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Show Description

Freakonomics co-author Stephen Dubner uncovers the hidden side of everything. All the fun of the Freakonomics Radio podcast— but live, on stage.

Stephen Dubner Bio

The eighth and last child of an upstate New York newspaperman, Stephen Dubner has been writing since he was a child. (His first published work appeared in Highlights magazine.)As an undergraduate at Appalachian State University, he started a rock band that was signed to Arista Records, which landed him in New York City. He ultimately quit playing music to earn an M.F.A. in writing at Columbia University, where he also taught in the English Department. He was an editor and writer at New York magazine and The New York Times before quitting to write books. He is happy he did so. In addition to the Freakonomics series, he is the author of Turbulent Souls (Choosing My Religion), Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper, and the children’s book The Boy With Two Belly Buttons. He lives in New York City.

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Ariel Emanuel Bio

Ariel Emanuel is CEO of Endeavor and Executive Chair and CEO of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. Endeavor is a global sports and entertainment company, home to many of the world’s most dynamic and engaging storytellers, brands, live events, and experiences. The Endeavor network specializes in talent representation through entertainment agency WME; sports operations and advisory, event management, media production and distribution, and brand licensing through IMG; live event experiences and hospitality through On Location; full-service marketing through global cultural marketing agency 160over90; and sports data and technology through OpenBet. Endeavor is the majority owner of TKO Group Holdings, Inc., a premium sports and sports entertainment company comprising UFC and WWE.  

In 2009, Emanuel orchestrated one of the largest talent agency mergers in history when Endeavor, the agency he founded in 1995, joined forces with agency William Morris to form William Morris Endeavor (WME), a leading entertainment agency representing the world’s greatest artists, content creators and talent across books, digital media, fashion, film, food, music, sports, television, and theater.  

In 2012, WME forged a strategic partnership with Silver Lake, a global technology investment firm. In 2014, WME and Silver Lake acquired IMG, followed by the acquisition of UFC® in 2016. Emanuel helped accelerate the UFC’s popularity through a series of blockbuster media rights deals, including a multi-year broadcast partnership with ESPN. In 2017, Endeavor was formed as the holding company for the global portfolio of businesses, debuting on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021. In 2023, Emanuel led the transaction that brought UFC and WWE together to launch TKO Group Holdings, Inc. and its listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker“TKO”.   

Under Emanuel’s leadership, Endeavor has been named one of Inc.’s Fastest Growing Companies in America and one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies.  

Emanuel began his career at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and went on to become a senior agent at both InterTalent and International Creative Management (ICM) before starting his own agency. He has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, one of Fortune’s Businesspersons of the Year, and one of Sport Business Journal’s Most Influential People in Sports. 2023 marked his seventh straight year being named to Variety’s Variety500 list.  

Emanuel is a leading figure in the fight against antisemitism, and his op eds have been published in the Financial Times and Chicago Tribune, among others. In 2024, he was awarded with the Simon F. Wiesenthal Center’s Humanitarian Award.  

A graduate of Macalester College, he is an associate member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts &Sciences. He is based in Beverly Hills. 

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R.J. Cutler Bio

R.J. Cutler is an award-winning director and producer who has been making documentary film and television series for over thirty years. He has directed such films as Elton John: Never Too Late, Martha, Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, BELUSHI, The September Issue, and A Perfect Candidate. He has produced such films as The War Room, Thin, Listen to Me Marlon and The Disappearance of Shere Hite. For television, Cutler has directed and/or Executive Produced such programs as Elton John Live, Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul, Murf the Surf, Dear…, Nashville, 30 Days, Freshman Diaries and American High.

Cutler’s work has been nominated for two Academy Awards and a Writer’s Guild Award, and he is the recipient of numerous other awards including three Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, a GLAAD Award, two Cinema Eye Awards and two Television Academy Honor Awards. In 2009, the Museum of Television and Radio held a four-day retrospective of R.J.’s work. In 2021, R.J. received the Critics’ Choice Pennebaker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Documentary Film. In 2020, Cutler launched This Machine, a production company focused on developing and producing documentary projects for film and television. This Machine is now a part of Sony Non-Fiction Television. R.J. Cutler lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jane Cha Cutler, their children Maddie, Max and Penny and their dog Dexter

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