Podcast: Lex Fridman Podcast
Episode: Saagar Enjeti: Trump, MAGA, DOGE, Obama, FDR, JFK, History & Politics | Lex Fridman Podcast #454
Here’s a list of all the books mentioned in this episode, complete with an Amazon buy link and quotes from the episode.
Why England slept
Buy on Amazon"I have an original copy of that book, which is one of my most prized possessions. From 1939, this was a 23-year-old kid, who the hell are you, John F. Kennedy?"
40 more years
Buy on Amazon"In 2008, James Carville wrote a book that I always refer to, titled '40 More Years,' claiming Democrats would never lose an election again after the Obama coalition landslide. I was born in 1992, I watched red states go blue, I've seen blue states go red, and seen swing states change as well."
Coming apart
Buy on Amazon"One of my favorite books is called 'Coming Apart' by Charles Murray, which underscores how the cultural environment that people experience while attending college affects their entire trajectory in life. It influences everything from where they move, who they marry, to their grocery shopping habits and the television shows they watch."
The age of entitlement
Buy on Amazon"Two books I recommend are 'The Origins of Woke' by Richard Hanania and 'The Age of Entitlement' by Christopher Caldwell. It's effectively a religion, and its meaning varies among different people."
Born Fighting
Buy on Amazon"Now I have to return to Jim Webb's book, an incredible read that delves into the legacy of the Scots-Irish. War, that's the— Yeah."
Essence of decision
Buy on Amazon"We were forced to read 'Essence of Decision' by Graham Allison in graduate school, and I'm so thankful we did. It's one of the foundations of political science because it lays out theories of how government works."
Why England slept
Buy on Amazon"He wrote a book in 1939 called 'Why England Slept,' which is still considered a foundational text that explains in detail why Neville Chamberlain and the British political system arrived at the policy of appeasement. I actually have an original copy, and it's one of my most prized possessions because this is a 23-year-old kid; who the heck is John F. Kennedy?"
The Unwinding
Buy on Amazon"I really believe that Ta-Nehisi Coates's case for reparations in The Atlantic is one of those. It radicalized an entire generation of basically like white college-educated women to think completely differently on race."
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
Buy on Amazon"I've been deep diving on Genghis Khan. Reading 'Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.' Yeah, Jack Weatherford."
The Loudest Voice in the Room
Buy on Amazon"Roger Ailes, who is a genius, shout out to 'The Loudest Voice in the Room' by Gabriel Sherman. That book changed my life, too, because it really made me understand media."