Person
Every book Christopher Ryan recommended on podcasts
Christopher Ryan appears across podcasts as an author and cultural investigator focused on anthropology, human evolution, and societal structures. He has frequently recommended books that challenge conventional views on human development and happiness, such as Ronald Wright's A Short History of Progress, which he cited as a clear illustration of how civilizations follow a recurring lifecycle of rise and decline. To highlight alternative human experiences and social structures, Ryan also recommended Daniel Everett's Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes to examine the happiness of the Pirahã people, and Peter Matthiessen's novel At Play in the Fields of the Lord for its portrayal of an uncontacted tribe. In addition to these recommendations, Ryan discussed theoretical foundations in anthropology, referencing Marvin Harris's works Cultural Materialism and Cannibals and Kings to explain cultural responses to environments and historical cannibalism. Furthermore, he touched upon Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Steven Johnson's Future Perfect, and his own widely discussed book, Sex at Dawn.
Books recommended by Christopher Ryan
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A Paradise Built in Hell
A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit is a nonfiction work examining how communities naturally unite, cooperate, and exhibit profound empathy during major disasters and crises.
Discussed“I read a book recently a fascinating book called uh Paradise made in Hell uh Rebecca solnet and it's about uh disaster sociology right”
Where to get it
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A Short History of Progress
A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright is a concise and provocative historical analysis that examines how past civilizations repeatedly collapse by repeating ecological and societal mistakes.
Recommended“yeah there's a a beautiful book which I've recommended many times called a short history of progress by Ronald Wright a Canadian scientist”
Where to get it
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At Play in the Fields of the Lord
At Play in the Fields of the Lord by Peter Matthiessen is an acclaimed novel that explores the spiritual, cultural, and ecological clashes that occur when American mercenaries and missionaries encounter an uncontacted indigenous tribe in the Amazon rainforest.
Recommended“there's a great book called at play in the fields of the Lord by Peter mat I've heard of it I've never read it it's a beautiful book”
Where to get it
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Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle
Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Daniel Everett is a fascinating anthropological and linguistic account of the author's time living among the Pirahã people of the Amazon rainforest.
Recommended“there's a great book um uh don't sleep there are snakes”
Where to get it
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Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown is a deeply influential historical book that chronicles the systematic displacement, broken treaties, and forced assimilation of Native American tribes in the American West through the perspective of the indigenous peoples.
Discussed“they were ready bury my heart at Wounded Knee no I don't think I did that's a beautiful book it's a really interesting book about the sort of final chapter of different tribes in North America”
Where to get it
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Cannibals and Kings
Discussed“so then I read this guy Marvin Harris this Anthropologist who wrote a book called cannibals and Kings he went back and looked at societies that were cannibalistic”
Where to get it
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Cultural Materialism
Cultural Materialism by Marvin Harris is an anthropological study that examines how infrastructural conditions, including technology and environmental constraints, shape the development of human culture and social institutions.
Discussed“it's also interesting to look at how the culture reflects the environment yes right Marvin Harris wrote about this cultural materialism how how a culture responds to an environment”
Where to get it
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Desert Solitaire
Desert Solitaire is a famous autobiographical work by writer Edward Abbey that reflects on his experiences as a park ranger in southeastern Utah and offers a passionate defense of the American wilderness.
Discussed“because I read this book called desert solitire by Edward Abbey”
Where to get it
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Future Perfect
Discussed“I read a book recently called future perfect uh don't remember the author Steven Johnson is the author another internet Tech web guy right”
Where to get it
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High Price
High Price by Carl Hart is an autobiographical book that details the author's journey from a difficult upbringing in a high-crime neighborhood to becoming a trailblazing neuroscientist and professor at Columbia University.
Discussed“he's got a book out uh called high price and it's sort of a autobiographical um account”
Where to get it
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Sex at Dawn
Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha is a popular book that challenges conventional assumptions about human sexuality and monogamy.
Discussed“I think people react to sex at dawn very emotionally right”
Where to get it
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The Alchemist
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a celebrated philosophical novel about a young Andalusian shepherd named Santiago who travels across the desert in search of a hidden Egyptian treasure, ultimately discovering his true personal legend.
Discussed“he wrote The Alchemist like the bestselling book in the history of humanity”
Where to get it
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The Monkey Wrench Gang
The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey is a classic novel concerning eco-sabotage and environmental activism in the American Southwest, serving as a foundational text for radical ecological movements.
Discussed“in fact Earth First that movement started based on one of his books called the monkey wrench gang”
Where to get it
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The Psychopath Test
The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson is an investigative non-fiction book that explores the concept of psychopathy, the psychiatric industry, and the corporate and political worlds.
Discussed“I have a friend who wrote a book called The psychopath test oh I've read that yeah John Ronson yeah I started reading it I should say I think I bailed on it I got bored”
Where to get it
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The sacred mushroom and the cross
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross by John Marco Allegro is a controversial scholarly study that posits early Christianity originated from ancient fertility cults centered around the sacramental use of psychedelic mushrooms.
Discussed“John Marco algro who was uh one of the um uh lead Scholars that was deciphering the Dead Sea Scrolls he wrote this book called The Sacred Mushroom in the cross and it was read that it's a great book and uh it was bought up by the Catholic Church actually”
Where to get it
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War
War by Sebastian Junger is an immersive, firsthand journalistic account that follows a single platoon of American soldiers stationed in the notoriously dangerous Korengal Valley of Afghanistan, capturing the raw terror, intense adrenaline, and profound bonds forged in combat.
Discussed“yes his book War”
Where to get it
Books Christopher Ryan wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1099 - Christopher Ryan | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2018-04-03 | 3 |
| #913 - Christopher Ryan | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2017-02-07 | 1 |
| #739 - Duncan Trussell & Christopher Ryan | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2015-12-22 | 1 |
| #697 - Christopher Ryan | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2015-09-17 | 3 |
| #614 - Christopher Ryan, PhD | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2015-02-19 | 2 |
| #468 - Duncan Trussell, Christopher Ryan | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2014-03-11 | 1 |
| #421 - Christopher Ryan | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2013-11-27 | 6 |
Other mentions (14: passing, ad reads, own books)
“There's a there's an anecdote that is in this book civilized to death notice that segue”
“There's a there's an anecdote that is in this book civilized to death Notice that segue”
“And then we were gonna do a movie together and whatever and then his wife like took the book away from him do you remember oh yeah yeah yeah yeah”
“I actually told this book the story at the beginning of sex at dawn I was with my girlfriend at the time”
“it's one of its it covers a lot of the same ground that I cover in civilized to death actually I quote him in civilized to death”
“you ever read call of the wild Jack London yeah”
“and his first books called the natural mind that he wrote the marriage of the Sun and the moon”
“and his first books called the natural mind that he wrote the marriage of the Sun and the moon”
“then a book called from chocolate to morphine these are all like stretch”
“tangentially reading it's out now anybody can get it everywhere”
“he wrote a book called One River”
“but I mean as far as the public publishing thing I'm because of the success of sex at dawn I think I'm in a position to sort of you know I've got leverage and and the guy the editor who um who acquired the book is the guy who edited sex at dawn”
“so what we argue in sex at dawn is that human sexuality was actually a way to bond the group together”
“sex of Dawn”