Person
Every book Joseph Carlsmith recommended on podcasts
Joseph Carlsmith appeared on the Dwarkesh Podcast to discuss topics including utopia, artificial intelligence, and infinite ethics, during which he recommended several books and works that had impacted his thinking. He highlighted Toby Ord’s book The Precipice as his primary recommendation, noting that he had helped with the project and that its ideas had strongly affected his life. Carlsmith also praised the play Angels in America by Tony Kushner, describing it as epic and amazing while clarifying that it could be read even if it was not quite a conventional book. Additionally, he recommended Marilynne Robinson’s novel Housekeeping, pointing to the numinous quality he found characteristic of her writing. Finally, he brought up George Saunders’s book on fiction writing, A Swim in the Pond in the Rain, while discussing the close attention to readers and sentences involved in the craft of writing fiction. Throughout the conversation, Carlsmith elaborated on how these diverse literary and dramatic works influenced his perspectives on writing, ethics, and human futures.
Books recommended by Joseph Carlsmith
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Angels in America
Angels in America by Tony Kushner is a monumental two-part theatrical play that examines the AIDS epidemic, politics, and identity in 1980s America.
Recommended“I I love the Play Angels in America um I think it's just I think it's a epic and amazing um and you know that's not quite a book but um you know you can read it”
Where to get it
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Housekeeping
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson is a celebrated debut novel that explores themes of grief, transience, and the profound, haunting isolation experienced by two orphaned sisters raised by eccentric relatives in a remote Idaho town.
Recommended“and then uh I don't know uh last last year I read I read this book housekeeping by um by Marilyn Robinson and and uh it had this sort of numinous uh quality that um I think a lot of her writing does”
Where to get it
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The Precipice
The Precipice by Toby Ord is a comprehensive examination of existential risks and the future of humanity, assessing the various perils that could threaten the survival of civilization.
Recommended“probably my primary recommendation that this is somewhat self-serving because I helped with this this project is the book The precipice by Toby ORD um I you know maybe familiar to many many of your listeners”
Where to get it
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A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders is a critically acclaimed book in which the celebrated author and teacher analyzes classic Russian short stories by writers like Chekhov and Tolstoy to explore both the craft of writing and the nature of human thought.
Discussed“I was recently reading this book um George Saunders who I think the writer I really admire has this uh book about fiction writing called uh swim in the pond in the rain um and the vibe uh he tries to convey”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Carlsmith - Utopia, AI, & Infinite Ethics | Dwarkesh Podcast | 2022-08-03 | 4 |