Person
Bryan Callen's book recommendations
Across 4 podcasts. Every show Bryan Callen appears on, in one place — not just one.
Bryan Callen’s most recommended books
- Republic, Lost by Lawrence Lessig
- A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas
- Boomerang by Michael Lewis
- Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
- The China Study by T. Colin Campbell
- The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
- Going Clear by Lawrence Wright
- Raising lions by Joe Newman
- Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides
- The Singularity Is Near by Ray Kurzweil
Bryan Callen is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and podcaster. He studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Callen initiated his career as one of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv. Callen played Coach Mellor in The Goldbergs and reprised the role as a main character in the Goldbergs spinoff series Schooled. He is also a co-host of The Fighter and the Kid podcast, alongside Brendan Schaub. Across various podcast episodes, Bryan Callen has recommended a wide range of books. He suggested A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam during a conversation concerning human psychology and romance. When discussing government functions and complexities, he recommended Michael Lewis's book The Fifth Risk. Bryan Callen also brought up Phil Stutz and Barry Michels's book The Tools to talk about psychological techniques and overcoming mental obstacles. While discussing future technology and gene editing, he mentioned Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity Is Near. Additionally, he recommended Michael Lewis's Boomerang while talking about government unions and public spending in California, and he recommended Joe Newman's Raising Lions to offer parenting strategies for managing children's behavior and tantrums.
Books recommended by Bryan Callen
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Republic, Lost
Republic, Lost by Lawrence Lessig is a comprehensive and influential non-fiction book that examines the corrupting influence of money on American politics and details actionable paths toward campaign finance reform.
Recommended“he wrote a book called Republic lost and he's got a couple TED talks about that”
Where to get it
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A Billion Wicked Thoughts
A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam is a popular science book exploring human sexuality, desire, and psychology by analyzing massive datasets of online behavior and search patterns.
Recommended“Have you read a billion wicked thoughts? No. Oh, dude, please. Everyone, it is two uh neuroscientists.”
Where to get it
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Boomerang
Boomerang by Michael Lewis is a nonfiction book examining how the global financial crisis played out in various countries and U.S.
Discussed“and I just read a book on California politics by Michael Lewis called Boomerang about sort of like how a lot of the towns like Stockton went broke because of the pension plans and all that [__] blah blah blah”
Where to get it
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Sapiens
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari is a sweeping exploration of how Homo sapiens evolved, dominated the planet, and constructed complex imaginary orders like religion, money, and nations.
Discussed“and yuval harare talks about this brilliantly in this book which is that you cannot prove mathematically or biologically that that the idea that all men are created equal does that say indians are the newbies yes sapiens is israel right”
Where to get it
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The China Study
The China Study by T.
Recommended“and if you want to read um how closely tied they are to the pharmaceutical companies pick up a book called The China Study by T Colin Campbell PhD”
Where to get it
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The Looming Tower
The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright is a sweeping non-fiction history chronicling the origins of the war on terror, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, and the path to the September 11 attacks.
Discussed“Lawrence Ryder won a pull surprise winning book called looming tower that actually traced”
Where to get it
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Going Clear
Going Clear by Lawrence Wright is a meticulously researched investigative book that exposes the inner workings, history, and controversial practices of the Church of Scientology.
Discussed“I was in the class for 10 years that is cited in the book by in going clear”
Where to get it
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Raising lions
Raising lions by Joe Newman is a parenting guide designed to help adults manage intense children's behavior, tantrums, and emotional outbursts through structured, compassionate leadership.
Recommended“yes there's an amazing [ __ ] book by this guy named Joe Newman called raising lions I just read it man”
Where to get it
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Blood and Thunder
Blood and Thunder: An Epic Tale of the American West by Hampton Sides is a sweeping historical narrative chronicling the violent clashes of the American frontier through the life of Kit Carson and the history of the Navajo people.
Recommended“it's a blood and thunder yeah blood and thunder an epic tale of the American West it's about Kit Carson and the mountain”
Where to get it
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The Singularity Is Near
Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity Is Near is a prominent techno-futurist book exploring the merging of humans and artificial intelligence and the technological singularity.
Recommended“if you read the singularity is near you know human beings are going to start being able to not only control their own biology”
Where to get it
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Frankenstein
Frankenstein by Mary W.
Discussed“frankenstein is a good the man tried it on his brother look at louis van gaal look at uh do you know you know what frankenstein symbolized the idea that machines were taking over machines were now taking over humanity wow we're having the same talk 100 years later about how machines are going to take over and and make”
Where to get it
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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is a classic nineteenth-century novel that explores the harsh realities of slavery, migration, and human dignity, famously recognized for its immense historical impact on American social attitudes leading up to the Civil War.
Discussed“Do you know a book I just read it and it's it's the it is without besides the Bible a lot of arguably one of the most influential books ever in the written in the nineteenth century what yeah Uncle Tom's Cabin”
Where to get it
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Blood and Thunder ; The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West
Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West by Hampton Sides is a sweeping historical narrative that explores the violent and complex expansion of the United States through the life of frontiersman Kit Carson.
Recommended“it's a blood and thunder yeah blood and thunder an epic tale of the American West it's about Kit Carson and the mountain”
Where to get it
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Exodus
Exodus by Leon Uris is a historical novel detailing the founding of the State of Israel and the turbulent events surrounding its creation.
Recommended“you want to learn history of Ireland you want to learn history of the founding of the State of Israel which I'm reading now a book called Exodus”
Where to get it
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How to Fix the Future
How to Fix the Future by Andrew Keen is a forward-looking examination of the profound challenges brought by the digital revolution and offers potential solutions to regain control over technology and society.
Recommended“he wrote a book called how to fix the future”
Where to get it
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Inside Job
Inside Job by Stephen W.
Recommended“if you like inside job read The Big Short cuz it's amazing or if you don't like to read watch inside job cuz it's amazing”
Where to get it
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One Continuous Mistake
One Continuous Mistake by Gail Sher is a poetic exploration of Zen principles, creative practice, and daily life, drawing on poetic traditions to reflect on the human condition.
Recommended“Well, that's that there was this Zen poet that wrote a really cool wrote a really cool poetic book called one continuous mistake.”
Where to get it
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Outliers
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is a fascinating exploration of the external factors, cultural legacies, and hidden advantages that enable certain individuals to achieve extraordinary success.
Recommended“if you if you read Malcolm gladwell's book The outliers or my buddy's book straight a conspiracy it has to do with a culture that says”
Where to get it
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Range
Range by David J.
Recommended“i'm reading this book on the brain sort of like um that guy david epstein wrote he wrote the sports gene where he found the fastest people in the world tiny part of africa the people that run the farthest which is the highlands of kenya really fascinating book he's a sports illustrated writer and then he there's a new”
Where to get it
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The big short
The big short by Michael Lewis is a non-fiction account that explores the housing market collapse and the traders who profited from the 2008 financial crisis.
Recommended“there's a a book called The Big Short by Michael Lewis and he basically traces how this all happened”
Where to get it
The other 37 books Bryan Callen recommended or discussed, ranked
- The End of Faith by Sam Harris
- The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
- The Haj by Leon Uris
- The Premonition by Michael Lewis
- The Tools by Phil Stutz, Barry Michels
- Trinity by Leon Uris
- Why we get fat by Gary Taubes
- Why We Get Fat and what to Do about it by Gary Taubes
- by Unknown
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Cujo by Stephen King
- Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard
- Directorate S by Steve Coll
- Don't Think of an Elephant! by George Lakoff
- Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth
- Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
- Ghost Wars 12-copy floor by Steve Coll
- Henry the Fifth by Alfred John Church
- Homo Deus A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari
- Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis
- Lost in TransNation by Miriam Grossman
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE by Herman Melville
- On Writing by Stephen King
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu
- The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker
- The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
- The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt
- The Landmark by James Lane Allen
- The Secret of Our Success by Joseph Henrich
- The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson
Questions about Bryan Callen’s book recommendations
What book does Bryan Callen recommend most?
Republic, Lost by Lawrence Lessig. Bryan Callen recommended it in 3 episodes, with 5 explicit recommendations.
How many books has Bryan Callen recommended on podcasts?
We have found 57 books Bryan Callen recommended or discussed, across 28 episodes of 4 podcasts. Ad reads and passing mentions are not counted.
What books are on Bryan Callen's reading list?
The books Bryan Callen has recommended most on podcasts are Republic, Lost by Lawrence Lessig, A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas, Boomerang by Michael Lewis, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. The full book list below has all 57.
What did Bryan Callen recommend on The Joe Rogan Experience?
Republic, Lost, A Billion Wicked Thoughts and Boomerang, among 51 books in all.
What is the latest book Bryan Callen recommended?
A Billion Wicked Thoughts, recommended on Timcast IRL (2025-11-08).
People who recommend the same books
Appearances
Other mentions (16: passing, ad reads, own books)
“like Brad Pitt's pit bull and once upon a time in Hollywood correct I'd kill for one of those that pit bull was bad”
“if you go to audible.com and go to the great courses I listen to these courses I just listen to 48 lectures by a guy named Robert Buchholz who is this [ __ ] amazing professor on the foundations of Western civilization”
“i don't believe in dinosaurs because i'm you know i i have something called the bible at home”
“Alaska has called the wild one dude went out there and tried to read a book and [ __ ] died in a bus yes he did the Jack London wrote to build a fire”
“and there's a book called how the Irish saved civilization and it's about how the scribes how the the Irish priests wrote down all the knowledge”
“here I can have two comes like in a Stephen King book Oh what the hell's that cemeteries came out”
“Oh I think I think was the book blood meridian and he talks about and this apparently was a practice”
“and and I think it's called the green hills of Africa I think it's called a Hemingway book”
“and I also called the Internet's not the answer”
“and in another book called the cult of the amateur and kind of likens in the cult of the amateur”
“long story short when you're talking about Elon Musk he was talking about how in his book had a fixed future”
“and she sure what that booked the war on boys”
“I wonder if you can just do it right away I wonder if all the fun goes away there a very more mystery not Myster not learning CU When you're hitting a ball really well or you're boxing really well one day and you know you go back yeah and you go today I hit it and if you don't”
“one of the things that that John Durant who wrote The Paleo Manifesto did my podcast talked about was the Old Testament”
“thank you to whoever gave me this this weekend at the uh Ice House some dude gave me Hunter S Thompson's The Rum Diary a nice paperback”
“David's read so much about the Holocaust and so much about you know uh Man's Search for meaning by Victor Frankl and those kind of guys”