In Freakonomics, though Levitt and Dubner write about some highly charged topics, they write in a manner that does not offend most readers. How do they use language and style to achieve this balance?

The authors of Freakonomics make some bold claims. For example, they claim the legalization of abortion contributes to a decrease in crime in the United States. 
Such challenges and assertions are primed to make people angry. The authors manage not to offend most readers by refraining from using emotional language and by tying these social concepts to economic principles. For example, when dispelling myths of conventional wisdom, they refrain from incendiary language implicating that those who buy into conventional wisdom are foolish or believe in conventional wisdom for stupid reasons. Rather, they lay out straightforward, uncomplicated explanations explaining why these wisdoms are false and then similarly present their alternative hypotheses. 
By avoiding the use of emotional language or insinuations about the reader, Levitt and Dubner manage to avoid the type of prose that could provoke a strong, offended reaction.