Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2025-04-24
Books mentioned on #466 – Jeffrey Wasserstrom: China, Xi Jinping, Trade War, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mao
Jeffrey Wasserstrom is a historian of modern China. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.
Jeffrey Wasserstrom recommended The Media and Allegations of Sexual Misconduct by Margaret Ann Bull Kovera, Among the Braves by Shibani Mahtani and others, Let Only Red Flowers Bloom by Emily Feng, and No Straight Road Takes You There by Rebecca Solnit, and discussed The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley, Animal Farm by George Orwell, We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, and Neuromancer by William Gibson. Lex Fridman discussed Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Media and Allegations of Sexual Misconduct
The Media and Allegations of Sexual Misconduct by Margaret Ann Bull Kovera examines complex dynamics of public accountability and reporting.
Recommended“My favorite book about, one of my favorite books about Chinese censorship, Margaret Roberts, where she talks about there are three different ways that the government can control the stories.”
Where to get it
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The Origins of Totalitarianism
The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt is a classic historical and political study examining the psychosocial conditions, social atomization, and rise of twentieth-century totalitarian regimes.
Discussed“You can read all sorts of things in China about totalitarian, you can read Hannah Arendt's book on totalitarianism, which would be the kind of thing you just, you know, you're not supposed to be able to read that in a somewhat totalitarian state or a dictatorial state, or anything.”
Where to get it
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Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt is a foundational historical and political analysis examining the origins, mechanisms, and societal conditions that give rise to authoritarian regimes and totalitarian control.
Discussed“You can read all sorts of things in China about totalitarian, you can read Hannah Arendt's book on totalitarianism, which would be the kind of thing you just, you know, you're not supposed to be able to read that in a somewhat totalitarian state or a dictatorial state, or anything.”
Where to get it
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1984
1984 by George Orwell is a classic dystopian novel exploring totalitarianism, surveillance, political tribalism, and the systematic control of information.
Discussed“You can buy '1984' in a Chinese bookstore, you've been able to since 1985. You can buy again, it's not about China, and actually for some people within China in the mid 1980s, where they focused on the part of 1984, that's like the two minutes of hate...”
Where to get it
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Brave New World
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is a chilling dystopian masterpiece that envisions a technologically advanced future society sustained by pharmacological distraction, engineered conformity, and the systematic eradication of deep human emotion and critical thought.
Discussed“Yeah, you've actually spoken about and described China as more akin to the dystopian world, a brave new world, the 1984, which is really interesting to think about, I think about that a lot of recently reread, over the past couple of years we read 'Brave New World' a couple of times, and also '1984'.”
Where to get it
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The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel "The Handmaid's Tale" imagines a totalitarian society where individual liberties are stripped away and women's bodies are heavily controlled.
Discussed“I think there's a clarity to Orwell's '1984', there's a clarity to Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale,' similarly the construction of the elements.”
Where to get it
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Brave New World Revisited
Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley is a nonfiction essay collection in which the author evaluates whether contemporary society is hurtling closer to the dystopian nightmare he previously forecasted in his famous novel.
Discussed“But you know, there was a kind of, it's not exactly a sequel, but Huxley did write something called 'Brave New World Revisited.' - Yes, he did.”
Where to get it
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Animal Farm
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a classic allegorical novella that uses a farmyard setting to satirize the corruption of socialist ideals and the rise of totalitarianism following the Russian Revolution.
Discussed“And then there's 'Animal Farm in 1984' is a second book.”
Where to get it
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We
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is a pioneering dystopian novel set in a highly regimented glass city governed by the One State, heavily influencing later classics like George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.
Discussed“And it's a box set where you have Zamyatin's 'We', that inspired both Orwell and Huxley to some extent. That's one book.”
Where to get it
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Among the Braves
Among the Braves by Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin is a detailed non-fiction account examining the political turmoil and the fight for freedom in Hong Kong.
Recommended“I should give credit for that insight, Shibani Mahtani, who's co-wrote a very good book on Hong Kong, 'Among the Braves,' she was talking about that...”
Where to get it
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Neuromancer
Neuromancer by William Gibson is a foundational cyberpunk novel that helped popularize the concept of cyberspace and heavily influenced modern science fiction and internet culture.
Discussed“So the other line besides best of worst internet, I always like is William Gibson who wrote one of the other important dystopian novels of the present, 'Neuromancer.'”
Where to get it
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Let Only Red Flowers Bloom
Let Only Red Flowers Bloom is a book by NPR journalist Emily Feng that explores contemporary political dynamics and society.
Recommended“One is called 'The Xi Jinping Effect,' which was just a bunch of scholars, an academic volume sort of looking at take this topic, and that topic, how much is Xi Jinping as a person really affected it? And they come up with all kinds of answers. But there's a book I really like, Emily Feng of NPR has a”
Where to get it
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No Straight Road Takes You There
No Straight Road Takes You There: Essays for Uneven Terrain by Rebecca Solnit is a collection of essays exploring social change, activism, and political struggles.
Recommended“So Rebecca Solnit, he's got a new book, 'No Straight Road Takes You There: Essays for Uneven Terrain.' And she's talking about taking a longer view of some struggles...”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (7) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“The following is a conversation with Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a historian of modern China. This is the 'Lex Fridman Podcast.'”
“The following is a conversation with Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a historian of modern China. This is the 'Lex Fridman Podcast.'”
“The following is a conversation with Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a historian of modern China. This is the 'Lex Fridman Podcast.'”
“The following is a conversation with Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a historian of modern China. This is the 'Lex Fridman Podcast.'”
“And then there's "Animal Farm in 1984" is a second book.”
“And I hope for future where both Hong Kong and Beijing have bookstores that carry '1984,' 'Brave New World,' and all of your books.”
“And I hope for future where both Hong Kong and Beijing have bookstores that carry '1984,' 'Brave New World,' and all of your books.”