I’ve never liked how basic economics is taught – too dry, too mathematical, too detached from the real world. So many years ago I set out to write “economics for smart people who never studied economics.” That really was our tagline until we realized there were even more people who had studied economics and couldn’t remember any of it. Anyway, the end product, Naked Economics, was published in 2003 by W.W. Norton and now appears in 14 languages. The Chicago Tribune described the book as “clear, concise, informative and (gasp) witty.” Who says it has to be the “dismal science”?

Later, I wrote Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data, which does the same thing for statistics.

Along the way, I’ve also written a textbook on public policy, captions and essays for a book of aerial photography (Revealing Chicago), and a book packed with advice for new college graduates (10 1/2 Things That No Commencement Speaker Has Ever Said).

Of late, I’ve been writing fiction. My first novel, The Rationing, was published in 2019 and it’s about--strangely--a global pandemic.

You can read my short story, “A Personal Statement,” which is a satirical take on the current state of college admissions.