Book · 2026 · Drama
THE PLAGUE
- mentions
- 17
- people
- 11
- podcasts
- 6
- episodes
- 16
- recommendations
- 2
We learn in times of pestilence that there's more to admire in men than to despise and I love that.
What they say about it
- Discusses as allegory“Nazi allegory novel”2
- Mentions high sales“bestseller for obvious reasons”2
The best things said about it
Plus there's a book I recommend people read is um by Albert Camus called the plague that he wrote right after World War two is I don't know if you know if he is he's like an existentialist philosopher.
Lex Fridman The Joe Rogan Experience · Apr 2020 Oh, it's the difficult first album of of the outsider and and it's it's and it is, you know, I I've I like the mythosis partly because it's so counterintuitive, but some of his later works, things like The Plague, The Plague is an amazing novel. It sort of is it it became like a bestseller for obvious reasons.
It was i decided to reread camous the plague oh yeah that's a great book it's a great book and it's right now to read it it's fine i think that book is about love.
Uh his book the plague which i find unreadable is an allegory about you know germany conquering france and so on and so forth.
Well I'm always a fan of publishing history and so it was interesting and fun to learn about the reaction of readers that Koff the American publisher that uh was actually really eager to acquire the plague Kimo's uh you know Nazi allegory novel.
Where and when it comes up
Mentions per year
1
6
3
4
2
1
How it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
11 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
The Plague by Albert Camus is a classic existentialist novel that uses the allegorical setting of a city struck by a deadly epidemic to explore profound themes of human suffering, absurdism, collective responsibility, and resilience. The work has been frequently analyzed and recommended across various podcasts. On the Lex Fridman Podcast, Sheldon Solomon enthusiastically quoted the novel's famous final line regarding the enduring capacity to admire human beings during times of crisis. Lex Fridman also recommended the book to Joe Rogan, emphasizing Camus's background as an existentialist philosopher and highlighting the novel's deep relevance to navigating suffering and love. Ryan Holiday discussed the book on The Daily Stoic alongside The Fall as a striking and essential work for understanding modern anxieties. Alex O'Connor explored the novel on Modern Wisdom as a brilliant later achievement in Camus's literary career that naturally attracted widespread readership. Furthermore, Jeffrey Toobin mentioned on The Book Review that he and a group of peers read the novel during the COVID-19 pandemic for obvious thematic reasons, while John Williams discussed the fascinating publishing history surrounding the American acquisition of Camus's allegorical text. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared a poignant personal memory on The Joe Rogan Experience, recalling how his father gave him a copy of Camus's writing during a period of deep personal reassessment following the death of his uncle.
Every mention
Lex Fridman plus there's a book I recommend people read is um by Albert Camus called the plague that he wrote right aft… 6
Discussed
“Of course, "The Trial" is a work of fiction, but I think it is often useful to go to the surreal world of literature, even of the over-the-top dystopian variety like "1984," "Animal Farm," "Brave New World," "The Trial," "The Castle," "Metamorphosis," even "The Plague" by Albert Camus...”
Discussed
“You've talked shit about "The Plague" to me a little bit.”
Discussed
“So you mentioned "The Plague," by Camus. There's a lot of different ways to read that book,”
Discussed
“have you read the plague by kamu by any chance years ago years ago i have to read it again”
Discussed
“or reading the plague by Camus like almost kind of telling narratives and stories”
Recommended
“plus there's a book I recommend people read is um by Albert Camus called the plague that he wrote right after World War two is I don't know if you know if he is he's like an existentialist philosopher”
Sheldon Solomon i will tell you the last line of the plague we learn in times of pestilence that there's more to admire in… 1
Recommended
“i will tell you the last line of the plague we learn in times of pestilence that there's more to admire in men than to despise and i love that”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. my father gave me a book and the book was a book by Camu um who was one of his favorite writer my father af… 2
Discussed
“kind of as a parable that, and it's the same lesson that I think, he writes about in "The Plague," where we're all given these insurmountable tasks, in our lives, but that by doing our duty,”
Discussed
“my father gave me a book and the book was a book by Camu um who was one of his favorite writer my father after my uncle's death went through a period of kind of reassessment of his own sort of relationship with God and with the Catholic church and religion”
Adam Skolnick i just finished a little light reading it's plague by albert camus 1
Discussed
“i just finished a little light reading it's plague by albert camus”
Alex O’Connor Oh, it's the difficult first album of of the outsider and and it's it's and it is, you know, I I've I like… 1
Discussed
“Oh, it's the difficult first album of of the outsider and and it's it's and it is, you know, I I've I like the mythosis partly because it's so counterintuitive, but some of his later works, things like The Plague, The Plague is an amazing novel. It sort of is it it became like a bestseller for obvious reasons.”
Barry Barish it was i decided to reread camous the plague oh yeah that's a great book it's a great book and it's right n… 1
Discussed
“it was i decided to reread camous the plague oh yeah that's a great book it's a great book and it's right now to read it it's fine i think that book is about love”
Jeffrey Toobin I read the plague by cimu because a group of us you know for obvious reasons were reading that 1
Discussed
“I read the plague by cimu because a group of us you know for obvious reasons were reading that”
John Williams well I'm always a fan of publishing history and so it was interesting and fun to learn about the reaction o… 1
Discussed
“well I'm always a fan of publishing history and so it was interesting and fun to learn about the reaction of readers that Koff the American publisher that uh was actually really eager to acquire the plague Kimo's uh you know Nazi allegory novel”
Massimo Pigliucci one of the best-selling books is canoes the plague not surprisingly right 1
Discussed
“one of the best-selling books is canoes the plague not surprisingly right”
Michael Malice uh his book the plague which i find unreadable is an allegory about you know germany conquering france and… 1
Critiqued
“uh his book the plague which i find unreadable is an allegory about you know germany conquering france and so on and so forth”
Ryan Holiday Well I think both The Fall and The Plague are two striking books for this moment. 1
Discussed
“Well I think both The Fall and The Plague are two striking books for this moment.”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
Passing
“It's funny because I I couldn't bring myself to read Camus' The Plague, but I did decide to pick up The Road...”