13. Yul Kwon: “Don't Try to Change Yourself All at Once.” (UPDATE)

13. Yul Kwon: “Don't Try to Change Yourself All at Once.” (UPDATE)

March 20, 2026 · 43 min · Episode 13

About this episode

Yul Kwon discusses his diverse career, childhood anxieties, and strategies for success on Survivor with host Steve Levitt.

He has been a lawyer, an instructor at the F.B.I. Academy, the owner of a frozen-yogurt chain, and a winner of the TV show Survivor. Today, Kwon works at Google, but things haven’t always come easily for him. Steve Levitt talks to Kwon about his debilitating childhood anxieties, his compulsion to choose the hardest path in life, and how Kwon used game theory to stage a victory on Survivor. This episode originally aired in two parts on January 29th and February 5th, 2021 and was updated on April 4th, 2025.

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