guide that revolutionized how generations of parents raised their children by advocating for affection, flexibility, and a more relaxed approach to child-rearing.
Discussed“There's actually a very nice quote from Dr. Spock from the edition of Dr. Spock that my mother used in like the 1980s. Wait, this is not the Star Trek doctor, is it? No. No, it's not the Star Trek.”
Where to get it
-
Cribsheet
Cribsheet by Emily Oster is a data-driven parenting book that analyzes the empirical research behind early childhood development, sleep, potty training, and nutrition.
Discussed“i think um is a i mean confrontational maybe it's the wrong word yeah so the first book is like like a little bit more i was like having a lot of conflict with my with my ob and that comes out a little bit in the in the book and i i sort of remember and i i kind”
Where to get it
-
Expecting better
Expecting Better by Emily Oster is an economics-driven pregnancy guide that uses empirical data to challenge traditional conventional wisdom and rules surrounding prenatal care.
Discussed“so the first book came out in 2013 which now is it just feels like a very long time ago the 19th century wasn't it right exactly it's like on covet time that action is actually around the big bang and and so you know it it has been um it it was a it has been a long journey”
Where to get it
-
The Fatal Conceit
The Fatal Conceit by F.A.
Discussed“russ a little bit just because there's a famous paragraph that i love and listeners know i love out of the fatal conceit by hayek where he talks about the dangers of taking the family out into the macro economy”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| 524. How Important Is Breastfeeding, Really? | Freakonomics Radio | 2022-12-01 | 1 |
| Emily Oster on the Family Firm | EconTalk | 2021-11-15 | 1 |
| Emily Oster on the Pandemic | EconTalk | 2020-11-30 | 2 |
Other mentions (5: passing, ad reads, own books)
“So when I was working on Expecting Better, uh I one of the things I looked at was bed rest, um which, you know, is actually prescribed to a fairly large share of people for a lot of different complications.”
“I mean, I will say, like, I you know, in my mother, when I was writing all these books about pregnancy, I read both the set of pregnancy books that my grandmother had in like the you know, 1940s '40s and the ones that my mom had in like the early 1980s. ... So, I'd written Expecting Better, which is”
“But, I think the thing that ultimately pushed me over into writing Cribsheet, which talks all about breastfeeding among many other things, is the emails that I kept getting from dads.”
“so there was like a sort of the other thing like this was at some point shortly before crib sheet came out amy schumer tweeted out my like instagramed the expecting better the pregnancy book and said that she really liked it and then i got to be on her podcast so i had to go to amy schumer's apartment”
“so there was like a sort of the other thing like this was at some point shortly before crib sheet came out amy schumer tweeted out my like instagramed the expecting better the pregnancy book and said that she really liked it”