Person
Maria Konnikova's books and book recommendations
Across 7 podcasts. Every show Maria Konnikova appears on, in one place — not just one.
Maria Konnikova is an American writer. Konnikova has also worked as a television producer, poker player, and podcaster. She has written three New York Times bestseller list books, including Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes. Throughout her appearances on podcasts, Konnikova has discussed and recommended several notable books. On an episode of Risky Business, she praised Nicholas Thompson's previous book The Hawk and the Dove about the Cold War era, calling it phenomenal, and also enthusiastically introduced his new book The Running Ground, urging listeners to read and buy a copy while discussing its themes involving his relationship with his father and running. In another episode, she offered a recommendation for Kashmir Hill's Your Face Belongs to Us during a conversation surrounding privacy concerns and facial recognition technology. While appearing on The Jordan Harbinger Show, Konnikova recommended David Maurer's book The Big Con, noting that it features a memorable quote from a con artist about cons. Additionally, during a discussion about journalistic ethics and Robert Moses on Risky Business, she brought up Robert Caro's The Power Broker to illustrate how the author gained access for a legendary journalistic project, highlighting the book as an absolute feat of journalism that won many awards.
Books by Maria Konnikova
Books recommended by Maria Konnikova
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Theory of Games and Economic Behavior
Theory of Games and Economic Behavior by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern is a foundational academic text that established the formal mathematical framework for modern game theory.
Discussed“and it wasn't my idea so I was actually reading the theory of games and economic behavior by Jon Von Neumann Oscar Morgenstern”
Where to get it
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The Big Con
The Big Con by David Maurer is a classic sociological and historical study detailing the techniques, language, and culture of confidence men and professional grifters.
Discussed“well I think David Moore put it best um back in 1940 in his book the big con where he called them the aristocrats of crime”
Where to get it
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The Running Ground
Nicholas Thompson's The Running Ground is a deeply personal memoir and exploration of endurance, decision-making, and family dynamics centered around marathon running.
Recommended“Um, and now we have him on because he has a new book coming out. I think the most personal book he's ever written, The Running Ground. And the book is out now. You should all absolutely read it.”
Where to get it
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The hawk and the dove
The Hawk and the Dove by Nicholas Thompson is a dual biography that examines the lives and diplomatic philosophies of political figures Paul Nitze and George Kennan during the Cold War era.
Recommended“He is also the editor-inchief uh former editor and chief of Wired um and wrote a book called The Hawk and the Dove about the Cold War era. It's absolutely phenomenal. You should check it out.”
Where to get it
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Your Face Belongs to Us
Your Face Belongs to Us by Kashmir Hill is an investigative non-fiction book that examines the rise of facial recognition technology and its profound implications for personal privacy.
Recommended“there's a really good book about this by the way so Random plug for uh cash Hill's book your face belongs to us which is a really interesting and sounds like a song”
Where to get it
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Barbie!
Discussed“I decided to go to Hollywood um and I um am giving this award to Greta Gerwig who was the writer and director of Barbie um who just got completely shut out at the Oscars losing everything losing even some nominations”
Where to get it
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Critique of Pure Reason
Critique of Pure Reason is a foundational philosophical work by Immanuel Kant that investigates the limits and structure of human knowledge.
Discussed“Yes, he did, he did, he did, and I was so excited when I found that section of critique of pure reason, and was able to apply it to poker.”
Where to get it
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Enchiridion
Epictetus's Enchiridion is a concise handbook of practical Stoic philosophy summarizing the ancient thinker's core ethical teachings on perception, resilience, and personal control.
Discussed“And when I read the Enchiridion am I pronouncing that correctly? I've always said it out in my head”
Where to get it
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J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century
J.
Critiqued“and I actually did not like Oppenheimer at all I thought it was a horrible movie I thought it was really boring I did not think that it should have gotten all the awards got so like I actually disagreed completely”
Where to get it
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No Rules Rules: Netflix and the culture of reinvention
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the culture of reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer explores the management practices and unique corporate culture behind the streaming service.
Discussed“Today, join me in a deep dive into No Rules Rules, Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, the new book from Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and noted business professor Aaron Meyer.”
Where to get it
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On the Edge
On the Edge by Nate Silver is an exploration of high-stakes risk-taking, examining the habits and behaviors of prominent figures who operate in environments like poker, finance, and entrepreneurship.
Discussed“well Nate um you you read uh Nate's book on the edge um and and we talked about this on the podcast”
Where to get it
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Smoke gets in your eyes
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty is a 2014 debut memoir detailing the author's early experiences and career working as a young mortician in the funeral industry.
Discussed“today we're talking with mortician and author Caitlin Dodie about her first book Smoke Gets In Your Eyes which was published in 2014 when Dodie was 30”
Where to get it
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Superintelligence
Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom is a rigorous philosophical exploration of the potential existential risks, pathways, and ultimate consequences of creating artificial intelligence that vastly surpasses human cognitive capabilities.
Discussed“It's an AI philosophy problem first proposed by Nick Bostonramm about basically how paper clips can cause the end of the world.”
Where to get it
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The Colossus
The Colossus by Sylvia Plath is a celebrated poetry collection that reflects the author's early mastery of verse and captured significant cultural attention upon its release.
Discussed“there's this event called The Colossus or as I like to call it not affectionately after that summer the Cass hole um because it has a million possible re-entries and it's a very low price point I think it was like $500 or $600”
Where to get it
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The Confidence Man
Herman Melville's final novel The Confidence Man is a darkly satirical and deeply philosophical work set aboard a Mississippi River steamboat on April Fool's Day, examining human gullibility, trust, and deception.
Discussed“the first novel that really devotes itself to con artists that I could find was Melville's the confidence man and that was his last book”
Where to get it
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The Power Broker
The Power Broker by Robert A.
Discussed“in the Power Broker, which you know won all the awards and was, you know, kind of this absolute feat of journalism. But Moses gave him access for a long time.”
Where to get it
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The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S.
Discussed“You I'm sure you read Nate, you went to the University of Chicago, so I'm assuming that this is something that that you read maybe in more than one class. Uh Thomas Coon's structure of scientific revolutions.”
Where to get it
Appearances
Other mentions (24: passing, ad reads, own books)
“and its all kind of these you know forms of kind of cheat cheating with what your profession is supposed to do. Unless like I said I dont actually necessarily have a problem with using AI if you say like how youre doing it.”
“our wonderful producers have just shared that there was a book on this called a libertarian walks into a bear. Um and that book is about this town of Grafton, New Hampshire and Grafton.”
“So, as listeners of the show know, I'm working on a book about cheating in games, which is very germanine here.”
“like the biggest bluff I think the first draft of that whole book was written by hand”
“it's an uphill battle and it's one that, you know, with the biggest bluff I tried to fight.”
“Today is the launch of the paperback of On the Edge. On the Edge, The Art of Over Seeing Everything, a bestseller by groundbreaking author Nate Silver.”
“one of the things I learned when I was um back when I was working on the conf Confidence Game um I actually talk to a lot of people who do um information security”
“it's a prime directive of Star Trek like it's not a rule the prime directive I don't know I as much of but like you're not allowed to interfere in A Primitive alien culture right”
“I wrote a book about con artists and about how they operate and about you know how the whole world works”
“because I was writing the biggest Bluff and so I documented all of it I played my M my first main event for the book”
“so if someone's trying to if the deal is this was before I wrote The Confidence Game but if something is too good to be true it probably is”
“Nate you should have read one of the first posts I made on the leap about the risk-taking calculus when one goes hiking”
“I mean, so in the book, I don't put Trump in either the village or the river. I I you know I think he wishes he could have been in the village.”
“that would have been the ultimate illusion of control study Oscar wild Picture of Dorian Gray”
“So um in The Confidence Game which was the book I wrote about con artists um Ferdinand Waldo deara who's known as the great impostor”
“I really enjoyed reading on the edge which is out today so by the time that everyone is listening um I hope you've already bought a copy”
“I did this for The Confidence Game my last book”
“I did it for Mastermind my first book”
“and also thank you so much for um that great advertisement for my last book the biggest Bluff”
“my second book was about con artists The Confidence Game”
“So this was never something that was an interest for me. And I actually had never played poker in my life. I didn't know the rules. I didn't know anything. When I first met the person who would end up becoming my coach and my mentor for many years and is one of the central characters of The Biggest Bluff,”
“The Confidence Game had just come out and I was ready to think about my next project.”
“Yes. Um, and I actually, that's the, the title of the last chapter, um, of, uh, my book is the Ludic fallacy.”
“My first book, Mastermind, was actually, it was about Sherlock Holmes, but it was really about mindfulness.”