As an adult, Dubner himself converted back to Judaism, an experience he chronicles in his first book, Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son's Return to His Jewish Family.

[11] There, Dubner played in a rock band, The Right Profile, which later signed with Arista Records shortly before he decided against a career in music.

In 2005, William Morrow and Company published Freakonomics,[3] a book about cheating teachers, bizarre baby-names, self-dealing realtors, and crack-selling mama's boys.

[6] Throughout their work, Dubner and Levitt use economics to explore real-world phenomena, answer perplexing questions, and offer unconventional analysis.

[21] As of June 2023, Dubner resides in New York City with his wife, documentary photographer Ellen Binder,[2] their two children, and their dog.

In a 2017 New York Times profile, Dubner described his ideal Sunday as one in which he walks his dog in Central Park early in the morning, watches an FC Barcelona game with his son, and spends the afternoon cooking dinner with his daughter.