Person
Every book Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett recommended on podcasts
Across 3 podcasts. Every show Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett appears on, in one place — not just one.
Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett’s most recommended books
- The Evolution of Beauty by Richard O. Prum
- Biology As Ideology by Richard Lewontin
- Naming the Mind by Kurt Danziger
- On Writing by Stephen King
- The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner
- The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
- An Immense World by Ed Yong
- At Large and At Small by Anne Fadiman
- Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett appeared on the Huberman Lab and the Lex Fridman Podcast to discuss emotions, the human brain, and evolutionary biology. During these conversations, she recommended a variety of books spanning science, psychology, and literature. Barrett brought up Peter J. Richerson and Robert Boyd's Not By Genes Alone to discuss cultural inheritance, and she praised Ed Yong's An Immense World as a masterful book exploring how different animals experience sensory reality. For listeners interested in the history and philosophy of psychology, she recommended Kurt Danziger's Naming the Mind and Richard Lewontin's Biology As Ideology. Barrett also highlighted Jonathan Weiner's Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Beak of the Finch as a prime example of exceptional science writing, and mentioned Richard O. Prum's The Evolution of Beauty in relation to evolutionary theory. Additionally, she recommended Stephen King's On Writing for personal tips on writing and Helen Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand as one of her favorite love stories.
Books recommended by Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett
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The Evolution of Beauty
The Evolution of Beauty by Richard O.
Recommended“actually there's also the evolution of beauty which is yeah which is also a great book”
Where to get it
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Biology As Ideology
Biology As Ideology by Richard Lewontin is a critical analysis of modern scientific practices, arguing that biological research is frequently shaped by cultural assumptions and political ideologies rather than pure objectivity.
Recommended“it's called biology as ideology and it is all about I wouldn't call it one of the best books of all time but I I love the book because it really does point out you know that SC science as it's currently practiced”
Where to get it
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Naming the Mind
Dr.
Recommended“There's a book by um if you're interested in Psychology or the mind at all there's a wonderful book A little it's a it's a fairly fairly small book called naming the Mind by Kurt danziger who's a historian of psychology Everybody in my lab reads both of these books”
Where to get it
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On Writing
Stephen King's On Writing is a celebrated hybrid of memoir and practical manual that chronicles the author's formative struggles and recovery while offering direct, invaluable advice for aspiring writers on craft, discipline, and the mechanics of prose.
Recommended“Stephen King has a great book writing on writing and -- um you know where he gives tips -- interlaced with his own personal history”
Where to get it
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The Beak of the Finch
Dr.
Recommended“but I would say the if I were to pick one book that I think is a really good example of good science writing it would be the beak of the finch which is one of it won a a pullit Sur prise a number of years ago and I'm not I'm the I'm not remembering the author's name I'm”
Where to get it
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The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
The Storied Life of A.J.
Recommended“the -- um the storyed life of AJ FY -- which is also a love story but in this case it's a love story between -- um a little girl and her adopted dad”
Where to get it
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The Body Keeps the Score
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk is an influential exploration of how trauma physically impacts the brain and body, offering pathways to healing through modern science and therapy.
Critiqued“your body doesn't keep the score you know yeah great book title because it's super catchy but with all due respect to I think the important work of Vander I think it oversimplified and led people to believe that their back pain was trauma and that all trauma is semat of size and it's not”
Where to get it
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An Immense World
An Immense World by Ed Yong is a popular science book that explores how various non-human animals perceive reality through distinct sensory modalities and survival mechanisms.
Recommended“when I was reading um ed yong's new book oh um first he wrote We contain multitudes which I think one of politzer and then um what is the recent one with animals an immense world and what I what I was thinking was you know it's a first of all it's a masterful masterful masterful book I I wish”
Where to get it
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At Large and At Small
At Large and At Small by Anne Fadiman is a collection of engaging familiar essays that explore diverse topics ranging from the pleasures of ice cream to the challenges of maintaining a personal library.
Recommended“and after reading a a a small set of essays by an fatan -- called at large and at small which I just loved these little essays what's what's the topic of that those essays”
Where to get it
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Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is a charming contemporary novel by Helen Simonson that tells the story of an unexpected romance between two older individuals in a traditional English village.
Recommended“my favorite -- uh love stories are major pedigree Last Stand by Helen Simonson -- it's a -- it's a love story about people who you wouldn't expect to fall in love”
Where to get it
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Not By Genes Alone
Not By Genes Alone by Peter J.
Recommended“in fact there's a really wonderful book called not by genes alone basically there's cultural inheritance”
Where to get it
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The Triple Helix
The Triple Helix by Richard C.
Recommended“the triple helix -- by -- Richard lanon -- it's a little book published -- in 2000 which is -- um I think a really good introduction to complexity”
Where to get it
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Boris Pasternak
Discussed“but the but you know like Dr shivago like or The English Patient oh my goodness like why”
Where to get it
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Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak is a sweeping historical novel that chronicles the turbulent life of a physician and poet amidst the chaos of the Russian Revolution.
Discussed“like Dr shivago like -- or The English Patient”
Where to get it
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How Emotions Are Made
How Emotions Are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett is a revolutionary neuroscience book exploring how the brain constructs emotions rather than merely reacting to them.
Discussed“The book, "How Emotions Are Made," was written for her and for myself because it encapsulated the knowledge I wanted her, and others, to understand about emotions.”
Where to get it
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Livewired
Livewired by David Eagleman is a popular science book that explores the concept of neuroplasticity, detailing how the human brain constantly rewires itself and adapts to experiences throughout life.
Discussed“you um had a wonderful conversation with david eagleman who just published a book about this yeah and gave lots and lots of really very very cool examples”
Where to get it
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Philosophy as a Way of Life
Discussed“And I'm just reading for the second time this book. It's called Open Socrates. Okay. And it's a really wonderful book and I've learned a lot about Socratic philosophy that I didn't know.”
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“uh like the book sapiens and the fact that we're able to kind of connect like network our brains together like you write about”
Where to get it
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The Botany of Desire
The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan is an insightful non-fiction book that explores the co-evolutionary relationships between humans and four key plants—the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato—satisfying human desires for sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control.
Discussed“so um i think it was michael pollan i don't remember if it was in the botany of desire but it was in one of his early books on um on botany and gardening”
Where to get it
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The Courage to Be Disliked
The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga is a popular philosophical self-help book that introduces Adlerian psychology to help readers overcome the paralyzing fear of other people's judgment and live more authentically.
Discussed“And I was reading that book, The Courage to be Disliked over Christmas. And it kind of it changed my view on this quite profoundly and in an important way because it helped me to understand. And I think it basically says that what happens to us doesn't create who we are. We use what happened to us and we”
Where to get it
The other 8 books Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett recommended or discussed, ranked
- The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan
- The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
- The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
- The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
- The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer
- The System by Robert B. Reich
- The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin
- Why Trust Science? by Naomi Oreskes
Appearances
Other mentions (12: passing, ad reads, own books)
“but when my daughter this is all in how emotions are made these examples”
“how emotions are made this book that I referred to I wrote that book for her”
“actually i have a whole chapter on how emotions are used in the law in my first book how emotions are made”
“i have a whole chapter about this in um in how emotions are made my um my first book”
“he made an analogy between me and uh character in The Fountain Head um the woman who's who's raped in the Fountain Head and I was like okay that's not that's not a good that's not a good that's not a good one not that part not that scene not that scene”
“that's a standard -- um popular science book so it's 300 something pages and then you know it has like a thousand endnotes and then each of the endnotes is attached to a web note which is also long”
“the animal that I wrote about in seven and a half lessons is called an amphioxys or a lancelet”
“some of which i actually discussed in how emotions were made but not obviously to the extent that he did um in his book which it's a fascinating book”
“and they also appear somewhat in how emotions are made my first book they are not in the you know seven and a half lessons because that book is is really not pitched at that level of explanation”
“they are not in the you know seven and a half lessons because that book is is really not pitched at that level of explanation”
“i mean it is something i talk about in my in the book in seven and a half lessons about the brain i think it's really important”
“it's actually in the web notes to um seven and a half lessons but um social isolation loneliness will kill you earlier than you would otherwise die”