Episode · Lenny's Podcast · 2025-12-07

Lenny Rachitsky & Edwin Chen: books mentioned on Lenny's Podcast

The 100-person AI lab that became Anthropic and Google's secret weapon | Edwin Chen (Surge AI)

2 books · With Edwin Chen · Listen · Watch on YouTube

Edwin Chen is the founder and CEO of Surge AI, the company that teaches AI what’s good vs. what’s bad, powering frontier labs with elite data, environments, and evaluations.

Edwin Chen recommended Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang and The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus.

Books mentioned, in the order they came up

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1. 

   Stories of Your Life and Others

   Ted Chiang · at 1:03:45

   Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang is a critically acclaimed collection of speculative short stories that explore complex philosophical, linguistic, and scientific themes.

   Recommended

   “So, three books I often recommend are first, Story of Your Life by Tai Cheng. It's my all-time favorite short story.”

   Edwin Chen The 100-person AI lab that became Anthropic and Google's secret weapon… 2025-12-07 Listen at 1:03:45

   Where to get it

   Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon
2. 

   The Myth of Sisyphus

   Albert Camus · at 1:04:06

   The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus is a prominent philosophical essay examining the absurdist condition, human suffering, and the search for meaning in a seemingly indifferent universe.

   Recommended

   “And then second, myth of Sisphus by Kimu. I actually can't really explain why I love this, but I always find the final chapter somehow really inspiring.”

   Edwin Chen The 100-person AI lab that became Anthropic and Google's secret weapon… 2025-12-07 Listen at 1:04:06

   Where to get it

   Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon