Book · 2026 · Philosophy
Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings
(When) Do Leaders Matter?
- mentions
- 13
- people
- 4
- podcasts
- 3
- episodes
- 3
- critical mentions
- 0
Today, we discuss topics related to Jared's most recent book, which is about leaders and leadership. It is entitled Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings.
Andrew Huberman · Huberman Lab · Oct 2026 What they say about it
- Compares to Guns Germs and Steel“error term for Guns, Germs, and Steel”3
- Discusses book about leaders“about leaders and leadership”2
The best things said about it
I'm super excited about Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings, When Do Leaders Matter? Today's conversation only makes me more excited about it.
Andrew Huberman Huberman Lab · Oct 2026 Your book starts off talking about Hitler, which, for the vast majority of people alive, is considered one of the darkest leaders ever. Tell us about Hitler and what you learned about him that perhaps can inform how we think about leadership more generally.
Andrew Huberman Huberman Lab · Oct 2026 That's why my book uses a different method, the method of natural experiments.
Are there traits shared by leaders? And I mentioned that there are different ways to be an effective leader.
Is it correct to think of your new book, again, Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings, as, in essence, the error term for Guns, Germs, and Steel?
Tyler Cowen Conversations with Tyler · Sep 2026 Where and when it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
4 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings by Jared Diamond is a leadership-focused exploration that uses natural experiments to analyze the profound impact of leaders throughout history. The book was the central subject of a dedicated episode of Huberman Lab, where host Andrew Huberman enthusiastically discussed its release and noted that the conversation only deepened his excitement for the work. Throughout the episode, Diamond engaged in a detailed discussion about the genesis of his leadership theories, contrasting this text with his earlier sociological works like Guns, Germs, and Steel. Diamond explained that the volume opens with a striking historical analysis of a near-fatal 1930 car crash involving Adolf Hitler three years before he became chancellor, using the event to unpack how seemingly minute accidents and natural experiments shape the trajectories of historical figures. Huberman and Diamond explored these thematic threads to uncover broader generalizations about what makes leaders effective and how human leadership truly functions across different eras.
Every mention
Andrew Huberman I'm super excited about Prophets, Prophets, Coaches and Kings, When Do Leaders Matter? Today's conversation… 5
Discussed
“Today, we discuss topics related to Jared's most recent book, which is about leaders and leadership. It is entitled Prophets, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings.”
Discussed
“And I'm going to resist the temptation to ask about the topics in each of all of your books and mainly focus on your book, which is Prophets, phonetically the same, but Prophets as in making Prophets and Prophets as in who become Prophets and what they are. Coaches and Kings.”
Discussed
“But your book starts off talking about Hitler, which, for the vast majority of people alive, is considered one of the darkest leaders ever. Tell us about Hitler and what you learned about him that perhaps can inform how we think about leadership more generally.”
Discussed
“So we talked about political leaders, religious leaders, sports. You said there's a fourth category that you cover in your book. So we got political leaders, business leaders, sports leaders, and religious.”
Recommended
“I'm super excited about Prophets, Prophets, Coaches and Kings, When Do Leaders Matter? Today's conversation only makes me more excited about it.”
Jared Diamond My book begins—the first paragraph of my book is about a car accident in 1930, three years before Hitler be… 6
Discussed
“My book begins—the first paragraph of my book is about a car accident in 1930, three years before Hitler became chancellor, when his limousine, driven by a chauffeur, was driving into an intersection in Germany.”
Discussed
“That's why my book uses a different method, the method of natural experiments.”
Discussed
“There are generalizations that I came to in writing about leaders. But I would say, just as background, people often ask me, Jared, your book about leaders now seems to be the opposite of guns, germs, and steel.”
Discussed
“It's that I'm looking at completely different sorts of questions now in Prophets, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings compared to Guns, Germs, and Steel.”
Discussed
“Who in your mind stood out as important enough to feature prominently in the book? In the book, I have two chapters on religious leaders.”
Discussed
“Here's another reason. Are there traits shared by leaders? And I mentioned that there are different ways to be an effective leader. Charisma, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. In, I think it was the third chapter of my book, I have a table in which I pull together 22 outstanding political leaders”
Joe Rogan And uh I just got into this yesterday uh and today I I started reading your new book. 1
Discussed
“And uh I just got into this yesterday uh and today I I started reading your new book.”
Tyler Cowen Is it correct to think of your new book, again, Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings, as, in essence, the… 1
Discussed
“Is it correct to think of your new book, again, Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings, as, in essence, the error term for Guns, Germs, and Steel?”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
Passing
“To learn more about his work and his recent book, Prophets, Prophets, Coaches and Kings, please see the links in the show note caption.”
Plugged
“He has a new and notable book out called Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter?”
Plugged
“Before my last question, let me just plug your book again. It is called Profits, P-R-O-F-I-T-S, Prophets, P-R-O-P-H-E-T-S, Coaches, and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter?”