Episode · Modern Wisdom · 2026-07-02
Books mentioned on Black Holes, Denny’s Fist Fights & Japanese Handjob Culture - Rabbit Hole #4 - #1118
In the fourth installment of this new experimental format, we explore: - South Korea's government-funded looksmaxxing initiative. - Why everything you learned in school was probably false.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Five Ages of the Universe
The Five Ages of the Universe by Fred C.
Discussed“the dark era and that goes on that goes on for even longer. So the five the five stages of the un five ages of the universe sorry book from 1996 goes through this they had to come up with their own numbering convention”
Where to get it
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Four Thousand Weeks
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman is a counterintuitive productivity and time-management book that confronts the stark reality of human finitude, arguing that attempting to optimize every minute is futile and that embracing limitations is the key to a meaningful life.
Recommended“And there's also a really, this is like the Brit roll call here, but I think Oliver Burkeman is also one of your countrymen, wrote a great book called 4,000 weeks, which is tremendous. And one of the chapters is called cosmic insignificance therapy.”
Where to get it
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The Anxious Generation
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt is a preeminent exploration of how the great rewiring of childhood through smartphones and social media is driving an epidemic of mental illness among young people.
Discussed“You mentioned Anxious Generation. Happiness right last name.”
Where to get it
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The Happiness Hypothesis
Jonathan Haidt's The Happiness Hypothesis explores ancient wisdom and modern psychology to examine how different philosophies have understood human flourishing.
Discussed“You mentioned Anxious Generation. Happiness right last name. Yeah. H A I D T and Happiness Hypothesis is one of my favorite books of all time.”
Where to get it
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Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus
Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus by John Gray is a popular relationship guide that examines how differing communication styles and psychological traits can cause misunderstandings between the sexes.
Discussed“Have you ever heard of a book called Women Love and Relationships? No. No. Cuz nobody [ __ ] did. Right. So this book released I think it was in the 80s or the '90s. sold nothing. So he came along, changed the title and just jazzed it up a little bit to Men are from Mars, Women are from”
Where to get it
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Mate
Mate by Tucker Max and Geoffrey Miller is an evolutionary psychology-inspired dating and self-improvement guide designed to help men understand modern dating markets and become partners women actually want.
Recommended“So mine my my kind of go-to for this is a little bit niche, but it's Mate by Tucker Max and Jeffrey Miller. to become the man women want the evolutionary psychology inspired dating book for men.”
Where to get it
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Awareness
Awareness by Anthony De Mello is a spiritual and psychological self-help book that explores mindfulness, personal insight, and the process of observing one's own thinking patterns.
Recommended“awareness, Anthony Dlo. Anthony Dlo. Yeah. And it's got, you know, the subtitle is the perils and opportunities of reality. That's the better subtitle.”
Where to get it
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Don't Shoot the Dog
Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor is a classic guide to behavioral psychology and positive reinforcement training originally developed through the author's extensive experience as an aquatic mammal trainer.
Discussed“there's an amazing book called Don't Shoot the Dog, which has a terrible title. Maybe this is a good example of a book that failed, Don't Shoot the Dog, but it's written by this woman Karen Prior”
Where to get it
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Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by John Bankston explores the profound historical impact of the Mongol Empire on global infrastructure, the development of modern postal systems, and the establishment of religious freedom.
Recommended“there is a book I won't recommended to be by one of the I mean a name everybody would know there's a book called Genghaskhan in the making of the modern world it is remar from like modern postal systems to infrastructure to rel religious freedom”
Where to get it
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The Making of the Modern World
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford is a historical non-fiction book that explores the profound global impact of the Mongol Empire on trade, culture, and governance.
Recommended“there is a book I won't recommended to be by one of the I mean a name everybody would know there's a book called Genghaskhan in the making of the modern world it is remar from like modern postal systems to infrastructure to rel religious freedom”
Where to get it
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A Fraction of the Whole
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz is an expansive and humorous Australian fiction novel that follows an eccentric family through a series of wild adventures.
Recommended“So, I read it and it was so good. It was called A Fraction of the Hole by Steve Toltz. He's this Australian author. takes place in Australia and it is so funny and it's such an adventure and it's this just fantastic fiction book.”
Where to get it
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The Order of Time
The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli is a popular science book that explores the complex physics and philosophical nature of time.
Discussed“Something with time by by Carla Relli. The order of things. The order of time.”
Where to get it
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The Three-Body Problem
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu is an acclaimed Chinese science fiction novel that explores humanity's first contact with an alien civilization against the backdrop of historical political upheaval.
Discussed“And then um and then I um, more recently obviously I read the whole Three Body Problem trilogy which is by the way an example of one of those times when I couldn't do that either.”
Where to get it
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Dune
Dune by Frank Herbert is a landmark science fiction epic that weaves complex themes of politics, religion, ecology, and human potential across a sprawling desert planet.
Discussed“I've heard Dune I've never read Dune but I've heard that Dune goes real. So my problem is I just stuck with the first one. I read the first Dune. It was good.”
Where to get it
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Seveneves
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson is a sprawling science fiction epic that begins with the catastrophic destruction of the moon, forcing humanity to unite and repurpose the International Space Station into a refuge for the survival of the human race.
Recommended“Well, I mean, Seven Eves by Neil Stevenson, the moon explodes. In the first line, the first line of the book, the moon explodes. I love that.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“This is David Epste's new book, Inside the Box. really good.”
“a little bit like Game of Thron. They didn't name Game of Thrones: A Song of Fire and Ice, which is the actual title. They're like, "Game of thrones, the first book. That's going to be the title of the whole thing”
“um find out about Oblavv who I spoke last time my 400page Russian novel where a man spends the first 50 pages worrying about how he's gonna get out of bed.”