Episode · Huberman Lab · 2026-10-19
Books mentioned on What Makes Great Leaders & How to Live an Extraordinary Life | Dr. Jared Diamond
Dr. Jared Diamond, PhD, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, physiologist, evolutionary biologist and Professor at UCLA.
Andrew Huberman recommended Jaws by Sandra Kahn and others, and discussed Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings by Jared Diamond, Swing Kings by Jared Diamond, and The Population Bomb by Paul R. Ehrlich. Jared Diamond discussed Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, The Gospel according to st. Mark [ed.] by S.F. Smith by Mark (st), and The New Testament: an Introduction for the General Reader by Oscar Cullmann.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings
Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings by Jared Diamond is a reflective work exploring leadership, historical contingency, human decision-making, and the profound role of individual actors versus structural forces in shaping civilization.
Discussed“Today, we discuss topics related to Jared's most recent book, which is about leaders and leadership. It is entitled Prophets, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings.”
Where to get it
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Swing Kings
Discussed“Today, we discuss topics related to Jared's most recent book, which is about leaders and leadership. It is entitled Prophets, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings.”
Where to get it
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Guns, Germs and Steel
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond is a sweeping historical and anthropological study that investigates why Eurasian civilizations survived and conquered other societies, attributing outcomes to environmental and geographical advantages rather than biological superiority.
Discussed“But I would say, just as background, people often ask me, Jared, your book about leaders now seems to be the opposite of guns, germs, and steel. Jared, your book, Guns, Germs, and Steel, was about big patterns.”
Where to get it
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The Gospel according to st. Mark [ed.] by S.F. Smith
Discussed“We have no contemporary information whatsoever about him. The first information that we have about him is the letters of St. Paul and the gospel according to St. Mark. Both of which follow his death by about 20 years.”
Where to get it
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The New Testament: an Introduction for the General Reader
The New Testament: an Introduction for the General Reader by Oscar Cullmann is a foundational text and scholarly overview providing historical and theological context for the Christian scriptures.
Discussed“Did Jesus make a difference? Well, if you read the New Testament, it talks about names. Six other messiahs. Jesus was not the only messiah. There were lots of people then who said, I'm the messiah.”
Where to get it
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The Population Bomb
The Population Bomb is a 1968 book by biologist Paul R.
Discussed“Like the population bomb, my understanding was that it argued that we're going to be badly overpopulated by the time we reach now and that that was dangerous. Some people would argue that birth rates are going down.”
Where to get it
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Jaws
Jaws by Sandra Kahn and Paul R.
Recommended“Long been a fan of his work and him, and I agree. And Jaws is a wonderful book, and I think The Population Bomb still has great, there's real value in reading it, even if the specific statements, as you point out, held up differently, it's still a really important work.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (6) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“He's also a renowned author of books such as Guns, Germs, and Steel, for which he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.”
“I'm such a fan of your books, Guns, Germs, and Steel, was the first one I read.”
“I was gratified to learn that you were close friends with my colleague, Paul Ehrlich, and his wife, Sandra Khan, is still on the faculty at Stanford. Paul wrote, of course, The Population Bomb.”
“Paul and Sandra wrote the book, Jaws, with, I think, had a forward by you and maybe an introduction from Bob Sapolsky about mouth breathing being detrimental to facial structure development and as well as health, perhaps.”
“To learn more about his work and his recent book, Prophets, Prophets, Coaches and Kings, please see the links in the show note caption.”
“To learn more about his work and his recent book, Prophets, Prophets, Coaches and Kings, please see the links in the show note caption.”