Episode · Conversations with Tyler · 2025-08-20
Tyler Cowen & David Brooks: books mentioned on Conversations with Tyler
David Brooks on Audacity, AI, and the American Psyche (Live at 92NY)
David Brooks returns to the show with a stark diagnosis of American culture.
David Brooks recommended The moral sense by James Q. Wilson, and discussed The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, Overdrive by William F. Buckley, The Snowball by Alice Schroeder, The public philosophy by Walter Lippmann, Two cheers for capitalism by Irving Kristol, and The age of reform by Richard Hofstadter.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Bonfire of the Vanities
Discussed“It wasn't that long ago that a Tom Wolf novel said in this city of New York in I don't know what year Bonfire the Vanities was published, but I think sometime in the 80s, all of New York got that because all of New York was represented.”
Where to get it
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Overdrive
Discussed“Back then I was funnier. And um, and Buckley comes to campus and he just published a book called Overdrive which was one of his memoirs of name- dropping the Pope and David Nven and all these people.”
Where to get it
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The Snowball
Discussed“One of the I I read this book Snowball about Warren Buffett and what's remarkable about him was his ability to grab onto whoever could teach him.”
Where to get it
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The moral sense
Recommended“And so there was a guy named James Q Wilson who wrote a great book called the moral sense which I highly recommend.”
Where to get it
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The public philosophy
Discussed“And back in 1955, Walter Litman, a great columnist, wrote a a book called The Public Philosophy.”
Where to get it
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Two cheers for capitalism
Discussed“Reinstall wrote a book two cheers for capitalism.”
Where to get it
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The age of reform
Discussed“And the one thing I'd say about the political reform piece I just reread a book I hadn't read since college called the age of of reform by Richard Hoffsteader a very great historian.”
Where to get it
