Mentioned in Podcasts

Person

Every book Emmanuel Ameisen recommended on podcasts

Key facts

  • Emmanuel Ameisen has recommended or discussed 3 books on podcasts, as of October 18, 2026.
  • Emmanuel Ameisen has talked about books on 1 podcast, as of October 18, 2026.
  • Those books came up in 1 episode, as of October 18, 2026.
  • The 3 books Emmanuel Ameisen has mentioned in the most episodes, as of October 18, 2026: A Brief History of Intelligence, Four Thousand Weeks and Stories of Your Life and Others.
  • The latest episode with a book mention from Emmanuel Ameisen aired on October 18, 2026.

Updated

Guest on Lenny's Podcast · 3 books · 1 episode across 1 podcast

Emmanuel Ameisen appeared on Lenny's Podcast to discuss artificial intelligence models and shared several of his favorite book recommendations. Ameisen discussed Max Bennett's A Brief History of Intelligence, a nonfiction work that he described as exceptionally accessible and engaging. He explained that the book walks readers through the history of brains and outlines five key evolutionary moments that built complex brain systems on top of one another. In addition, Ameisen highlighted Ted Chiang's collection Stories of Your Life and Others, identifying it as perhaps his favorite science fiction book of all time. He praised the short story collection as a high-art version of the genre. Finally, Ameisen recommended Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks as a standout nonfiction title. He explained that the book resonated with him personally because it addresses and critiques the common when-I-finally mentality, offering meaningful insights into how people manage their time, priorities, and psychological expectations throughout their lives and careers. Through these selections, Ameisen provided listeners with thoughtful examples of accessible science writing, masterclass science fiction, and reflections on human productivity.

Books Emmanuel Ameisen recommended or discussed

Who said what is determined automatically. In hand-checked samples, at least 6% of mentions were credited to the wrong speaker, sometimes an interviewer’s line recorded as the guest’s, sometimes the reverse. Every entry below quotes the words and links to the episode, so you can check it.

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  1. A Brief History of Intelligence

    Max Bennett · Recommended · 1 episode

    A Brief History of Intelligence by Max Bennett is an accessible book that explores the evolution of brains and the key moments that built complex neural systems.

    Recommended
    “One I read recently and is A Brief History of Intelligence. Uh it's this really cool book that walks through the history of like basically brains and five key moments in in our evolution that sort of bootstraps these brain systems on top of one another. It's super accessible”
    Lenny's Podcast Inside the black box of AI: How AI models actually think | Emmanuel Am… 2026-10-18 Listen at 1:05:07
    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

  2. Four Thousand Weeks

    Oliver Burkeman · Recommended · 1 episode

    Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman is a counterintuitive time management book that reframes human productivity around the radical acceptance of finitude, arguing that trying to conquer every task is impossible and that true meaning comes from embracing our limited time.

    Recommended
    “There's like one non-fiction book that really is like one of my favorite ever. It's 4,000 weeks. Um it has a lot in it that that I think is cool. Uh one of the cool things is a sort of thing that was really relevant to me, which is that like the when I finally mentality is a common mentality”
    Lenny's Podcast Inside the black box of AI: How AI models actually think | Emmanuel Am… 2026-10-18 Listen at 1:07:43
    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

  3. Stories of Your Life and Others

    Ted Chiang · Recommended · 1 episode

    Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang is a critically acclaimed collection of speculative short stories that explore complex philosophical, linguistic, and scientific themes.

    Recommended
    “Uh another one is Story of Your Life and Others. This is Ted Chiang. This is maybe my favorite sci-fi book of all time. It's a bunch of short stories. It does what I think is the the like high art version of sci-fi”
    Lenny's Podcast Inside the black box of AI: How AI models actually think | Emmanuel Am… 2026-10-18 Listen at 1:05:32
    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

Appearances

EpisodePodcastDateBooks
Inside the black box of AI: How AI models actually think | Emmanuel Ameisen (Anthropic)Lenny's Podcast2026-10-183