Book · 1995 · Fiction
Ishmael
A Novel
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn has been mentioned in 11 episodes across 2 podcasts (0 episodes recommend it and 11 episodes discuss it), through . Most frequently brought up by Tim Pool (5 episodes), Ian Crossland (2 episodes) and Andrew Sage (1 episode) on Timcast IRL (10 episodes) and Behind the Bastards (1 episode).
- episodes
- 11
- podcasts
- 2
- people
- 5
- episodes recommend it
- 0
Ishmael's a psychic gorilla that's talking to the student Tom in the book, there's givers and there's takers and humanity's divided amongst them.
Questions about Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Who has discussed Ishmael by Daniel Quinn on podcasts?
No speaker in our archive has explicitly recommended Ishmael by Daniel Quinn; Tim Pool (5 episodes), Ian Crossland (2 episodes), Andrew Sage (1 episode), Elijah Schaffer (1 episode) and Luke Rudkowski (1 episode) have discussed it across 2 podcasts (5 people in all).
Which podcasts mention Ishmael the most?
Timcast IRL (10 episodes) and Behind the Bastards (1 episode).
Is Ishmael recommended, or only discussed?
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn was recommended in 0 episodes and discussed without a recommendation in 11 episodes, as of 2026-09-05.
What do people say about Ishmael?
Tim Pool on Timcast IRL (2022-03-10): "Ishmael's a psychic gorilla that's talking to the student Tom in the book, there's givers and there's takers and humanity's divided amongst them."
When was Ishmael last mentioned on a podcast?
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn was last discussed on Behind the Bastards by Andrew Sage on 2026-09-05.
What they say about it
- Psychic gorilla narrator5
- Inspiration for merchandise“made a shirts that I am a gorilla”5
- Read it long ago“read it in like 2007”3
The best things said about it
The author Daniel Quinn in his book Ishmael had made a point that tribes can be defined not by Hunter and Catherine or ethnicity, but as a social organization that allows people to make a living together.
This guy was like seeking the meaning of life, he finds this gorilla who has telepathic powers and talks to him telepathically.
The point was in this book the gorilla is basically a psychic gorilla.
We made a shirts that I am a gorilla in reference to the book ishmail which is narrated by a gorilla and a bunch of leftists started claiming that our shirts were racist.
I read it in like 2007 and I was buying into all of it.
Thank you very much for those that are Josh for sending me a copy of Ishmael.
Where and when it comes up
How it comes up
5 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is a philosophical novel that uses a telepathic gorilla to explore human civilization, environmental impact, and the societal divide between givers and takers. The book has drawn various discussions across multiple podcast episodes. On Behind the Bastards in September 2026, Andrew Sage brought up Quinn's work to discuss alternative definitions of tribes as social organizations enabling people to make a living together. On Timcast IRL, the book was frequently referenced in connection with previous guest Alex Jones. In January 2025, Tim Pool recalled Jones talking about the psychic gorilla, noting that the reference inspired a gorilla t-shirt on the Timcast store bearing the phrase I am a gorilla. Elijah Schaffer and Ian Crossland also addressed the t-shirt controversy in 2024, noting that leftists had falsely claimed the gorilla merchandise was racist. In February 2027, Ian Crossland discussed reading Ishmael around 2007, reflecting on how he initially bought into its critique of human impact before viewing Jones's framing differently. Tim Pool mentioned the book in September 2023 and March 2022, noting its theories on human migration, civilization, and the psychological framework dividing humanity into givers and takers through the perspective of a talking student and gorilla.
Every mention
Tim Pool well because the it's based on this book called ishmael where this like spirit was in a spirit gorilla uh t… 5
“Alex Jones came on the show a few years ago was talking about that book ishmail yeah and that's why we have the shirt on the timcast store of the gorilla saying I am a gorilla because the the the point was in this book The Gorilla is basically a psychic gorilla I I never it's a great book I”
“there's this interesting theory from this book ishmail that i got where oh that book a long time ago yeah it's pretty close to talking gorilla”
“and then there's this book called ishmael alex jones came in and was talking he was like uh i'm a gorilla murderer you know and he's talking about like ishmael ishmael's a psychic gorilla that's talking to the student tom in the book there's givers and there's takers and humanity's divided amongst them”
“thank you very much for those that are josh for sending me a copy of ishmael for those that aren't familiar the meme i am a gorilla which we sell the shirt go to timcast.com click shop and you get your i am a gorilla t-shirt it's based off of alex jones saying this book ishmael is a psychic gorilla”
“well because the it's based on this book called ishmael where this like spirit was in a spirit gorilla uh this guy was like seeking the meaning of life he finds this gorilla who has telepathic powers and talks to him telepathically”
Ian Crossland that sounds a lot like ishmail that book that Alex Jones quotes about the gorilla who psychic gorilla is li… 2
“that sounds a lot like ishmail that book that Alex Jones quotes about the gorilla who psychic gorilla is like I'm a gorilla”
“yeah i read ishmael am i supposed to talk about that right now it was like it was like 12 years ago”
Andrew Sage The author Daniel Quinn in his book Ishmael had made a point that tribes can be defined not by Hunter and C… 1
“The author Daniel Quinn in his book Ishmael had made a point that tribes can be defined not by Hunter and Catherine or ethnicity, but as a social organization that allows people to make a living together.”
Elijah Schaffer we made a shirts that I am a gorilla in reference to the book ishmail which is narrated by a gorilla and a… 1
“we made a shirts that I am a gorilla in reference to the book ishmail which is narrated by a gorilla and a bunch of leftists started claiming that our shirts were racist”
Luke Rudkowski It's a reference to the book ishmael and we've reappropriated the meme so that it's immagrilla 1
“It's a reference to the book ishmael and we've reappropriated the meme so that it's immagrilla”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker4
“Alex Jones came on the show and kept saying I am a gorilla because of because of that book ishmail and so we we made the meme like we haven't really it's it's it's been a long time but we had the shirts and it's the gorilla going I am a gorilla and then people were calling us racists for”
“that ishmail that whole book of ishmail I read it in like 2007 and I I was buying into all of it now the way Alex was like the book's telling you like the gorilla's like uh humans are bad I'm a bad I'm a gorilla kill like he's like it's about like you're so bad being a human like”
“Well because the it's based on this book called ishmael where this like spirit was in a spirit gorilla”
“yeah i read ishmael am i supposed to talk about that right now It was like it was like 12 years ago Ishmael is the book where the gorilla comes from these the gorillas called ishmael”
Other mentions (4: passing, ad reads, own books)
“Psychic gorilla! Ishmael, we should get here!”
“there's the uh uh ishmael book”
“it was the ishmael book yeah but that was alex jones saying it on this show”
“ishmael tim have you thought of starting a book club”