Episode · Conversations with Tyler · 2026-09-09
Tyler Cowen & Jared Diamond: books mentioned on Conversations with Tyler
Jared Diamond on Leaders, Luck, and Irreplaceability
Is leadership overrated? That's one simple reading of what Jared Diamond argues in his new book.
Jared Diamond discussed Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, The Third Chimpanzee by Jared M. Diamond, and Why Is Sex Fun? by Jared M Diamond. Tyler Cowen discussed Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings by Jared Diamond and Collapse by Jared M. Diamond.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Guns, Germs and Steel
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond is an expansive historical non-fiction work that explores why Eurasian civilizations survived and conquered other societies, attributing these outcomes to geographical and environmental advantages rather than biological differences.
Discussed“Your other books, Guns, Germs, and Steel, and so on, are about whole societies for 10,000 years.”
Where to get it
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Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings
Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings by Jared Diamond is a leadership-focused exploration that uses natural experiments to analyze the profound impact of leaders throughout history.
Discussed“Is it correct to think of your new book, again, Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings, as, in essence, the error term for Guns, Germs, and Steel?”
Where to get it
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Silent Spring
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is a landmark 1962 environmental science book that exposed the devastating ecological consequences of synthetic pesticides like DDT, playing a pivotal role in launching the modern environmental movement.
Discussed“Her book, Silent Spring, that book and Darwin’s Origin of Species are probably the two books by scientists that have had the biggest impact in the last century.”
Where to get it
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The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin’s foundational work on evolutionary biology, The Origin of Species, outlines the theory of evolution by natural selection and presents extensive evidence connecting biological and geological phenomena.
Discussed“Her book, Silent Spring, that book and Darwin’s Origin of Species are probably the two books by scientists that have had the biggest impact in the last century.”
Where to get it
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The Third Chimpanzee
Discussed“This is something that I argued in my book, The Third Chimpanzee.”
Where to get it
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Collapse
Collapse by Jared M.
Discussed“Now your book on environmental Collapse, that one seemed too pessimistic to me.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“He has a new and notable book out called Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter?”
“Before my last question, let me just plug your book again. It is called Profits, P-R-O-F-I-T-S, Prophets, P-R-O-P-H-E-T-S, Coaches, and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter?”