Rock stars (in my earbuds)

Who do we admire? Who do we idolize? What types of famous people do we want to meet? Quickly think about this. Most of us would gravitate toward luminaries in the music world (rock stars, singers, other performers, entrepreneurs, etc.), sports world (Hall of Fame caliber quarterbacks, Cy Young caliber pitchers, home run hitters, Olympians, etc.), entertainment (movie stars, TV talk show hosts, lead characters in your favorite Netflix shows, etc.) and for some, maybe, even politicians or those in the political sphere (Andrew Yang, the president, the governor, other world leaders, etc.). Not me (although I do like Yang, a lot). Nope. My “rock stars” are decidedly more unknown, niche -- some would say even … nerdy! The folks I idolize are literally the voices inside my head, oftentimes in the predawn darkness while walking, or in bed while trying to drift off to sleep. My superheroes are the podcast hosts that I have grown to rely upon, on an almost daily basis. I was a bit late to the podcast world. I’m making up for lost time. Trust me on this. I listen to a LOT of podcasts. But oddly? Not a lot of DIFFERENT podcasts. I have dedicated much of the past few years binge listening to (and eventually, catching up on) podcasts like Freakonomics Radio, Hidden Brain and Deep Questions. There are others -- notably in the “Freakonomics Radio Network” -- that I like as well. And yes, I do occasionally listen to running-related podcasts, but not as much as you would think. In fact, not much at all.

Anyway. It all starts with Stephen Dubner. Dubner (along with Steve Levitt) co-authored a seminal book, an amazing work of sterling journalism and economics called “Freakonomics,” published back in 2011. They followed it up with two books – “Super Freakonomics” and “Think Like a Freak.” I loved the books. Loved them! Dubner is a truly outstanding journalist. Levitt is one of the top economists in the country (maybe the world). Both are witty, highly intelligent and write with clarity, good humor and packed with easy-to-digest (and sometimes mind-blowing) data. It is Dubner whom I truly admire. A classically trained journalist (well, actually, not really … he spent his 20s playing in a rock band!), he balances deep and incisive reporting skills with equally adept writing skills. Both of those traits – in-depth interviews, well-written copy – have translated into Freakonomics Radio (“the hidden side of everything”), the first podcast I started listening to (about 3-4 years ago) and the standard to which I judge all other podcasts. Actually, that’s a pretty high bar. Freakonomics Radio, which has now spawned a whole series of other podcasts that I equally enjoy, is deeply reported, edited and written. This isn’t some random dude sitting down in his basement with a microphone and some good sound equipment, talking shit for an hour and uploading it to Stitcher. Not even close. You can tell that each episode – and, he’s nearing the 500 mark in episodes! – is well crafted and takes probably days and weeks to create. I deeply appreciate it. I’ve learned so much from Dubner and his podcast. It has led me to read dozens of books. It has led me to listen to other podcasts – some of his spinoff podcasts are must-listens to me (No Stupid Questions, with Angela Duckworth; Freakonomics MD, with Dr. Bappu Jena; People I Mostly Admire, with Levitt; Freakonomics Book Club). It has educated me. It has made me laugh. Mostly, it has entertained me on long walks and long car rides. Dubner is my rock star. Absolutely yes. This blog post is an homage to him, as well as my other nerdy “rock stars” like Shankar Vedentam (Hidden Brain) and Cal Newport (Deep Questions) and even the prolific James Altucher. Their voices are so well-known to me by now that I feel like I know these guys personally. I would love to meet them, shake their hands (OK, maybe fist-bump in this Covid era) and tell them how much I appreciate them. They have led me to my newest habit of listening to audio books via Audible; since I started that habit in early October, I have “read” about a dozen books already. (Side note: Does listening to audio books “count” as reading books? What’s your thoughts on this?) So many words clanging around in my head now, draining my cheap Android phone’s battery life. Well worth it. Thank you, Stephen Dubner. Thank you for the worlds you have introduced me to, through your podcast network. You are my rock star. You are a rock star, decades after actually having been (sort of) a rock star! Thanks again.