Episode · Modern Wisdom · 2026-08-29
Books mentioned on Mexican Batman, Britain’s Downfall, Mr Bean’s Comeback & Jimmy Carr - Rabbit Hole #5 - #1143
In the fifth installment of this new experimental format, we explore: - Inside the antics of a real-life Mexican Batman. - Why George chooses to wear AirPods during his massages.
George Mack recommended East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and discussed Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. Chris Williamson recommended Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen, and discussed Stoner by John Williams.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake by James Joyce is a famously experimental and notoriously dense modernist novel that challenges traditional narrative structures with its idiosyncratic language and dreamlike logic.
Discussed“So I only find this out recently. So Finnegan's Wake is a book that I've read around a lot. I haven't read Finnegan's Wake, but I read about it a lot.”
Where to get it
-
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces examines the universal structure of comparative mythology and the hero's journey.
Discussed“Joseph Campbell, you've heard of Joseph Campbell, The Hero Thousand Faces, The Hero's Journey, all of those kind of great books that informed Star Wars.”
Where to get it
-
The Great Gatsby
F.
Discussed“Um um Hunter S. Thompson like he rewrote The Great Gatsby just just to know what it felt like to write a good book.”
Where to get it
-
East of Eden
East of Eden by John Steinbeck is a sprawling, multi-generational masterpiece that adapts the Cain and Abel story into twentieth-century California.
Recommended“If you read East of Eden by Steinbeck, it's the last sort of big book I read.”
Where to get it
-
Nuclear War
Annie Jacobsen's nonfiction book Nuclear War: A Scenario provides a chilling, unsparing countdown and thorough examination of what a global nuclear exchange would actually look like.
Recommended“Had Annie Jacobson on the show who wrote Nuclear War, a countdown scenario. And that's a fun episode.”
Where to get it
-
The Anxious Generation
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt examines the profound psychological impacts of smartphones and social media on youth mental health and the resulting loneliness crisis.
Discussed“I think the that whole anxious generation Jonathan height thing of like it's not good for kids and there's this kind of you know they think it's social media is as harmful as cigarettes for kids”
Where to get it
-
Stoner
Stoner by John Williams is a quiet, powerful mid-century novel that traces the unassuming academic life and quiet tragedies of William Stoner, an impoverished farmer's son who discovers a profound, enduring passion for English literature at the University of Missouri.
Discussed“You put me on to Stoner. That was a wonderful book. It is a wonderful book.”
Where to get it
