Book · 2014 · Fiction
The Martian
A Novel
The Martian by Andy Weir has been mentioned in 19 episodes across 10 podcasts (2 episodes recommend it and 17 episodes discuss it), through . Most frequently brought up by Jason Calacanis (2 episodes), Gary Marcus (1 episode) and Neil deGrasse Tyson (5 episodes) on StarTalk Radio (6 episodes), The Book Review (3 episodes) and The Joe Rogan Experience (2 episodes).
#211 of 17,175 books, ranked by how many different people bring it up on podcasts
- episodes
- 19
- podcasts
- 10
- people
- 14
- episodes recommend it
- 2
And then I'll recommend a fiction book which is the Martian which is a wonderful page Turner.
Questions about The Martian by Andy Weir
Who recommends The Martian by Andy Weir on podcasts?
Jason Calacanis (1 episode) and Gary Marcus (1 episode) have recommended The Martian by Andy Weir on podcasts. In all, 14 people brought it up across 10 podcasts (2 people recommended it).
Which podcasts mention The Martian the most?
StarTalk Radio (6 episodes), The Book Review (3 episodes), The Joe Rogan Experience (2 episodes), This Week in Startups (2 episodes) and Conversations with Tyler (1 episode), among 10 podcasts in all.
Is The Martian recommended, or only discussed?
The Martian by Andy Weir was recommended in 2 episodes and discussed without a recommendation in 17 episodes, as of 2026-09-30.
What do people say about The Martian?
Gary Marcus on The Ezra Klein Show (2023-02-17): "And then I'll recommend a fiction book which is the Martian which is a wonderful page Turner."
When was The Martian last mentioned on a podcast?
The Martian by Andy Weir was last discussed on How I Write by Andy Weir on 2026-09-30.
What they say about it
- Compares with Project Hail Mary“Project Hail Mary”3
- Discusses author Andy Weir“author of the science fiction novel”2
The best things said about it
On the fiction tip I really like The Martian and the follow-up to that Project Hail Mary came out from Andy Weir.
Jason Calacanis This Week in Startups · Dec 2021 From The Martian to Project Hail Mary, his stories are built on real physics, real constraints, and clever problem solving.
Neil deGrasse Tyson StarTalk Radio · Apr 2026 You might know Andy as author of the science fiction novel The Martian, a story about an astronaut who gets stuck on Mars and has to figure out how to get home.
Andy Weir's first book The Martian didn't involve alien life, it was human life on Mars.
Neil deGrasse Tyson StarTalk Radio · May 2021 Where and when it comes up
How it comes up
14 people who brought it up
- Jason Calacanis2 episodes · recommended in 1
- Gary Marcus1 episode · recommended in 1
- Neil deGrasse Tyson5 episodes
Andy Weir2 episodes- Alexandra Alter1 episode
- Garrett Reisman1 episode
- Gilbert Cruz1 episode
- Greg Cowles1 episode
Iliza Shlesinger1 episode
Joe Rogan1 episode- Kelly Haston1 episode
- Lee Cronin1 episode
Why people recommend it
The Martian by Andy Weir is a gripping science fiction survival novel about an astronaut stranded on Mars who must use ingenuity and hard science to stay alive. Gary Marcus recommended the novel on The Ezra Klein Show as a wonderful page-turner, and Jason Calacanis praised it on This Week in Startups while discussing his holiday reading plans alongside Weir's subsequent book, Project Hail Mary. During an interview on How I Write, Andy Weir reflected on the creation of the novel, explaining that he deliberately chose personal stakes focused on a single person's life, based the protagonist Mark Watney's personality directly on his own, and began writing the story as a hobby while working as an engineer. Neil deGrasse Tyson discussed the book on StarTalk Radio, highlighting its massive commercial success, its film adaptation starring Matt Damon, and its reliance on real physics and rigorous problem-solving. Finally, Gilbert Cruz introduced Weir on The Book Review by summarizing the premise of the astronaut left behind on the red planet. Across these episodes, the speakers celebrated the novel as a masterclass in hard science fiction that prioritizes clever engineering and human resilience over mystical elements or space fantasy.
Every mention
Jason Calacanis i on the on the fiction tip i really like the martian and the follow-up to that project hail mary came out… 2
Discussed
“and then the Martian I remember Andy Weir who I had on the program and he he lived in San Jose at the time and so I went to his house and we did an interview”
Recommended
“i on the on the fiction tip i really like the martian and the follow-up to that project hail mary came out from andy weir i just bought it that's my holiday reading it's uh it's great”
Gary Marcus and then I'll recommend a fiction book which is the Martian which is a wonderful page Turner 1
Recommended
“and then I'll recommend a fiction book which is the Martian which is a wonderful page Turner”
Neil deGrasse Tyson From The Martian, a best-selling book. Which became a best A very popular movie. A hit. A hit movie. A hit… 5
Discussed
“From The Martian, a best-selling book. Which became a best A very popular movie. A hit. A hit movie. A hit movie. A hit movie with all kinds of marquee actors in it.”
Discussed
“From The Martian to Project Hail Mary, his stories are built on real physics, real constraints, and clever problem solving.”
Discussed
“We learned from Mark Wattney in the movie The Martian that you you just just slap some poop in there and and put a little seed in it.”
Discussed
“let's let's go straight to poop potatoes which were famously grown on the surface of mars during the movie the martian”
Discussed
“so so david andy weir's first book the martian didn't involve alien life it was human life on mars so with the clever title the martian the martian was humans on mars”
Discussed
“and we're featuring my interview with andy weir author of the martian book he wrote six seven years ago uh we all most of us saw the film but it has a latest book called project hail mary”
Discussed
“and if the highest compliment I ever got was Andy weir who wrote the Martian he said to himself while he was writing the novel”
Andy Weir Before I I tend to like personal stakes like in um The Martian, it was one guy's life. 2
Discussed
“Before I I tend to like personal stakes like in um The Martian, it was one guy's life.”
Discussed
“The Martian, Mark Wattney, is just my personality. Just straight up me on Mars.”
Discussed
“Even after The Martian was successful and in theaters, I was still working at my uh engineering job because I liked it. Anyway, um so I started working on The Martian um just because I I came up with the idea of like I was, oh, how could it, you know, you know, the mission to Mars and something goes”
Discussed
“Well, at the time that I wrote The Martian, I I had a full-time job, but I also had no social life, no friends, no girlfriend.”
Discussed
“because The Martian I was an excited observerance. And I I look at the movie The Martian I say like, they did a really good job with this.”
Alexandra Alter among the nominations are um Brooklyn by col toyin The Big Short by Michael Lewis room by Emma Donahue whic… 1
Discussed
“among the nominations are um Brooklyn by col toyin The Big Short by Michael Lewis room by Emma Donahue which is a really sort of chilling novel and a hard one to adapt and the Martian by Andy Weir and the Revenant which is based on U Michael pun's 2002 novel about a frontiersmen that actually picked up 12 nominations”
Garrett Reisman there was a I met the author the guy that wrote anyway the guy that wrote the book and I told him that I re… 1
Discussed
“there was a I met the author the guy that wrote anyway the guy that wrote the book and I told him that I really didn't like his book”
Gilbert Cruz You might know Andy as author of the science fiction novel The Martian, a story about an astronaut who gets… 1
Discussed
“You might know Andy as author of the science fiction novel The Martian, a story about an astronaut who gets stuck on Mars and has to figure out how to get home.”
Discussed
“You know, you had this big hit with the The Martian and then you have a thing you didn't have with The Martian, which was expectations.”
Discussed
“So much of what Ryland has to do in Project Hail Mary and what Mark has to do in The Martian, it is about problem-solving...”
Discussed
“And I know you have talked about isolation appearing in The Martian and Project Hail Mary.”
Greg Cowles number one is the Martian by Andy Weir that is the basis of that movie 1
Discussed
“number one is the Martian by Andy Weir that is the basis of that movie”
Iliza Shlesinger okay this one's is the Martian based on a true story I'm just kidding I'm not authorized to answer that I s… 1
Discussed
“okay this one's is the Martian based on a true story I'm just kidding I'm not authorized to answer that I saw that movie and I was like I guarantee if I tweet this people will be like oh my god I thought so I read the book alright”
Joe Rogan you know that movie is really pretty good good movie yeah yeah there was a I met the author the guy that wr… 1
Discussed
“you know that movie is really pretty good good movie yeah yeah there was a I met the author the guy that wrote anyway the guy that wrote the book and I told him that I really didn't like his book [Laughter] yeah he's like why was it because like there's not really enough dynamic pressure in a Martian windstorm”
Kelly Haston we did not watch The Martian, but I I had read the book already and one person read the book while we were in 1
Discussed
“we did not watch The Martian, but I I had read the book already and one person read the book while we were in”
Lee Cronin so i'm i think exotic life will be very kind of exotic but not completely outrageous i don't know if you kn… 1
Discussed
“so i'm i think exotic life will be very kind of exotic but not completely outrageous i don't know if you know the book by andy weir the the hail mary”
Nick Bare I listened to uh The Martian, Andy Weir's uh the sci-fi 1
Discussed
“I listened to uh The Martian, Andy Weir's uh the sci-fi”
Patrick O'Shaughnessy One of my favorite stories about the role of internet community and actually creating and succeeding with a… 1
Discussed
“One of my favorite stories about the role of internet community and actually creating and succeeding with aiding a creative endeavor at the highest levels is The Martian. Have you seen like obviously Matt Damon, Blockbuster movie, but-”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker2
Discussed
“Andy Weir the Martian”
Speaker Conversations with Tyler Conversations with Tyler 2024 Retrospective 2024-12-25 Listen at 44:19
Discussed
“So that was like for a— Did you watch the movie The Martian? We did not watch The Martian, but I had read the book already! And one person read the book while we were in!”
Other mentions (20: passing, ad reads, own books)
Passing
“Andy Weir's on the show today who's famous for books like Project Hail Mary and The Martian.”
Passing
“And they're growing they're growing crops like Matt Damon in The Martian.”
Passing
“It's Project Hail Mary uh by Andy Weir. He's a guy who wrote The Martian.”
Passing
“Uh it's the same author that wrote wrote Martian. Uh Martian also was made into a movie.”
Passing
“not hugely surprising because the Martian was such a huge hit our reviewer enk jemson who does our science fiction column points out he's maybe better on screen than he is as a bookwriter”
Passing
“to Andy wear's the Martian which for those of you who haven't read it it's told entirely through the logs of an astronaut who's stranded”
Passing
“he's the guy who wrote The Martian which became the movie with Matt Damon stranded on Mars”
Passing
“just I'm just saying we've had Andy Weir as a guest on Star Talk and he would want you to call him Mark Watney”
Passing
“I'm just saying we've had Andy Weir as a guest on Star Talk, and he would want you to call him Mark Watney! Mark Watney!”
Passing
“a copy of the Martian by Andy Weir on a table sitting in front of a TV screen”
Passing
“books that might be similar that that people might have read would be the Martian”
Passing
“So okay, whatever the soil is, as of now it probably isn't very fertile; you know, because it doesn't have organics from the book and movie, The Martian.”
Passing
“martian the movie two hours thank you”
Passing
“He's the author of the martian”
Passing
“and in fact you might need those to beam signals back to earth the way uh matt damon mark watney yeah his name mark watney yeah yeah yeah so you need those”
Passing
“um by the guy who did the martian who wrote the martian mm-hmm you know matt damon no the book”
Passing
“it's not going to be that easy as easy as growing a whole plot of potatoes like in the movie The Martian you know or something”
Passing
“think of the martian as an example of the you know a movie right he took a person and put him in a completely different situation and he just figured it out”
Passing
“well starting to think that like hey we know we all just read the Martian or watched a movie”
Passing
“he's of course the author of The Martian which was a massive besteller a book that he started off by self-publishing”