Allison Schrager describes her evolution from a small, college town in Connecticut, to college in Scotland, to her interest and graduate studies in economics, and to her learning about and fascination with risk. She explains why she sees a decline in risk-taking, why taking risk can promote growth, and how risk management strategies can help foster and deal with risk. Allison discusses how she came to write the An Economist Walks into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk. Allison is currently a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a City Journal contributing editor.