You said such a nice thing, let me hug you.

Hey!

I'm Antelda Dukworth.

I'm Stephen Dubner.

And you're listening to no stupid questions.

Today on the show,

why are we so attracted to the idea of fame?

If I were Michael Jordan, oh my gosh, I'd feel great.

Also, how aware are we of the people and things

that shape our identity?

The fact is, I may have just been reading a bunch of comic books

and eating Cheetos and I had these ideas.

Stephen, you're famous.

No.

All right, well, let's assume for the moment

that I'm right and you're a little bit famous.

I have niche fame.

Yeah, so I want to ask you about fame

and how you feel about being at least a little bit famous

and maybe what functional roles celebrities play

in modern life because I'm not sure that society's old head

celebrity the way we do today.

...