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Books podcasts were talking about in January 2022
In January 2022, several podcasts explored books dealing with human motivation, architecture, and historical manifestos. On the Lex Fridman Podcast, Thomas Tull and the host discussed Ernest Cline's Ready Player One and Ernest Becker's The Denial of Death, touching on storytelling and the fundamental human terror of mortality. Continuing the exploration of classic and historical works, Yoram Hazony appeared on the same show to analyze Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason as a rationalist political manifesto, while Lex Fridman also spoke with Brian Keating about his book Losing the Nobel Prize in a conversation concerning time machines. On Conversations with Tyler, Stewart Brand mentioned Edward Sylvester Morse's 1896 work Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings as his introduction to Japanese architecture, and Russ Roberts discussed Roger Scruton's Where We Are in relation to emotional well-being and place. Additionally, This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von featured lighthearted references to Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol and Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, rounding out a month of diverse literary discussions across multiple platforms.
Lex Fridman Podcast
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Ready Player One
Recommended“If you saw Ready Player One, which I loved as a book and thought the movie was cool too, that's one version of it.”
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The Denial of Death
Discussed“Ernest Becker—I'm not sure if you're familiar with the philosopher; he wrote the book 'Denial of Death'—his idea is that one of the core motivations of human beings is our terror of death.”
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Losing the Nobel Prize
Discussed“you mentioned time machine i think in your book losing the nobel prize you talk about time machines”
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The Age of Reason
Discussed“and pain writes a book called the age of reason and the age of reason is a a manifesto for here is the answer to political and moral problems throughout history”
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The Social Contract
Discussed“when i say i'm just talking about the social contract yeah but the social contract there's similarity between others but he takes it in a completely different direction”
Conversations with Tyler
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Japanese homes and their surroundings
Discussed“i first fell in love with japanese architecture through a book written by a japanese home in its surroundings 1896 by a new englander”
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Where We Are
Discussed“I think it's now coming out. I can't remember. I think it's before this with Megan McArdle on um Roger Scruton's book where we are, which is about the role that place plays in our emotional well-being”
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
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A Christmas Carol
Discussed“Bah-Humbug is like a famous saying from ‘A Christmas Carol.’ That's like when you stub your toe and you're like, 'Bah-Humbug!' Or if somebody like stole something from you, you'd be like, 'Humbug!'”
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Robinson Crusoe
Discussed“I remember I was really—so I think said that to Robinson Crusoe! I think he said that! Okay, I saw it on the back of a Kid Rock t-shirt, but do you really know?”
Huberman Lab
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Breath
Discussed“Typically, when I ask people who may not be well-versed in the subject—those who have read my papers, James Nestor's book, or listened to your podcast—they often underestimate the frequency of sighing.”
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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Discussed“There's a remarkable book titled 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly' about a young man who experiences this, and he describes his life through it; it's truly a testament to the human condition. It's a short book, and I highly recommend it.”
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
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This Is Vegan Propaganda : (& Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You)
Discussed“I want you all to get this—he wrote his debut book, 'This is Vegan Propaganda and Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You.' Welcome to the show, Ed Winters, or as I like to call him, Earthling Ed.”
The Daily Stoic
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Surviving IT: Essential Advice for Building a Happy and Healthy Technology Career
Discussed“Sports have been relatively late to adopt this idea; I have a chapter about load management in the book I'm working on right now.”
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Lyle Family
Discussed“It’s one of the greatest nonfiction books of all time, and I had him on the podcast. Did you read his book, *The Perfect Pass*? I did not. He wrote this book that I never thought about, which explains the invention of the passing game in football.”
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So Good They Can't Ignore You
Discussed“They are quitting to follow their passion, which is funny when you compare it to your other book because this reflects the concept in 'So Good They Can't Ignore You.'”
