Because I don’t think I was totally qualified for the gig. What happened is I pitched the White House on creating a new position for a behavioral scientist, and then I just made it my mission to create a team. LEVITT: Okay, so your first job was running an agency in Washington? I was doing a postdoc in cognitive neuroscience at Stanford at the time. I had no public policy experience at all. Maya SHANKAR: I think I was either 26 or 27. How old were you when that team was created with you as the leader? LEVITT: I first became aware of you when you were put in charge of the social and behavioral sciences team in the Obama administration. Still only in her early thirties, Maya might be the youngest guest I’ve had so far on this podcast and I’m guessing she will bring a big dose of youthful enthusiasm. And more recently as a global director of behavioral sciences at Google. She also served as the first behavioral science advisor to the United Nations. version of the highly successful British Nudge Unit, which was launched by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010 and named after Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein‘s hugely impactful book, Nudge. government’s first systematic attempt to integrate behavioral economics into its policies. LEVITT: While only in her twenties, Maya built from scratch the Obama administration’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Team. Welcome to People I (Mostly) Admire, with Steve Levitt. Steven LEVITT: My guest today, Maya Shanker, is a great example of how with the right mix of talent, confidence, and doggedness, anything is possible.
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