Nudge Cover
Podcast Mentions

Nudge

Richard H. Thaler

An updated and refreshed edition of the groundbreaking book that shows how people can be nudged toward decisions that will improve their lives

Podcasts 9
Quotes 30
The Joe Rogan Experience

Ben Shapiro mentions Cass Sunstein's book "Nudge," which explores the idea of using non-forcible means to "nudge" people in a particular direction without their knowledge, a tactic he believes is problematic.

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And Cass Sunstein as a legal scholar and he wrote a book called Nudge he was very famous it was used as sort of a handbook during the Obama administration and the idea was well if we can just use a no...

— Episode: #1276 - Ben Shapiro

Episode: #1276 - Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro mentions Cass Sunstein's book "Nudge," which explores the idea of using non-forcible means to "nudge" people in a particular direction without their knowledge, a tactic he believes is problematic.

"

And Cass Sunstein as a legal scholar and he wrote a book called Nudge he was very famous it was used as sort of a handbook during the Obama administration and the idea was well if we can just use a non-forcible means to sort of nudge people in a particular direction without them even knowing they're being nudged then shouldn't we do that and I think no you shouldn't you shouldn't because transparency is the only way I can tell what kind of bullshit you're trying to sell me

Freakonomics Radio

The book was highlighted across multiple episodes as the foundational text for the nudge movement, with Stephen Dubner and co‑hosts describing it as an excellent, practical guide to applying behavioral economics to health, wealth, happiness, climate policy, retirement savings, and government programs. They noted its influence on the creation of "nudge units" worldwide and praised the updated edition for expanding its insights. The overall tone was an enthusiastic endorsement of its impact and usefulness.

Highly Recommended

Episode: Extra: The Men Who Started a Thinking Revolution (...

It's about how we can nudge people to make better choices.

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They're calling them nudge units after Dick Thaler and Cass Sunstein's work but his job is really to create environments that will lead people to make choices that are good for them and that really comes out of Danny and Amos's work

Episode: 474. All You Need Is Nudge

It was discussed at length, including the updated edition, and how its principles, particularly nudging, could apply to climate change and retirement savings decisions, along with the authors' contrasting styles.

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Back in 2008, Thaler published a book called Nudge, improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness. It was co-authored with the legal scholar Cass Sunstein.

A nudge, as we will use the term, is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people's behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives.

The title of the new edition is Nudge, the final edition.

Here's a relevant passage from the new edition of Nudge. It addresses the concern that carbon taxes will necessarily hurt the economy.

The software our publishers provided when we were proofreading the galleys of this book was so sludge ridden that Sunstein gave up and typed up a list of changes.

Episode: Is There Really a “Loneliness Epidemic”? (Ep. 407...

Richard Thaler, a Nobel Prize winner in economics, wrote this book on behavioral science and how to nudge people towards better outcomes, and a new edition of this book was recently released.

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There's so much low-hanging fruit because so many things are done so stupidly...The economist Richard Thaler won a Nobel Prize for showing the world how to nudge itself toward a better future. We can't solve climate change with nudging, but we can't solve it without nudging. And he's just published an updated edition of his landmark 2008 book nudge.

Episode: 382. How Goes the Behavior-Change Revolution?

The book was discussed regarding the 'nudge' movement, and Richard Thaler's work on retirement savings via automatic enrolment, which was deemed a success.

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Also as coauthor of the wonderful book nudge and the resultant nudge movement.

Episode: 281. Big Returns from Thinking Small

It was mentioned in relation to the Nudge Unit, which was named after this book. The book was said to have been written by American academics.

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It came to be called the Nudge Unit after the book of that name by the American academics Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein.

Episode: 220. “I Don't Know What You've Done With My Husban...

It was mentioned as a book that has become a bit of a bible in the field of behavioral insights, which discusses how nudges can help governments in various aspects, including crime prevention.

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They're also known as the Nudge Unit after the book Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein.

Episode: 146. Fighting Poverty With Actual Evidence

It was described as an excellent book that details how behavioral economics can be practically applied to improve decisions about health, wealth, and happiness, and it was the inspiration for the British government's 'nudge unit'.

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Dick is the co-author of an excellent book called Nudge, Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness, which shows how behavioral economics can be used in the real world.

so-called meaning they named the unit after this book.

Episode: 146. Fighting Poverty With Actual Evidence

It was described as an excellent book that demonstrates how behavioral economics can be implemented in the real world, particularly in regards to health, wealth, and happiness.

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Dick is the co-author of an excellent book called Nudge, Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness, which shows how behavioral economics can be used in the real world.

Episode: 121. The Tax Man Nudgeth

The book 'Nudge' was mentioned as the origin of the term 'nudge unit' for the British government's Behavioral Insights Team. It was discussed in the context of using behavioral insights to design better and cheaper policies.

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They are more informally called the nudge unit after the book Nudge by the American academics Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein.

Hidden Brain

It was mentioned as the origin of the term 'choice architecture', which refers to how choices are presented to influence decisions, either intentionally or unintentionally.

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The term comes from actually Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein in the book Nudge.

— Episode: Choose Carefully

Episode: Choose Carefully

It was mentioned as the origin of the term 'choice architecture', which refers to how choices are presented to influence decisions, either intentionally or unintentionally.

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The term comes from actually Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein in the book Nudge.

Episode: Misbehaving with Richard Thaler

It was mentioned as a previous book by Richard Thaler, which also explores how people don't always act the way traditional economists assume.

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If you've read Thaler's previous book, Nudge, you know he's an economist who studies why people don't really act the way traditional economists say they will.

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

The book 'Nudge' was mentioned in relation to behavioral science and its influence on public policy, particularly in the context of improving public policy using insights from human behavior.

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I was riding off the coattails of famous people like Laurie Santos and Cass Sunstein who wrote the book Nudge and their helping guide the way.

— Episode: Maya Shankar ON: How to Embrace Change G...

Episode: Maya Shankar ON: How to Embrace Change Gracefully...

The book 'Nudge' was mentioned in relation to behavioral science and its influence on public policy, particularly in the context of improving public policy using insights from human behavior.

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I was riding off the coattails of famous people like Laurie Santos and Cass Sunstein who wrote the book Nudge and their helping guide the way.

How I Built This with Guy Raz

It was discussed as a book that explored nudging people towards better choices in areas like finance, health and happiness by making simple changes in how information is presented and options are offered. It was highly influential, even being used in the Obama White House and impacting businesses.

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There's a book that came out in 2009 called Nudge.

— Episode: Noom: Saeju Jeong

Episode: Noom: Saeju Jeong

It was discussed as a book that explored nudging people towards better choices in areas like finance, health and happiness by making simple changes in how information is presented and options are offered. It was highly influential, even being used in the Obama White House and impacting businesses.

"

There's a book that came out in 2009 called Nudge.

One of the central arguments the writers make is that it's possible to nudge people into making better decisions about their finances, their health and even their happiness.

And you can do this, the book argues, by making very simple tweaks in how you present information and options to people.

10% Happier with Dan Harris

It was discussed in relation to behavioral science and the concept of choice architecture, wherein scientists can nudge people towards positive outcomes by structuring choices.

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And so I ended up sending a cold email to Cass Sunstein, who is co-author of the book Nudge and had worked for Obama for four years, and asked if he'd be willing to make an introduction to Obama leade...

— Episode: The Science of Handling Uncertainty | Ma...

Episode: The Science of Handling Uncertainty | Maya Shankar

It was discussed in relation to behavioral science and the concept of choice architecture, wherein scientists can nudge people towards positive outcomes by structuring choices.

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And so I ended up sending a cold email to Cass Sunstein, who is co-author of the book Nudge and had worked for Obama for four years, and asked if he'd be willing to make an introduction to Obama leadership for me.

Just to say that we had Cass Sunstein's co-author Richard Thaler on the show a couple months ago to talk about their book Nudge, and he uses this term choice architecture and how scientists can create an architecture of choices knowing what they know about the way the human mind makes decisions that nudge people in the direction of positive outcomes, like getting food to kids who might not otherwise get it.

No Stupid Questions

The book was highlighted as the seminal work that introduced behavioral economics to a broad audience, mentioned by Angela Duckworth and Stephen Dubner. It was cited for its iconic fly‑sticker example that nudged men to aim better in urinals and for its broader guidance on nudging people toward pro‑social actions instead of mandates. The hosts treated it as a foundational, highly regarded text.

Highly Recommended

Episode: 186. Do You Need a Routine?

The book was mentioned as a seminal work that introduced behavioral economics to the general public.

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And so he basically talked about how he starts his morning with three minutes of a breathing exercise, three minutes of gratitude, three minutes of prayer, and then three minutes of what he, I think, calls prioritization.

And he says, here are the three things that I need to accomplish today, regardless of whatever else comes into my life or time, etc.

And I love that idea of a morning routine.

And Katie Milkman, aforementioned friend, collaborator, behavioral scientist, and I were hosting Cass Sunstein, who was the co-author of Nudge, the famous book that kind of launched behavioral economics into the popular consciousness.

Episode: 116. Do People Pay Attention to Signs?

It was mentioned as an example of a book that detailed the use of a fly sticker in a urinal to influence male behaviour, reducing mess and waste.

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one of the most famous examples from the book Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein was about Putting an image of a fly a house fly on a urinal in the airport

Episode: 27. How Should You Ask for Forgiveness?

It was mentioned in passing as a book that talks about nudging people towards pro-social behavior instead of mandates, in the context of the pandemic.

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Richard Thaler and so on, who wrote a book called Nudge, talking about the way to nudge people towards pro-social behavior, as opposed to mandates.

The Daily Stoic

The book's author, Richard Thaler, was mentioned in relation to his work on mental accounting and how it affects decision-making, particularly the reluctance to close mental accounts when in the losses.

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So Richard Thaler, author of Nudge, Novel Laureate, he's done some really cool work on what's called mental accounting.

— Episode: Annie Duke on Knowing When to Quit

Episode: Annie Duke on Knowing When to Quit

The book's author, Richard Thaler, was mentioned in relation to his work on mental accounting and how it affects decision-making, particularly the reluctance to close mental accounts when in the losses.

"

So Richard Thaler, author of Nudge, Novel Laureate, he's done some really cool work on what's called mental accounting.

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.