Mentioned in Podcasts

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Every book Mathias Döpfner recommended on podcasts

Guest on MD MEETS · 4 books · 3 episodes across 1 podcast

Mathias Döpfner is a podcast host on MD MEETS who interviews notable figures across media, music, and technology. Across multiple podcast episodes, he has discussed a variety of books with his guests. Döpfner brought up Patrick Süskind's successful German book The Evolution of the Double Bass, or The Double Bass, to discuss the psychological challenges and inferiority complexes associated with playing the bass in a classical orchestra. While interviewing Barry Diller, Döpfner referred to a specific scene described in Diller's book regarding the opening night of Studio 54, mentioned details about Diller's difficult childhood, referenced his self-reflective disclosures about not speaking about his sexuality earlier, and discussed his relationship with Diane von Fürstenberg. In a conversation with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Döpfner brought up Yuval Noah Harari's fascinating book Homo Deus to discuss the next era of mankind and whether Altman shared that vision. Additionally, Döpfner mentioned Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray to ask Sam Altman about his fascination with eternal youth and how it relates to themes presented in the book.

Books recommended by Mathias Döpfner

Who said what is determined automatically. In hand-checked samples, at least 6% of mentions were credited to the wrong speaker — sometimes an interviewer’s line recorded as the guest’s, sometimes the reverse. Every entry below quotes the words and links to the episode, so you can check it.

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  1. The Baby Name Survey Book

    Bruce Lansky; Barry Sinrod · Discussed · 1 episode

    Discussed
    “Barry, in your book you're describing a scene, I think it's April 26th in 1977, the opening night of Studio 54...”
    MD MEETS Media Mogul Barry Diller: Success, Sexuality & Serendipity 2025-10-12 Listen at 1:38
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  2. Homo Deus

    Yuval Noah Harari · Discussed · 1 episode

    Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari explores the future of humankind, charting how societies might evolve and addressing the rise of artificial intelligence and transhumanism.

    Discussed
    “Yuval Harari, the Israeli writer, wrote a fascinating book called Homo Deus where he basically describes the next era of mankind where we become almost like gods.”
    MD MEETS OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: AI Warfare, Freedom & Immortality 2025-10-01 Listen at 13:06
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  3. The Double Bass

    Patrick Süskind · Discussed · 1 episode

    Discussed
    “There is a famous a very successful book in Germany written by Patrick Zuskint. Uh it's called the double bass and it's basically about a bass player from a classical orchestra and the book is dealing with his inferiority complexes that he is never in the forefront of attention that he's always in the background.”
    MD MEETS Jazz Legend Ron Carter: A Life in Music – From Coltrane to Miles Davis 2026-09-06
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  4. The Picture of Dorian Gray

    Oscar Wilde, Oscar Wilde, Oscar Wilde · Discussed · 1 episode

    The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is a classic philosophical novel exploring aestheticism, morality, and the corrupting pursuit of eternal youth and hedonism.

    Discussed
    “But I think you once said that Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray is a book that you particularly like.”
    MD MEETS OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: AI Warfare, Freedom & Immortality 2025-10-01 Listen at 18:44
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

Appearances

EpisodePodcastDateBooks
Jazz Legend Ron Carter: A Life in Music – From Coltrane to Miles DavisMD MEETS2026-09-061
Media Mogul Barry Diller: Success, Sexuality & SerendipityMD MEETS2025-10-124
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: AI Warfare, Freedom & ImmortalityMD MEETS2025-10-012