Person
Every book Katy Milkman recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- Katy Milkman has recommended or discussed 6 books on podcasts, as of December 29, 2025.
- Katy Milkman has talked about books on 3 podcasts, as of December 29, 2025.
- Those books came up in 3 episodes, as of December 29, 2025.
- The 3 books Katy Milkman has mentioned in the most episodes, as of December 29, 2025: Atomic Habits, Chatter and The Power of Habit.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Katy Milkman aired on December 29, 2025.
Updated
Across 3 podcasts. Every show Katy Milkman appears on, in one place, not just one.
Katy Milkman’s most recommended books
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Chatter by Ethan Kross
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Dr. Katy Milkman discussed several books across her appearances on The Mel Robbins Podcast and Freakonomics Radio, focusing largely on habit formation, decision-making, and motivation. On The Mel Robbins Podcast, she recommended Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit and James Clear's Atomic Habits, noting that both books have done a wonderful job popularizing the concept of the habit loop. During the same conversation, she recalled reading the Harry Potter novels as a graduate student when she wanted to immerse herself in fiction and escape to another place, illustrating her personal experience with temptation bundling. On Freakonomics Radio, she mentioned Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games as examples of highly engaging, tempting books that participants in her exercise studies could choose to consume exclusively while working out. She explained that participants often selected The Hunger Games because it was addictive and drove them to find out what happened next. Additionally, on EconTalk, she brought up Ethan Kross's book Chatter, describing the author as a psychologist at the University of Michigan and praising the work when discussing self-talk and confidence.
Books Katy Milkman recommended or discussed
-
Atomic Habits
Recommended“atomic habits by James Clear. These are great books that I think have done a nice job popularizing this idea of a habit loop.”
Where to get it
-
Chatter
Recommended“actually i don't know if you know ethan cross he wrote a brilliant book called chatter he's a psychologist at the university of michigan”
Where to get it
-
The Power of Habit
Recommended“If you know people may be familiar with the power of habit by Charles Doohig or atomic habits by James Clear. These are great books that I think have done a nice job popularizing this idea of a habit loop.”
Where to get it
-
Harry Potter
Discussed“I was really into the Harry Potter novels at that time. They were fairly new, you know. I just wanted to sink into fiction and go to another place.”
Where to get it
-
The Da Vinci Code
Discussed“So we had a list of 82 books that had been pre-rated as extremely tempting and difficult to put down once you get engaged. So these are books like The Da Vinci Code and The Hunger Games.”
Where to get it
-
The Hunger Games
Discussed“So these are books like The Da Vinci Code and The Hunger Games. The rules of The Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the 12 districts must provide one girl and one boy called tributes to participate.”
Where to get it
Books Katy Milkman wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change Your Life This Year: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be | The Mel Robbins Podcast | 2025-12-29 | 3 |
| Katy Milkman on How to Change | EconTalk | 2021-05-03 | 1 |
| When Willpower Isn’t Enough (Rebroadcast) | Freakonomics Radio | 2015-12-31 | 3 |
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“so in the book i write about two different strategies both the carrot and the stick we're trying to tackle willpower problems”
“um i'll give you another example of something that i think i write about in my book that i've studied and that i think is really related to ideas from religion and that is the fresh start effect”