This is hidden brain.
I'm Shankar Vedantan.
Here on the show, there's a fall tradition we love.
It has nothing to do with pumpkin spice or Halloween, although we love those, too.
What I'm talking about is the annual announcement of the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Zverjes Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel to Richard H.
Thaler.
Richard Thaler has played an outsized role in shaping the field of behavioral economics.
He also happens to be a great conversationalist, so we thought we'd revisit our 2015 conversation with him.
It's still one of our favorites.
Richard Thaler's latest book is the story of behavioral economics.
I spoke to him before a live audience at NPR's weekend in Washington, an event that brings together public radio supporters from across the country.
I want to start by asking Richard a real softball question.
You have a friend whose name is Daniel Kahneman.
He won the Nobel Prize in economics some years ago.
World famous psychologist, brilliant author.
And Danny Kahneman was once asked to describe Richard Thaler to a journalist, and he said that Richard's dominant characteristic, the thing that makes him stand out, is that Richard is lazy.
Can you tell me, Richard, why Danny said that?
And also why he insists that this was a compliment?
Yeah.