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Every book Jason Calacanis recommended on podcasts
Jason Calacanis appears as a co-host on the All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg podcast, where discussions frequently span artificial intelligence, economics, business, and current events. During these episodes, Calacanis shares various literary recommendations, often highlighting biographies and memoirs. He enthusiastically recommended Bill Gurley's book Runnin' Down a Dream, also referred to as Running down a Dream, urging listeners to pause the podcast and grab a copy because he found it to be an incredible and inspiring work. When discussing themes of privacy and the public disclosure of private communications, Calacanis brought up The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter. Additionally, during a summer book segment, he highlighted several memoirs and biographies, including Barry Diller's Who Knew, Robert Evans's The Kid Stays in the Picture, Larry Charles's Comedy Samurai, and Keith McNally's I Regret Almost Everything, praising all of them as great reads. Calacanis also recommended Paul A. Volcker's Keeping at it to illustrate the historical tensions between the White House and the Federal Reserve regarding interest rate cuts, offering listeners a solid historical perspective on economic policy through Volcker's writings.
Books recommended by Jason Calacanis
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Comedy Samurai
Comedy Samurai by Larry Charles is a comedic exploration of humor and creative philosophy by the veteran writer and director.
Recommended“Comedy Samurai by Larry Charles. I just finished a couple weeks ago.”
Where to get it
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I Love Capitalism!
I Love Capitalism! by Ken Langone is a memoir detailing the co-founder's journey to building Home Depot and his overarching philosophy on business and economic opportunity.
Recommended“another uh interesting book you might like i love capitalism by ken langone who um you know built uh he built uh home depot and it's a pretty great story about both stories of capitalism”
Where to get it
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I Regret Almost Everything
I Regret Almost Everything by Keith McNally is a memoir offering a candid look into the life and experiences of the prominent restaurateur.
Recommended“and then finally, my fourth pick for bios of the summer, I regret almost everything by Keith McN, who is the restaurant tour.”
Where to get it
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Keeping at it
Keeping at it by Paul A.
Recommended“And uh you want to read a good book? Paul Vulker is keeping at it. great uh book about has uh Reagan going to him and trying to get him to cut rates.”
Where to get it
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Runnin' Down a Dream
Runnin' Down a Dream by Bill Gurley is a comprehensive guide and exploration of career paths and ambition.
Recommended“Can I just give a plug to friend of the pod, Bill Gurly? He's got an amazing new book, Running Down a Dream. Please, wait, wait, wait, wait. Before we start, before I start, there it is. Running down a dream, I just want everybody to just stop the pause the podcast.”
Where to get it
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Running down a Dream
Running down a Dream by James Fore and Frank Fore is an inspiring and practical guide focused on pursuing personal ambitions, lifelong learning, and following one's deepest fascinations.
Recommended“He's been running down a dream. If you haven't bought the book, get the book. It's incredible.”
Where to get it
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The Exorcist
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty is a landmark horror novel that delves into the demonic possession of a young girl and the harrowing efforts of priests to perform an exorcism.
Recommended“the devil mixes lies with truth there it is the Exorcist William Peter Blatty really great book if you want to read it”
Where to get it
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The Fish That Ate the Whale
The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen is a biography detailing the life of Sam Zemurray, an immigrant who rose to become a powerful and ruthless businessman controlling the banana trade in Latin America.
Recommended“uh i'll just give my closing the fish that ate the whale a book about sam zumari who was the banana king”
Where to get it
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The Kid Stays in the Picture
The Kid Stays in the Picture by Robert Evans is a memoir detailing the turbulent, high-flying life and career of the legendary Hollywood film producer.
Recommended“If you ever see the documentary, The Kid Stays in the Picture, or that book is in both of them are incredible.”
Where to get it
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The Light of Other Days
The Light of Other Days by Arthur C.
Recommended“There is this great book, I've mentioned it in the past, by Steven Baxter and Arthur Clark called the light of other days and it's all about how basically all the world's information becomes available to everyone.”
Where to get it
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Who Knew
Who Knew by Barry Diller is an engaging memoir detailing the author's remarkable trajectory across the media and entertainment landscapes.
Recommended“I'm almost finished with Who Knew by Barry Diller who at like 24 years old. Yeah, that's great. It's incredible.”
Where to get it
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Authentic Happiness
Authentic Happiness by Martin Elias Pete Seligman is a prominent work in the field of positive psychology that explores the science of joy, human flourishing, and the factors that genuinely contribute to a fulfilling life.
Discussed“and it turns out martin seligman in um uh was it authentic happiness anyway the guy who really studied happiness and joy”
Where to get it
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Creativity, Inc. (The Expanded Edition)
Creativity, Inc.
Discussed“and when I talked to Ed Catmull from Pixar on my podcast the guy who wrote the book creativity I was like was that a [ __ ] you from Pixar and Steve Jobs to the critics he said yeah”
Where to get it
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Modern Poker Theory
Modern Poker Theory by Michael Acevedo and Jonathan Little serves as an advanced instructional guide for mastering game theory optimal strategies and modern computational approaches to competitive poker.
Discussed“I'm reading Modern Poker Theory by Michael Asavvito. Oh, really? This goes into GTO and that kind of stuff.”
Where to get it
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The purpose driven church
Discussed“but then i read this book by i've got his name rick something um he wrote the purpose driven church and he had spoken out of ted or something”
Where to get it
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The Gangs of New York
Discussed“in fact Dave you and I were talking about at some point Gangs of New York and the fire departments being oh yeah totally great crazy timing that we were talking about that two or three weeks before this happened”
Where to get it
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The Purpose-Driven Life
The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren is a widely read Christian devotional guide designed to help individuals discover their spiritual significance and calling.
Discussed“but then i read this book by i've got his name rick something um he wrote the purpose driven church and he had spoken out of ted or something and everybody went crazy about it”
Where to get it
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The Trump Tapes
The Trump Tapes by Bob Woodward is a political non-fiction book featuring transcribed audio interviews that reveal Donald Trump's private admissions regarding the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Discussed“you probably saw the book that came out with the tapes of trump saying that you know he was trying to play it down sax as a lifelong republican what were your thoughts when the republican presidential candidate the republican president said uh hey i'm trying to play this down”
Where to get it
Books Jason Calacanis wrote
Appearances
Other mentions (6: passing, ad reads, own books)
“There's a great Guinness Book of World Records book joke. Oh no. Where's this go? Went to the library and I found that my dick was in the Guinness Book of World Records and then unfortunately someone asked me to remove it.”
“They They went after Sam Harris because he had Charles Murray from the Bell Curve.”
“I got just got offered 2500 bucks to put Angel my book into because Harper Collins did a a deal with uh Microsoft and so I'm thinking 500 per year I think it's for three years is the license”
“and so i wrote a book on that angel and then i do a course called angel university that i teach six times a year”
“yeah i think we just defined george rell's 1984 like or cancel culture”
“because I wonder when you told that story in the book angel which is available here if you ask a good question and not available if you ask a bad question”