Book · 2009 · Literary Criticism
Animal Farm
#16 of 15,596 books, ranked by how many different people bring it up on podcasts
- mentions
- 95
- people
- 40
- podcasts
- 21
- episodes
- 70
- critical mentions
- 0
My favorite book of all time is probably Animal Farm, and it’s funny to think that the first time I read that, I must have read it only as text.
Chuck Klosterman · The Daily Stoic · Apr 2022 Listen at 1:20:37 What they say about it
- Names it favorite book“my favorite book”7


- Mentions the ending scene“last scene in Animal Farm”3


- Discusses the horse Boxer“horse from Animal Farm, Boxer”3

- Mentions the pigs“pigs in Animal Farm”3

The best things said about it
I have to say I often say that my favorite book is Animal Farm by George Orwell. I've read it I don't know how many times.
Yeonmi Park Lex Fridman Podcast · Jul 2021 It took me trusting what that meant was reading George Orwell's Animal Farm that helped me to understand what happened to my country.
Yeonmi Park The Megyn Kelly Show · Feb 2023 Yeah the horse's one is interesting and one of my favorite books is animal farm by orwell and the horses don't get a good ending in that uh i kind of uh my spirit animal i suppose is the horse from animal farm boxer where he says uh i will work harder.
So like if you look at a book like Animal Farm where the pigs start to rule the other animals, and over time, the life of the animals gets worse and worse and worse while the pigs keep saying that it's actually getting better and better and better.
Lex Fridman Lex Fridman Podcast · Feb 2023 This is the last scene in Animal Farm where the farmers and the pigs are like in it together.
Thomas Massie The Tucker Carlson Show · May 2026 Where and when it comes up
Mentions per year
How it comes up
40 people who brought it up
- Tim Pool21 mentions · 1 rec
- Hotep Jesus3 mentions · 1 rec
Brian Keating1 mention · 1 rec- John Sweeney1 mention · 1 rec
- Matt Rogers1 mention · 1 rec
- Niall Ferguson1 mention · 1 rec
Yaron Brook1 mention · 1 rec
Lex Fridman11 mentions
Yeonmi Park8 mentions
Jordan Peterson4 mentions- Michael Malice3 mentions
- Andrew Doyle2 mentions
Why people recommend it
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a classic allegorical novella that uses a farmyard setting to satirize the corruption of socialist ideals and the rise of totalitarianism following the Russian Revolution. Niall Ferguson discussed the book on The Tim Ferriss Show, advising listeners not to limit their reading of Orwell solely to his famous novels, but to explore his essays as well. Brian Keating brought up the work on the Lex Fridman Podcast to make a point about tails, flies, and unwanted distractions. John Sweeney suggested on Modern Wisdom that people should carry a copy of the book through Belarus and leave it behind in a bar. On Timcast IRL, Luke Rudkowski and Tim Pool both praised Animal Farm as an important piece of literature, expressing concern that public school systems were pushing such essential texts out of the curriculum. During another episode of Timcast IRL, Hotep Jesus brought up the novel while discussing government hypocrisy and elite privilege, quoting its famous line about some animals being more equal than others, which prompted Tim to recommend a refreshing reread of the short book. Finally, Yaron Brook mentioned the title on the Lex Fridman Podcast when discussing the broader popularity of dystopian novels in the United Kingdom.
Every mention
Tim Pool animal farm also another great book that a lot of people don't uh you know attribute to him but there's so… 21
“So I want to give a shout out to Riley Gains for promoting Animal Farm.”
“You're dealing with Hollywood degenerates who are now purportedly working with Angel Studios. I still think it was all sabotage.”
“So like in the in the book, the pigs steal the eggs from the chickens...”
“That was the the message of Animal Farm. The farmer farmer wasn't doing his job to make sure the the citizens of the farm were being taken care of.”
“You know, with the Animal Farm thing, we saw a ton of conservatives shill for communism because they were paid to do it, but it would be funny to do the inverse to liberals and and some more conservatives, too.”
“My husband and I got early access screening to Animal Farm, an animated adaptation of George Orwell's novel made by Angel Studios. Incredibly well done. They do a perfect job of reminding viewers that Marxism always has and always will fail. In theaters May 1st, #animalfarmpartner.”
“And Animal Farm made a great example of this. The chickens had their eggs taken and sold off. And when the chickens complained, they were executed.”
“Token Maga says, "Read Animal Farm yesterday and I've never wanted to eat bacon more in my life. Also very disgusted by that trailer." I recommend the animated Animal Farm film, too...”
“Uh and we'll just lightly touch on this as we got a few minutes left before the super chats and all that, but the new trailer for Animal Farm came out. Yo, they edited this one intentionally to highlight as much of the of the communist perspective as possible.”
“It's the classic George Orwell novel that is an allegory for the Bolevik Revolution and how communists are bad.”
“I read this in 2003 and so it's been a long time, but I remember the villain was the main pig in the book.”
“But he said I mean like the the uh animal farm was actually a critique of lent of uh the Soviet Union and stuff.”
“The trailer for Andy Circus' Animal Farm won't help you with your book report. The trailer for Andy Circus animated adaptation of Animal Farm gets stranger as it goes.”
“there was a guy that was saying actually the the original meaning of of Animal Farm was that capitalism is bad because the pigs become like the farmer.”
“They uhr you know communism generally devolves into vanguardism which is what happens in Animal Farm.”
“The point is they have taken a book that is explicitly anti-communist and turned it into purely anti- capitalist because communists run Hollywood.”
“it's a little bit of all of them it's a crock pond it's Animal Farm of all of it”
“I love animals have you read Animal Farm oh yeah it's also George Orwell and it's basically I read it after I read 1984”
“hey guys an animal farm the animals sat atop the knoll and sadly realized this was the system they had bled for are we those animals sadly sitting atop the hill realizing”
“animal farm also another great book that a lot of people don't uh you know attribute to him but there's so many important pieces of literature that he puts together that really are worth reading and a lot of the public school systems are pushing them out”
“don't you think replacing the police with civil guard is kind of like animal farm”
Hotep Jesus some animals are more equal than others animal farm yeah if you people haven't read animal farm make sure y… 3
“so the more you add on it just turns into animal farm they just start amending and amending and interpreting”
“I read that and I read animal farm that I read some of his letters”
“some animals are more equal than others animal farm yeah if you people haven't read animal farm make sure you go give that a good refreshing read it should only take you about an hour or two”
Brian Keating i've asked him and then it comes from animal farm by probably my favorite book 1
“i've asked him and then it comes from animal farm by probably my favorite book”
John Sweeney go to by the way go via belarus um take a copy of a 1984 animal farm leave it in a bar 1
“go to by the way go via belarus um take a copy of a 1984 animal farm leave it in a bar”
Matt Rogers You would love it, it's called Animal Joy and it's about laughter! 1
“You would love it, it's called Animal Joy and it's about laughter!”
Niall Ferguson In the same way that if you want to get to Orwell, don't just read Animal Farm and 1984. Read Orwell's amaz… 1
“In the same way that if you want to get to Orwell, don't just read Animal Farm and 1984. Read Orwell's amazing essays.”
Yaron Brook UK is very interested in dystopian novels Animal Farm 1
“UK is very interested in dystopian novels Animal Farm”
Lex Fridman So to that degree, to which degree is everybody kinda chanting e/acc, e/acc, like the sheep in "Animal Farm… 11
“Of course, "The Trial" is a work of fiction, but I think it is often useful to go to the surreal world of literature, even of the over-the-top dystopian variety like "1984," "Animal Farm," "Brave New World," "The Trial," "The Castle," "Metamorphosis," even "The Plague" by Albert Camus...”
“If you can have swarms of non-biological beings. 'cause they can be like the sheep in "Animal Farm."”
“So to that degree, to which degree is everybody kinda chanting e/acc, e/acc, like the sheep in "Animal Farm"? - Well, first of all, it's fun, it's rebellious, right?”
“"Animal Farm".”
“Well, I could spoil "Animal Farm". There's pigs, there's animals at a farm, (laughs) and the humans are abusing them. And then the animals overthrow the humans.”
“I read Animal Farm way more.”
“So like if you look at a book like "Animal Farm" where the pigs start to rule the other animals, and over time, the life of the animals gets worse and worse and worse while the pigs keep saying that it's actually getting better and better and better.”
“just like an animal farm you'll be like the horse boxer and slaughtered unjustly by those that are much more powerful than you because you'll be happy when you're slaughtered”
“that's why I admire a boxer the horse I will work harder even if he gets sent to the slaughter by the evil pigs you're on Orwell today”
“and uh of course George Orwell brilliantly and probably my favorite book of his which is animal farm”
“on the book point i've read animal farm by george orwell a ridiculous number of times”
Yeonmi Park like the one point that changed me as a child was Georgia W Animal Farm 8
“like the one point that changed me as a child was Georgia W Animal Farm”
“it took me trusting what that meant was reading George Orwell's Animal Farm that helped me to understand what happened to my country”
“it's like a very so that's like exactly the georgia vs animal farm in the first generation they know they lived before the revolution”
“so you've uh i have to say i often say that my favorite book is animal farm by george orwell i've read it i don't know how many times”
“and when i read by uh georgia o'rourke's book the animal farm that's when i realized”
“I was starting reading Georgia West animal farm in 1984.”
“Like I could see in that little pigs in the animal farm was it, I see myself as in my grandmother's like, Oh this is what happened.”
“And I think it just, it just reminds me of like the animal farm, how it all began.”
Jordan Peterson she had told me during the interview that she had encountered george orwell's work when she was in south ko… 4
“Justin can go on about how horrific the justice system of the Supreme Court is while up here he plays a game halfway between Animal Farm in 1984.”
“she had told me during the interview that she had encountered george orwell's work when she was in south korea particularly animal farm and that was what um partly what influenced her to start speaking”
“and during that time she read um animal farm by george orwell and that sort of motivated her to write”
“she had told me during the interview that she had encountered george orwell's work when she was in south korea particularly animal farm”
Michael Malice I mean, it's 'Catcher in the Rye'. There are a lot of books that seem trivial. 3
“I mean, it's 'Catcher in the Rye'. There are a lot of books that seem trivial.”
“To me, 'The Plague' is about the doctor, and it’s about love, and it’s about the different roles that humans take in a time of tragedy like the plague. Also, it’s an allegory, so you can start to think about whatever you think that is. See, you've been for white pill, researching a lot of actual, specifically defined suffering, sure.”
“so animal farm by george orwell is one of my favorite books”
Andrew Doyle it's precisely the reason why when he wrote Animal Farm he couldn't get it published for so long because pe… 2
“it's precisely the reason why when he wrote Animal Farm he couldn't get it published for so long because people were horrified by the possibility that left-wing people could be authoritarian”
“It's precisely the reason why when he wrote Animal Farm, he couldn't get it published for so long, because people were horrified by the possibility that left-wing people could be authoritarian.”
Ben Bowlin I know that a lot of us listening today are huge fans of Animal Farm right in the work of George Orwell 2
“I know that a lot of us listening today are huge fans of Animal Farm right in the work of George Orwell”
“this is spot on with the pigs in Animal Farm there is a very it's very”
Chuck Klosterman like you know my favorite book of all time probably is animal farm and it's really funny to me to think tha… 2
“like you know my favorite book of all time probably is animal farm and it's really funny to me to think that the first time I read that”
“My favorite book of all time is probably Animal Farm, and it’s funny to think that the first time I read that, I must have read it only as text.”
Tucker Carlson So, there's this scene in Animal Farm. It's the last scene in the novel, the famous George Orwell novel 2
“So, there's this scene in Animal Farm. It's the last scene in the novel, the famous George Orwell novel”
“This is the pigs and the men becoming indistinguishable in the final scene of Animal Farm.”
Yannis Pappas and one of my favorite books is animal farm by orwell and the horses don't get a good ending in that 2
“and one of my favorite books is animal farm by orwell and the horses don't get a good ending in that”
“yeah the horse's one is interesting and one of my favorite books is animal farm by orwell and the horses don't get a good ending in that uh i kind of uh my spirit animal i suppose is the horse from animal farm boxer where he says uh i will work harder”
Andrew Meyer and that Revelation that's what leads to 1984 an animal farm the the commies were doing great evil and Fran… 1
“and that Revelation that's what leads to 1984 an animal farm the the commies were doing great evil and Franco stood up against them”
Bridget Phetasy I think you could read Animal Farm in a week 1
“I think you could read Animal Farm in a week”
Connor Tomlinson it's there's he wrote Animal Farm I I see animal farm leading up to this 1984 situation 1
“it's there's he wrote Animal Farm I I see animal farm leading up to this 1984 situation”
David Perell Why do you think animals work so well in Animal Farm? 1
“Why do you think animals work so well in Animal Farm?”
Dmitri Dolgov i'm a huge fan of animal farm which is a kind of friendly as a friend of 1984 by orwell it's kind of anothe… 1
“i'm a huge fan of animal farm which is a kind of friendly as a friend of 1984 by orwell it's kind of another thought experiment of how our society may go in directions that we wouldn't like it to go”
Doug Lemov I gave him Animal Farm to read and I didn't give him a lot of background knowledge and I didn't tell him an… 1
“I gave him Animal Farm to read and I didn't give him a lot of background knowledge and I didn't tell him anything about the Russian Revolution and about how this is this is, you know, an allegory for the so he, you know, read the book diligently.”
Edwidge Danticat the summer i was reading with my girls we were reading animal farm and and it was just really striking 1
“the summer i was reading with my girls we were reading animal farm and and it was just really striking”
Glenn Greenwald George Orwell in the preface to Animal Farm wrote or actually it's 1984 wrote a an essay where he was essen… 1
“George Orwell in the preface to Animal Farm wrote or actually it's 1984 wrote a an essay where he was essentially saying that overt totalitarianism of the kind that was taking place in the Soviet Union is repressive, but it's not nearly as effective as subtle repression.”
Gurwinder Bhogal you see it in the novel Animal Farm as well where um the character of uh Napoleon the pig Napoleon um wants… 1
“you see it in the novel Animal Farm as well where um the character of uh Napoleon the pig Napoleon um wants to consolidate his power by sort of um essentially exiling snowball”
Jeffrey Wasserstrom And then there's 'Animal Farm in 1984' is a second book. 1
“And then there's 'Animal Farm in 1984' is a second book.”
Jennifer Szalai he was perhaps best known for his two dystopian novels Animal Farm in 1984 and to look at the way that his… 1
“he was perhaps best known for his two dystopian novels Animal Farm in 1984 and to look at the way that his name has sort of come to be synonymous”
Jeremi Suri so it's like animal farm all animals are equal 1
“so it's like animal farm all animals are equal”
Konstantin Kisin of course i'm quoting animal farm 1
“of course i'm quoting animal farm”
Lydia Moynihan like when you were talking earlier about Animal Farm and I'm like, I'm radicalized against private equity. 1
“like when you were talking earlier about Animal Farm and I'm like, I'm radicalized against private equity.”
Mia Wong so his two favorite books in this period are 1984 an animal farm 1
“so his two favorite books in this period are 1984 an animal farm”
Norman Ohler It's like in Animal Farm when the pigs discover alcohol. Animal Farm by George Orwell. There's no evidence… 1
“It's like in Animal Farm when the pigs discover alcohol. Animal Farm by George Orwell. There's no evidence that they drank.”
Pierre Poilievre animal farm uh you know the pigs didn't say they wanted to take the house so that they could be more comfor… 1
“animal farm uh you know the pigs didn't say they wanted to take the house so that they could be more comfortable and spoiled they said they were doing it to make everyone equal and to remove the oppression”
Richard Dreyfuss and I and I don't want anyone to really care if you're a communist and you've written a brilliant book like… 1
“and I and I don't want anyone to really care if you're a communist and you've written a brilliant book like Animal Farm or 1984. do you really think you're gonna be poisoning the the brains of your children”
Steve Frat and one other thing animal farm oh animal yeah that orwell's second greatest work uh 1
“and one other thing animal farm oh animal yeah that orwell's second greatest work uh”
Steven Bartlett There's a scene the book Animal Farm where there's this donkey named Benjamin and he's talking to the pig a… 1
“There's a scene the book Animal Farm where there's this donkey named Benjamin and he's talking to the pig and the pig says to the donkey you know, I love your tail. It's so big. I got this short little curly tail. It's good for nothing. You got this beautiful tail. It could sweep away the flies. And the donkey”
Thomas Massie This is the last scene in Animal Farm where the the farmers and the pigs are like in it together. 1
“This is the last scene in Animal Farm where the the farmers and the pigs are like in it together.”
Victor Davis Hanson it's kind of like orwell talked about an animal farm it's it's if you're woke and you virtue signal 1
“it's kind of like orwell talked about an animal farm it's it's if you're woke and you virtue signal”
Viva Frei Your analysis and your understanding of of the book itself made me want to go back and reread it. 1
“Your analysis and your understanding of of the book itself made me want to go back and reread it.”
Yann Martel I was trying to do in a sense with the Holocaust, what Animal Farm, what George Or did with Stalinism, with… 1
“I was trying to do in a sense with the Holocaust, what Animal Farm, what George Or did with Stalinism, with Animal Farm tell a light, engaging, delightful story that's about a very heavy topic”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker6
“Yeah, I know that a lot of us listening today are huge fans of Animal Farm, right? In the work of George Orwell, there is an incredibly bleak, incredibly well-written part of that book where the animals—well, quick spoiler—Animal Farm, if you are not familiar with the plot and don’t want it spoiled for you and you’ve been waiting for”
“In the work of George Orwell, there is an incredibly bleak, incredibly well-written part of that book where the animals—well, quick spoiler—Animal Farm, if you are not familiar with the plot and don’t want it spoiled for you and you’ve been waiting for a chance to read it or watch one of the many adaptations, please consider this your spoiler”
“I believe that is a joke reference to the book Animal Farm by George or well in the book The animals use the phrase four legs good two legs bad as they”
“animal farm also another great book that a lot of people don't uh you know attribute to him but there's so many important pieces of literature that he puts together that really are worth reading”
“some animals are more equal than others animal farm yeah if you people haven't read animal farm make sure you go give that a good refreshing read”
“you know the whole the animal farm thing man well if you I love that book by the way I can make a pig squirt”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (40: passing, ad reads, own books)
“Is white, but he's also the guy who made Animal Farmwoke.”
“I do think a lot of them are just taking money to say things that are getting paid to say Animal Farm and they're participating in the like this incentive structure that's been set up for 10 years.”
“The only thing I'm happy to have influenced is that people didn't go and see Animal Farm, but aside from that, Congress is a different picture.”
“So, there is the coolest movie we can imagine. It's a new film adaptation of George Orwell's amazing novel, Animal Farm. 1984 gets all the attention, but Animal Farm is better.”
“Animal Farm, the book. I don't know. I don't think about Animal Farm, though.”
“Angel Studios: See Animal Farm in theatres May 1st! Tickets available now at http://angel.com/tucker”
“- And the book I've read more than any other book is Animal Farm by George Orwell.”
“America today feels like that book Animal Farm.”
“And then there's "Animal Farm in 1984" is a second book.”
“But it'll be just like Animal Farm because they'll still be eating cow.”
“That sounds like "Animal Farm." But yes, two legs better, but yes, democracy's better and invading countries is bad.”
“it's Animal Farm of all of it”
“For the critics in the stands, chanting the latest slogans of the mass hysteria machine like sheep in Animal Farm.”
“For the critics in the stands, chanting the latest slogans of the mass hysteria machine like sheep in 'Animal Farm'. I love you too.”
“I believe that is a joke reference to the book 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell. In the book, the animals use the phrase 'Four legs good, two legs bad' as they rise against the humans. That must be it, love the show, longtime listener.”
“And uh, sure, it caused, um, or at least it was intended to cause people to take kind of a hard look at, uh, pre-Animal Farm, uh, to make sort of a social statement about how we treated animals.”
“too many decades ago to admit but my reading teacher was also the social studies teacher and I guess that explains where all of our reading lists included Animal Farm Hiroshima All Quiet on the Western Front and you know it The Jungle by Upton Sinclair”
“But my reading teacher was also the social studies teacher, and I guess that explains why all of our reading lists included Animal Farm, Hiroshima, All Quiet on the Western Front, and you know it. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is a powerful book.”
“there's the one where they're burning all the books um there's the one where the pigs are in charge”
“This is spot on with L Ron Hubbard AKA The Commodore in Scientology This is spot on with the pigs in Animal Farm”
“and when I went to college the the whole notion of basically people who are Juniors and seniors being more important or more equal than others to do the animal farm line”
“I read uh 1984 an animal farm Those are like the only two dystopian novels i've read so far”
“sort of beyond over there in sugar candy mountain as uh crow says that in animal farm”
“of course yeah an animal farm in school”
“we were at animal farm the hobby all these great books that helped me”
“animal farms they live”
“and then after she wrote her book which was inspired by the way by george orwell's animal farm it was very interesting”
“But you have this mantra; it is communist-like, where it's like the commandments written on the barn in Animal Farm where it is propaganda that’s so at odds with reality; it’s just absurd.”
“Like we I remember we read Animal Farm, The Hobby, all these great books that helped me.”
“the shirt i'm wearing right now is also my representation of our society and it has the hunger games animal farm they live brave new world matrix fahrenheit 451 v for vendetta and of course 1984 representing where i think we are”
“the shirt I'm wearing right now is also my representation of our society and it has the hunger games animal animal farm they live brave new world matrix fahrenheit 451 v for vendetta and of course 1984 representing where i think we are”
“take a copy of a 1984 animal farm leave it in a bar”
“Everyone talks about the situation as being 1984. Consider sometime the idea and influence of animal farm on the establishment”
“UK is very interested in dystopian novels Animal Farm uh and in 1984 84 is published a couple of years after I think after an there's reason to believe he read he read Anthem uh that and uh George read Animal Farm”
“maybe it's animal farm”
“All animals are equal But some animals are more equal than others”
“got a little bit of Animal Farm if you go back couple decades”
“I was educated books like Animal Farm in 1984 before I was in the cult”
“like every book we read in high school or college brave new world Lord of the Flies 1980 or Animal Farm like The Giver which we read in [ __ ] middle school”
“so it's like Animal Farm some chickens are more equal than others yeah”





