Stephen J. Dubner is the co-author, with Steven D. Levitt, of Freakonomics. Their latest book, When to Rob a Bank, came out last week. “I’ve abandoned more books than I’ve written, which I’m happy about. I’m very pro-quitting. We get preached this idea that if you quit something, if you don’t see something through to completion then you’re a loser, you’re a failure. I just think that’s a crazy way to look at things. But it’s also easy to overlook opportunity costs. Like, what could I be doing instead?” Thanks to this week's sponsors: TinyLetter, HP Matter, The Great Courses, and Aspiration. Show Notes: stephenjdubner.com Dubner on Longform [2:00] "The Desert Blues" (Joshua Hammer • The Atavist Magazine • May 2015) [3:00] When to Rob a Bank (with Steven D. Levitt • William Morrow • May 2015) [11:00] "When Numbers Solve a Mystery" (Steven Landsburg • The Wall Street Journal • Apr 2005) [13:00] "Do Parents Matter?" (with Steven D. Levitt • USA Today • May 2005) [13:00] "The Probability That a Real-Estate Agent Is Cheating You (and Other Riddles of Modern Life)" (New York Times Magazine • Aug 2003) [16:00] "Steven the Good" (New York Times Magazine • Feb 1999) [16:00] Choosing My Religion: A Memoir of a Family Beyond Belief (Harper Perennial • 2006) [25:00] Freakonomics: The Movie (Magnolia Pictures • 2010) [42:00] Freakonomics Radio [43:00] "I'm Stephen Dubner, Co-Author of Freakonomics, and This Is How I Work" (Lifehacker • Sep 2014) [44:00] "Tell Me Something I Don’t Know: A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast" (Freakonomics • Oct 2014) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices