Stephen Dubner, the journalist, podcaster and bestselling author behind the Freakonomics franchise, is getting in front of the camera with a self-financed TV-style talk show.
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Dubner, host of the “Freakonomics Radio” podcast, is launching “Better in Person,” described as “an indie TV talk show that bets on depth at a time when most media is optimized for speed and spectacle.” New episodes will drop Tuesdays starting July 14 on the Freakonomics Radio Network YouTube channel.
In the new show, Dubner invites guests into his New York City home. But some of the most revealing moments happen elsewhere: in a chef’s kitchen, a bookseller’s store, a musician’s rehearsal space and on the basketball court “where a comedian works out his demons.” Dubner said his goal with “Better in Person” is to have conversations that are missing from today’s media landscape.
“When I started the Freakonomics podcast, I thought there was zero chance we’d someday be able to launder podcast money into making a TV talk show. Fifteen years later, I’m convinced people are much hungrier for substance than the conventional wisdom says,” Dubner said.
The first season of Dubner’s show comprises 10 episodes. The lineup of guests — which Dubner says reflects the breadth of his curiosity — span the worlds of architecture, business, literature, sports, music, restaurants and more.
The Season 1 guests on “Better in Person” are: Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, founder, Bjarke Ingels Group; Hillary Sterling, executive chef, Ci Siamo; John Urschel, former NFL lineman, current MIT math professor; thriller novelist Harlan Coben; Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi, Central Synagogue; James Daunt, CEO, Barnes & Noble; Gary Gulman, stand-up comedian; Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist; Warren Zanes, author and member of the Del Fuegos; Anne Pasternak, director, Brooklyn Museum; and Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University.
“I’ll admit that I am greedy,” Dubner added. “I want to get to really know my guests. If ‘Freakonomics Radio’ is about how things work, ‘Better in Person’ is about how people work.”
Financed and produced independently, “Better in Person” Season 1 was shot using six cameras, with set design by Charlap Hyman & Herrero, graphics by Pentagram, and theme music by Michael Kiwanuka.
“Better in Person” is available starting July 14 with new episodes dropping on Tuesdays. The show is available to watch on YouTube or listen to on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SiriusXM and other streaming platforms. An audio-only version of “Better in Person” will be available in the “Freakonomics Radio” podcast feed as well as a standalone Better in Person feed.
“Better in Person” will leverage the existing fanbase of “Freakonomics Radio,” which reaches 2.5 million unique podcast listeners monthly, with additional audiences on 400 public radio stations and SiriusXM.
Dubner — who was a kid when he was first published, in Highlights magazine — started a rock band that was signed to Arista Records, but he quit music and got an MFA at Columbia University. He worked at New York magazine and the New York Times before leaving to write books full time. “Freakonomics,” co-authored with Steve Levitt, has sold millions of copies in dozens of languages since it was first published in 2005.