Why Sam Thinks Freakonomics Is Sus

A listener writes in to ask why Sam thinks Freakonomics is dubious.

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Can you take a moment to expand on your statement that Freakonomics is a little bit dubious? I listen to some of their podcasts regularly and find them at least interesting. interesting. it's just that there's you know the idea that for example, I mean I you know it's been a long time since you know talked about at least the book. I don't know, I don't know about the podcast. but for example, the association between abortion and crime is there's not a lot of evidence about that. There's a lot more evidence, let's say, about lead. and even that you know that even you know we're never going to know exactly. but there's a lot less evidence about that.
this is from the American scientist just one quote. We and others have noted a discouraging tendency in the Freakonomics body of work to present speculative or even erroneous claims with an air of certainty.
yes, and let's be clear I mean that's the thing is like that also sorts of a broader point of the lie about economics. economists present themselves as scientists as opposed to social scientists. and then even then a lot of their stuff is very ideological even though they disown that their basic premises come from an ideology.
and frankly, I'm like right I'm skeptical of claims that ascribe crime to anything other than social and economic conditions as created by the government. I mean I'll tell you if you look at the data nationally and internationally in terms of lead and we should say abortion would be downstream from that.