Book · 1989 · Public spaces
The Great Good Place
- episodes
- 7
- podcasts
- 6
- people
- 6
- episodes recommend it
- 2
Ray Oldenburg, who wrote The Great Good Place and talked about the loss of third places, so home being the first place, work being the second place, and we used to have all of these third places to which we would go, like bowling leagues or churches or pubs.
Questions about The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg
Who recommends The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg on podcasts?
Ben Bowlin (1 episode) and Ryan Holiday (1 episode) have recommended The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg on podcasts. In all, 6 people brought it up across 6 podcasts (2 people recommended it).
Which podcasts mention The Great Good Place the most?
No Stupid Questions (2 episodes), Behind the Bastards (1 episode), EconTalk (1 episode), Invest Like the Best (1 episode) and Stuff They Don't Want You To Know (1 episode), among 6 podcasts in all.
Is The Great Good Place recommended, or only discussed?
The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg was recommended in 2 episodes and discussed without a recommendation in 5 episodes, as of 2026-10-17.
What do people say about The Great Good Place?
Mentioned on No Stupid Questions (2023-11-26): "Ray Oldenburg, who wrote The Great Good Place and talked about the loss of third places, so home being the first place, work being the second place, and we used to have all of these third places to which we would go, like bowling leagues or churches or pubs."
When was The Great Good Place last mentioned on a podcast?
The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg was last recommended on The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday on 2026-10-17.
What they say about it
- Discusses loss of third places“talked about the loss of third places”4
The best things said about it
American sociologist Ray Oldenburg presents a captivating notion for a balanced and fulfilling life, a harmony among the three spheres, the home, the workplace, and the realm of third places.
I read the book, The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg, which was written in the eighties, where he actually talks about this and starts to put labels and words to describe the concepts of how these third places work.
The actual book and its concepts do deserve further scrutiny and in my view radicalization.
Where and when it comes up
Most episodes, by podcast
6 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg is a sociological examination of informal public gathering spaces that foster community life outside the home and workplace. Ryan Holiday mentioned reading the book on The Daily Stoic when discussing the importance of physical communal environments like bookstores and coffee shops. On Behind the Bastards, Andrew Sage introduced Oldenburg's 1989 work to explain the balance among home, work, and third places, while also offering a critique of the framework's treatment of labor, gender, and ownership. On No Stupid Questions, Mike Maughan and the host discussed the book in relation to adult friendship and the historical decline of civic environments such as churches, bowling leagues, and public spaces. Concurrently, other hosts and guests, including Ben Bowlin and Russ Roberts, briefly touched upon the unrelated television comedy series bearing a similar name during discussions of philosophy and karma.
Every mention
Ben Bowlin If you haven't seen the excellent um comedy, philosophical comedy, The Good Place, please do check it out. 1
“If you haven't seen the excellent um comedy, philosophical comedy, The Good Place, please do check it out.”
Ryan Holiday So I read this book called The Great Good Place. Did you read this? You didn't read The Great Good Place? 1
“So I read this book called The Great Good Place. Did you read this? You didn't read The Great Good Place?”
Mike Maughan Ray oldenberg who wrote The Great good place and talked about the loss of third places 2
“Ray oldenberg who wrote The Great good place and talked about the loss of third places”
“I knew you were going to either invoke Bob Putnam or Ray Oldenburg who wrote The Great good place and talked about the loss of third places so home being the first place work being the second place and we used to have all of these third places to which we would go like bowling leagues or churches or pubs”
Andrew Sage In his seinal work, The Great Good Place, published 1989, American sociologist Ray Olenberg presents a capt… 1
“In his seinal work, The Great Good Place, published 1989, American sociologist Ray Olenberg presents a captivating notion for a balanced and fulfilling life, a harmony among the three spheres, the home, the workplace, and the realm of third places.”
“But despite my critique of how some people have been running with the term third places, I think the actual book and its concepts do deserve further scrutiny and in my view radicalization.”
Jason Citron And I read the book, The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg, which was written in the eighties, where he act… 1
“And I read the book, The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg, which was written in the eighties, where he actually talks about this and starts to put labels and words to describe the concepts of how these third places work.”
Russ Roberts in the series, TV series, The Good Place, a show I enjoyed immensely, one of the characters Chidi is a phil… 1
“in the series, TV series, The Good Place, a show I enjoyed immensely, one of the characters Chidi is a philosopher in the show and he is forced through a snap of the fingers to find he finds himself in a trolley barreling down on some workers.”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker2
“I knew you were going to either invoke Bob Putnam or Ray Oldenburg, who wrote The Great Good Place and talked about the loss of third places, so home being the first place, work being the second place, and we used to have all of these third places to which we would go, like bowling leagues or churches or pubs”
“I knew you were going to either invoke Bob Putnam or Ray Oldenburg, who wrote *The Great Good Place* and talked about the loss of third places, so home being the first place, work being the second place, and we used to have all of these third places to which we would go like bowling leagues or churches, or pubs,”