Person
Every book Jimmy Carr recommended on podcasts
Across 4 podcasts. Every show Jimmy Carr appears on, in one place — not just one.
Jimmy Carr’s most recommended books
- The beginning of infinity by David Deutsch
- What's Our Problem? by Tim Urban
- Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
- 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
- Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
- Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker
- Maps of Meaning by Jordan B. Peterson
- The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff
- Chaos by Tom O'Neill
- Die with Zero by Bill Perkins
Jimmy Carr is a comedian, television presenter, and podcast guest. On programs such as The Joe Rogan Experience and Modern Wisdom, Carr recommended and discussed several books focusing on human psychology, thinking frameworks, personal finance, and creativity. He praised Iain McGilchrist's book The Matter with Things, describing it as phenomenal alongside McGilchrist's other work. Carr strongly recommended Tim Urban's What's Our Problem?, calling it one of his favorite books of the decade and highlighting its framework for moving beyond political tribalism to analyze how people think. Discussing life stages and inheritance, Carr brought up Bill Perkins' book Die with Zero as a brilliant guide offering perspectives that extend far beyond financial planning. He also discussed Tom O'Neill's investigative book Chaos, calling it incredible, and mentioned David Deutsch's The Beginning of Infinity in conversations about human progress and science. Furthermore, Carr referenced Steve Martin's Born Standing Up and Stephen Pressfield's The War of Art as valuable sources on the secrets of comedy and discipline.
Books recommended by Jimmy Carr
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The beginning of infinity
The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch is a profound work of popular science and philosophy exploring human progress, knowledge creation, and cosmic optimism.
Discussed“I love that thing with uh that book, The Beginning of Infinity. I can't get over that. What book is that? Who wrote that? It's uh uh beginning of infinity. I think it's uh David Deutsch.”
Where to get it
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What's Our Problem?
What's Our Problem? by Tim Urban is a self-help guide for societies that analyzes political tribalism, societal polarization, and how human thinking mechanisms shape modern discourse.
Recommended“Did you read that um you know Tim Urban? You ever had him on the show? No, he wrote this book called What's Our Problem? It's like one of my favorite books of the last 10 years, right? And so the book is it's not about left and right, it's about how you think about things.”
Where to get it
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Amusing Ourselves to Death
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman is a media critique arguing that the shift from a print-based culture to a television-dominated society degrades public discourse by turning serious political and intellectual subjects into mere entertainment.
Discussed“But then that that thing Neil Postman had he wrote this brilliant book in like 1984, right, called Amusing Ourselves to Death. And it was about Ronald Reagan getting elected. And it was basically he said we've gone from reading newspapers to watching the news on TV.”
Where to get it
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12 Rules for Life
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B.
Discussed“Like is is the uh it's not kind of it's not 12 Rules for Life, but it's got a lot of kind of there's a lot of life advice in there.”
Where to get it
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Born Standing Up
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin is a memoir chronicling the author's formative years in stand-up comedy before he walked away from the stage at the peak of his career.
Recommended“I mean I think there's breadcrumbs there like Steve Martin's book born standing up M I think that's the if anyone's interested in the secrets of Comedy they're out there and it's about $10.99 in all good bookshops”
Where to get it
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Enlightenment Now
Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker is a widely acclaimed book that uses data and numerous charts to argue for long-term human progress, global prosperity, and the triumphs of reason and science.
Discussed“like that that we live in this time you know that Steven Pinker Enlightenment now book Mhm you sort of go well now”
Where to get it
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Maps of Meaning
Maps of Meaning by Jordan B.
Discussed“I think you're an incredibly interesting guy because I think there's a there's a sense in which what you're trying to do, certainly in 12 rules, but I think you know, maps of meaning as well, I think is such a valuable, you know, you're reaching out.”
Where to get it
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The Coddling of the American Mind
The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt investigates how modern safetyism, declining childhood resilience, and the rapid rise of social media are negatively impacting the mental health and emotional development of younger generations.
Discussed“I suppose the problem is that thing what's that book um is it Jonathan hate the the codling of the American mind the idea of going if there's no freedom for kids anymore”
Where to get it
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Chaos
Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill is a deeply researched investigative book that explores hidden government programs, mind control experiments, and unanswered questions surrounding the Manson family murders.
Recommended“Oh, Chaos. Incredible. So, can't recommend it enough. I I listened to the episode.”
Where to get it
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Die with Zero
Die with Zero by Bill Perkins is a thought-provoking financial book that challenges traditional accumulation strategies by advocating for the active use of wealth while one is alive.
Recommended“the same reason that Bill Perkins suggests giving your kids their inheritance when they're 30 because if that book Die with zero is so brilliant it's it's kind of about so much more than that as well”
Where to get it
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Selfie
Selfie by Will Storr examines the cultural and psychological obsession with individual self-esteem, social status, and personal perfection.
Recommended“There's a great book called Selfie and a great book called Tribe. I remember sort of reading them back to back and thinking, 'Yeah, there's something's going on here.'”
Where to get it
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The Art and Reflections of Stephen Epstein
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is a celebrated guide to overcoming creative blocks, conquering internal resistance, and establishing rigorous discipline to achieve artistic and professional mastery.
Recommended“That's similar to Stephen uh pressfield's work you know the war of art”
Where to get it
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The Fabric of Reality
Why people recommend it: Exploring foundational scientific explanations, human reasoning, and the overarching nature of reality, The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch is a profound work of physics and philosophy.
Recommended“I read this book recently um David Deutsch the beginning of infinity and it's like it blew my mind”
Where to get it
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The Matter With Things
The Matter With Things by Iain McGilchrist is a sweeping philosophical and neurological inquiry into how the two hemispheres of the brain shape human perception, culture, and our modern obsession with material reductionism.
Recommended“And he wrote this book called The Master and Its Chemistry. This fellow, he's old. He's maybe 80. Uh, Master and Hing Emistry. And he wrote another book called The Matter with Things. Uh, they're both phenomenal.”
Where to get it
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The Status Game
The Status Game by Will Storr is a psychology and sociology book that explores how the universal human drive for social status dictates human behavior, interaction, and culture.
Recommended“uh did you read that Will's store book status the status game no really good like really interesting about like there's kind of a weird status game going on in every interaction in life”
Where to get it
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The War of Art
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is a well-regarded guide on creativity, professionalism, and overcoming self-imposed creative blocks known as resistance.
Recommended“that's similar to Stephen uh pressfield's work you know the war of art oh I love that book yeah fantastic book”
Where to get it
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Tribe
Tribe by Sebastian Junger is a reflective examination of social cohesion, community, and the psychological impacts of modern isolation compared to traditional societies.
Recommended“There's a great book called Selfie and a great book called Tribe. I remember sort of reading them back to back and thinking, 'Yeah, there's something's going on here.'”
Where to get it
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What color is your parachute?
What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles is a classic career-guidance and self-help manual designed to help job-seekers navigate career transitions, discover personal strengths, and find fulfilling work through structured soul-searching.
Recommended“And there's a book called um What Color Is Your Parachute? They're quite corporate both of them.”
Where to get it
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Zen and the Art of Making a Living
Zen and the Art of Making a Living by Laurence G.
Recommended“I literally went through uh it's two books um Zen and the Art of Making a Living I would recommend to people. It's still available. And there's a book called um What Color Is Your Parachute? They're quite corporate both of them.”
Where to get it
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1984
1984 by George Orwell is a classic dystopian novel depicting a totalitarian regime characterized by extreme surveillance, historical denial, and psychological manipulation.
Discussed“And so obviously that applies to now. So his thing was George Orwell wasn't right. Ordis Huxley was right. So it wasn't about like um 1984 and this authoritarian regime taking control from above.”
Where to get it
The other 11 books Jimmy Carr recommended or discussed, ranked
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino
- Factfulness by Hans Rosling
- Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
- Letters to a young contrarian by Christopher Hitchens
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
- Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit
- Slowness by Milan Kundera
- The fourth turning by William Strauss
- The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
- The master and his emissary by Iain McGilchrist
Books Jimmy Carr wrote
Appearances
Other mentions (12: passing, ad reads, own books)
“You know, there's a theory about that on the that's what the whale represents, the belly of the whale in the Bible that you're that you're living in the um uh you're living in the ruins of a civilization that you can no longer build.”
“And then thinking about what you really want as opposed to Yes. That line from Fight Club, isn't it? The uh we spend our lives making money to buy things to impress people we don't give a And think about how much that's hijacked by social media where people are just chasing likes all day.”
“And writing the book Before and After, which is kind of a autobiography, but also a bit self-helpy, is very much authentically who I am.”
“there's a book called um what color is your parachute which I read at the time”
“And, you know, my my in my book is about this really. It's a it's a a case for living through humor.”
“My book really is about trying to share that. So I did the autobiography, but I wanted it to be I wanted it to be half about me and half about you.”
“In a way, I think I mean, part of the reason for the book is I think a lot of people aspire to that. A lot of people want to want to find their purpose and they want to they want to pursue it and you know it's very sad a lot of people don't get to do either.”
“But you know, the premise of the book kind of is there's nothing special about me. It was not preordained that I was going to be a successful comedian touring the world and being on TV.”
“I make a lot of cases in the book for conflated words. Like, you know, words that you sort of think they mean the same thing, but they don't. There's a that's sort of a theme in the book.”
“Um where people are I sort of quote a lot in the book. I use a lot of quotes, because I sort of think quotes are the truth. Like the It's everything else has been burnt away. There's nothing left but these six or seven words that just sum something up.”
“You know, and then it's it's the other thing on life where you kind of go I write in the book quite a lot about money. About the idea of like, what is it? What's going on there? Cuz it's such a powerful thing. We spend so much of our lives. We give up so much for these tokens.”
“Yeah, I mean, I I spoke about it in the book because I think it's a um I wanted to kind of deliver on Listen, if I hadn't talked about the tax thing in the book, I think people readers would have felt short-changed. Very much like HMRC did.”