641. What Does It Cost to Lead a Creative Life?

For years, the playwright David Adjmi was considered “polarizing and difficult.” But creating Stereophonic seems to have healed him. Stephen Dubner gets the story — and sorts out what Adjmi has in common with Richard Wagner.

• SOURCES:• David Adjmi (davidadjmi.com), author and playwright.

• RESOURCES:• "The West End is enjoying a theatre revival. Can Broadway keep up? (ft.com/content/aadca358-75a4-47aa-ab7d-fe46608…)" by Daniel Thomas (Financial Times, 2025).
• Lot Six: A Memoir (amzn.to/4lZUydU), by David Adjmi (2020).
• Stereophonic (stereophonicplay.co.uk), (2023).

• EXTRAS:• "How Is Live Theater Still Alive? (freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/how-is-live-theat…)" by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
• "How to Make the Coolest Show on Broadway (freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-make-the-coole…)," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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