Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Steven Levitt's Freakonomics. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
Freakonomics: Introduction
Freakonomics: Plot Summary
Freakonomics: Detailed Summary & Analysis
Freakonomics: Themes
Freakonomics: Quotes
Freakonomics: Characters
Freakonomics: Symbols
Freakonomics: Theme Wheel
Historical Context of Freakonomics
Other Books Related to Freakonomics
- Full Title: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
- When Written: 2003-2005
- Where Written: New York, Boston, and Chicago
- When Published: April 12, 2005
- Literary Period: “Pop sociology”
- Genre: Economics, sociology, non-fiction
- Point of View: Third person, with frequent third person-plural asides
Extra Credit for Freakonomics
The Freakonomics empire. Only a few books ever become popular enough to be adapted as films. In 2010, Freakonomics was adapted as a documentary feature, with short segments directed by different documentary filmmakers. But that’s not all—since 2005, Dubner and Levitt have founded a podcast, a blog, and a philanthropic consulting group based on their book.
...and it’s even on Netflix. One of the most amusing shout-outs to Freakonomics occurred in Season Three of the Netflix show Orange is the New Black. In the first episode of the season, one of the characters alludes to the book’s argument about the relationship between abortions and the lowering crime rate.