Book · 1916
The Idiot
The Idiot by Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский has been mentioned in 20 episodes across 5 podcasts (6 episodes recommend it and 14 episodes discuss it), through . Most frequently brought up by Lex Fridman (9 episodes), Jordan Peterson (6 episodes) and Barry Barish (1 episode) on Lex Fridman Podcast (12 episodes), The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast (4 episodes) and The Book Review (2 episodes).
- episodes
- 20
- podcasts
- 5
- people
- 9
- episodes recommend it
- 6
You should read The Idiot by Dostoevsky by instinct. I love being naive and seeing the world from a hopeful perspective, from an optimistic perspective.
Lex Fridman · Lex Fridman Podcast · Feb 2021 Listen at 1:25:43 Questions about The Idiot by Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский
Who recommends The Idiot by Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский on podcasts?
Lex Fridman (4 episodes), Jordan Peterson (1 episode) and Barry Barish (1 episode) have recommended The Idiot by Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский on podcasts. In all, 9 people brought it up across 5 podcasts (3 people recommended it).
Which podcasts mention The Idiot the most?
Lex Fridman Podcast (12 episodes), The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast (4 episodes), The Book Review (2 episodes), The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett (1 episode) and The Jordan Harbinger Show (1 episode).
Is The Idiot recommended, or only discussed?
The Idiot by Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский was recommended in 6 episodes and discussed without a recommendation in 14 episodes, as of 2025-10-14.
What do people say about The Idiot?
Lex Fridman on Lex Fridman Podcast (2021-02-05): "You should read The Idiot by Dostoevsky by instinct. I love being naive and seeing the world from a hopeful perspective, from an optimistic perspective."
When was The Idiot last mentioned on a podcast?
The Idiot by Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский was last discussed on Lex Fridman Podcast by Julia Shaw on 2025-10-14.
What they say about it
- Calls it a favorite book“one of my favorite novels”7
- Identifies with Prince Myshkin“identified with the ideas represented by Prince Myshkin”7
- Praises character optimism and naivety“being naive and trusting everybody”5
- Quotes beauty will save the world“beauty will save the world”4
- Views protagonist as Christ figure“an analog of Christ”3
The best things said about it
Frankly I see myself in these conversations as the main character for one of my favorite novels badesti husky called the idiot.
Lex Fridman Lex Fridman Podcast · Feb 2020 For the longest time, The Idiot was my favorite book, because I identified with the ideas represented by Prince Myshkin.
Jordan Peterson Lex Fridman Podcast · Aug 2022 He does the same thing in his book The Idiot which is about a prince who's an analog of Christ who is a holy fool and and who people have some pity for but he's a he's a very good person.
Jordan Peterson The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast · Dec 2024 Dostoevsky wrote in The Idiot, spoken through the character of Prince Myshkin, that beauty will save the world.
Lex Fridman Lex Fridman Podcast · Aug 2022 The idiot for example it the idiot's a very interesting book because and and you see this in in other another bits of dostoevsky's work as well is that his his most ethical characters can lose every argument with rationalists and still be better men.
Jordan Peterson The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast · Jan 2022 My favorite novel of his is The Idiot. First of all, I see myself as the idiot and an idiot, and I love the optimism and the love the main character has for the world.
Lex Fridman Lex Fridman Podcast · Sep 2021 Where and when it comes up
How it comes up
Most episodes, by podcast
9 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a profound 19th-century Russian novel that follows the compassionate, innocent, and deeply misunderstood Prince Myshkin as he navigates the cynical and corrupt high society of St. Petersburg. Lex Fridman recommended the book multiple times on the Lex Fridman Podcast, suggesting listeners adopt an optimistic, naive perspective like the protagonist and noting that he often sees himself in podcast conversations as the novel's main character. The book has also inspired rich commentary and discussion among various guests. Julia Shaw referenced Prince Myshkin on the podcast to illustrate a character comparison, while Sadie Stein recalled on The Book Review how much she loved reading the difficult Russian classic in high school. Jordan Peterson discussed the novel on The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett and his own podcast, describing the protagonist as an analog of Christ and a holy fool whose goodness transcends intellectual arguments, while also playfully admitting he might be half idiot himself. Gilbert Cruz talked to Elif Batuman on The Book Review about naming a book after the Dostoevsky novel, and Lex Fridman referenced the famous Dostoevsky line that beauty will save the world while speaking with Neri Oxman.
Every mention
Lex Fridman Dostoyevski said, "Beauty will save the world" in "The Idiot," one of my favorite books of his. What is bea… 9
“Dostoyevski said, "Beauty will save the world" in "The Idiot," one of my favorite books of his. What is beauty to you?”
“I think of uh Prince mishkin character from uh The Idiot by uh Dostoevsky is this kind of a perfectly purely naive character”
“The idiot by Dostoyevsky being naive and trusting everybody, maybe that's what- - Well, then you get lucky.”
“Dostoevsky wrote in 'The Idiot,' spoken through the character of Prince Myshkin, that beauty will save the world.”
“dostoevsky wrote in the idiot my favor of his books through the main character prince mishkin that beauty will save the world these words seemingly naive and ultimately at least to me profound what do they mean to you”
“so my favorite novel of his is uh the idiot first of all i see myself as the idiot and an idiot and i love the optimism and the love the main character has for the world so that just deeply connects with me as a novel”
“you should read the idiot by dostoevsky by instinct um i love being naive and seeing the world from a hopeful perspective from an optimistic perspective”
“again i strive to be like the main character of the idiot by dostoyevsky that's my new year's resolution”
“frankly I see myself in these conversations as the main character for one of my favorite novels badesti husky called the idiot”
Jordan Peterson and that one was definitive and i almost graduated to that one because for the longest time the idiot was m… 6
“do you ever read the idiot no yeah well I'm probably half idiot and half rol nikov”
“he does the same thing in his book The Idiot which is about a prince who's an analog of Christ who is a holy fool and and who people have some pity for but he's a he's a very good person”
“and Dostoevsky also explores that in the idiot because that's Prince Michigan right it is the Christ analog for all this purposes right”
“well that's and that's really the theme in some profound sense both of the brothers karamazov and of the idiot”
“dostoevsky wrote in the idiot spoken through the character of prince mishkin that beauty will save the world”
“and that one was definitive and i almost graduated to that one because for the longest time the idiot was my favorite book”
“I almost graduated to that one because for the longest time, The Idiot was my favorite book, because I identified with the ideas represented by Prince Myshkin.”
“the idiot for example it the idiot's a very interesting book because and and you see this in in other another bits of dostoevsky's work as well is that his his most ethical characters can lose every argument with rationalists and still be better men”
Barry Barish i mean one of my favorite books of his is the idiot and his which is a christ-like figure in there well the… 1
“i mean one of my favorite books of his is the idiot and his which is a christ-like figure in there well there's prince miskin”
Gilbert Cruz so you've named this book also after ad dovi novel is it in your mind a modern interpretation of the idiot… 1
“so you've named this book also after ad dovi novel is it in your mind a modern interpretation of the idiot actually the the way the title came about was I was working on a another autobiographical type novel”
Julia Shaw I'm sometimes like a Prince Myshkin character from The Idiot by Dostoevsky, where you just see... 1
“I'm sometimes like a Prince Myshkin character from The Idiot by Dostoevsky, where you just see...”
Michael Malice so i often think about i just recently reread the idiot by destiusky 1
“so i often think about i just recently reread the idiot by destiusky”
Nadya Tolokonnikova but the problem with all of that is that dostoyevsky pointed it out in idiot 1
“but the problem with all of that is that dostoyevsky pointed it out in idiot”
Sadie Stein we read The Idiot in high school by Doski, which is this, you know, difficult Russian literature, but he I… 1
“we read The Idiot in high school by Doski, which is this, you know, difficult Russian literature, but he I just remember loving it.”
Tim Urban Well, there is, I mean, with Dostoyevsky's 'The Idiot,' Prince Mishkin, and 'Brothers Karamazov,' there's A… 1
“Well, there is, I mean, with Dostoyevsky's 'The Idiot,' Prince Mishkin, and 'Brothers Karamazov,' there's Alyosha Karamazov, you err on the side of love and almost like a naive trust in other human beings.”
Often mentioned with
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“I think this life this world this our human civilization is beautiful and as dostoyevsky said beauty will save the world”
“And we did Dostoevsky's The Idiot. Right now we're reading Cousin Bette by Balzac.”
“and now let me leave you with some words from prince mishkin and the idiot by dostoyevsky beauty will save the world”