Person
Every book Matt Ridley recommended on podcasts
Across 4 podcasts. Every show Matt Ridley appears on, in one place — not just one.
Matt Ridley’s most recommended books
- The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
- The Evolution of Beauty by Richard O. Prum
- The descent of man by Charles Darwin
- The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
- Second Nature by Haim Ofek
- The Heart is a Quarter Pounder by Jeffrey Miller
- The Innovators by Walter Isaacson
- The Mating Mind by Geoffrey Miller
- The Second Sleep by Robert Harris
- The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin
Matt Ridley appeared on EconTalk and Modern Wisdom to discuss evolution, natural history, and the concept of beauty. During these episodes, Ridley recommended Richard O. Prum's The Evolution of Beauty, pointing to it as part of a modern scientific effort to revive Charles Darwin's original perspectives on sexual selection and biological aesthetics. Building on these evolutionary themes, Ridley frequently referenced Charles Darwin's foundational texts, including The Origin of Species and The Voyage of the Beagle, to explore how Darwin's interest in natural selection and beauty developed over time and how his focus shifted after initial publication. Furthermore, Ridley brought up Jeffrey Miller's book The Mating Mind to support the theoretical proposition that the human brain evolved as a sexually selected feature, illustrating the extreme lengths and impacts of sexual selection across species. Through these discussions, Ridley connected historical scientific literature with contemporary biological research to explain the evolutionary drivers of beauty, animal behavior, and human psychology.
Books recommended by Matt Ridley
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The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin’s foundational work on evolutionary biology, The Origin of Species, outlines the theory of evolution by natural selection and presents extensive evidence connecting biological and geological phenomena.
Discussed“well he mentioned the idea in the Origin of Species very briefly”
Where to get it
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The Evolution of Beauty
The Evolution of Beauty by Richard O.
Discussed“and Richard PR has written about this in in his book The Evolution of beauty”
Where to get it
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The descent of man
The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin is an 1871 scientific work that expands on evolutionary theory by focusing heavily on sexual selection, human ancestry, and the development of social and moral faculties.
Discussed“So, there's a wonderful quote from The Descent of Man, which was his 1871 book, where he says, "The most refined beauty may serve as a sexual charm and for no other purpose."”
Where to get it
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The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins is a foundational work of popular science that presents a gene-centric view of evolution, arguing that natural selection operates primarily at the level of genes rather than individuals or species.
Discussed“new book published by one of the professors that was about to teach me it turned out his name was richard dawkins the book was called the selfish gene and that sent those hairs up on the back of my neck reading it”
Where to get it
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Second Nature
Discussed“i got that from a book called second nature by a guy called haimofek which was about basically sort of you know stone age economics”
Where to get it
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The Heart is a Quarter Pounder
The Heart is a Quarter Pounder is a provocative look at evolutionary psychology and human behavior.
Discussed“but which was laid out in a very good book by Jeffrey Miller 25 years ago called The Mating mind”
Where to get it
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The Innovators
The Innovators by Walter Isaacson is a comprehensive historical account that examines how a collaborative network of hackers, geniuses, and geeks drove the digital revolution and created the modern computer.
Discussed“i mean i have a section in the book called who invented the computer and i draw very heavily on walter isaacson's wonderful book the innovators to to understand that story”
Where to get it
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The Mating Mind
The Mating Mind by Geoffrey Miller is an evolutionary psychology book arguing that the human brain evolved primarily as a complex sexual ornament, much like a peacock's tail, to attract mates through creativity and intelligence.
Discussed“laid out in a very good book by Jeffrey Miller 25 years ago called The Mating mind in which he says”
Where to get it
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The origins of virtue
The origins of virtue by Matt Ridley is an accessible scientific investigation into the biological and evolutionary roots of human morality, cooperation, and altruism.
Discussed“So, the lobster fishery in Maine, which I wrote about in The Origins of Virtue years ago. You know, there were rules about who could fish where and who couldn't, and they were totally self-enforced”
Where to get it
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The Second Sleep
Discussed“there's a very nice uh novel by robert harris a very recent novel uh called the second sleep which came out about a year ago”
Where to get it
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The Voyage of the Beagle
The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin is the celebrated travel memoir and scientific journal chronicling Darwin's five-year survey expedition that fundamentally shaped his theories on evolution and natural selection.
Discussed“well he mentioned the idea in the Origin of Species very briefly”
Where to get it
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The Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is a foundational 1776 text by the Scottish thinker often regarded as the father of modern economics, exploring free markets, capitalism, and the mechanics of national wealth.
Discussed“now i'm only here repeating what adam smith said in um uh the wealth of nations about the you know the the the butcher and the baker are not uh giving you bread and beer because they want to be kind to you they're doing it to make a living but they end up being kind to you and you”
Where to get it
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Unweaving the Rainbow
Unweaving the Rainbow by Richard Dawkins is a celebrated work of popular science that explores the intersection of scientific understanding, poetry, and wonder, arguing that scientific explanations enhance rather than diminish the beauty of the natural world.
Discussed“I think Richard Dawkins has made a very good point here that unweaving the rainbow um finding out what a rainbow is made of has not made it less wonderful”
Where to get it
Books Matt Ridley wrote
- The origins of virtue
- Viral
- Birds, Sex and Beauty: The extraordinary implications of Charles Darwin’s strangest idea
Appearances
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“and the book is the book is called I should say bird sex and Beauty The Strain the the the um oh what did I what's the subtitle the the implications of Charles Darwin strangest idea”
“and then i came across the work of alina chan who eventually became my co-author on this book”
“and he wrote back and said well i think i got that idea from your book the origins of virtue”