Person
Every book Maya Shankar recommended on podcasts
Across 3 podcasts. Every show Maya Shankar appears on, in one place — not just one.
Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist and behavioral strategist known for her work in applying behavioral science to public policy and human decision-making. During various podcast appearances, she discussed several foundational books that influenced her academic and professional journey. Shankar frequently mentioned Steven Pinker's pop-science book The Language Instinct, recalling how she stumbled upon it on a bookshelf while perusing her sister's college materials after giving up her violin career, an encounter that ultimately ignited her passion for cognitive science. Additionally, she discussed Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein's influential book Nudge, referencing it while describing how she connected with authors like Cass Sunstein and Lori Santos to help guide her entry into behavioral science advisory roles in government. Shankar also highlighted Dudley Randall's anthology The Black Poets, bringing it up to illustrate how reading a particular volume gave Reginald Dwayne Betts a profound sense of identity and direction, including inspiring a man in prison to write hundreds of poems about the criminal justice system and sparking significant personal transformation.
Books recommended by Maya Shankar
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Nudge
Nudge by Richard H.
Discussed“But Lori had heard Cass Sunstein, the co-author of the book Nudge. It's kind of one of the fathers of this space and had worked for Obama for four years, had heard him speak at a conference.”
Where to get it
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The Language Instinct
The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker is a seminal popular science exploration of how humans acquire, use, and biologically possess language.
Discussed“So I started looking at their bookshelf and came across a pop science book called 'The Language Instinct' by Stephen Pinker. That was a turning point for me.”
Where to get it
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The Black Poets
The Black Poets by Dudley Randall is an influential and expansive poetry anthology that preserves and celebrates foundational works of African American verse.
Discussed“So one day he gets a book called The Black Poets. And in the book, he read a poem by Etheridge Knight, who had also spent time in prison and had written this incredibly stirring poem about the criminal justice system.”
Where to get it
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An Instinct to Acquire an Art
Discussed“So I started perusing the bookshelf, and then I came across this pop-science book called "The Language Instinct," by Stephen Pinker.”
Where to get it
Books Maya Shankar wrote
Appearances
Other mentions (5: passing, ad reads, own books)
“As a podcaster, hosting a slight change of plans, writing the other side of change. All of these pursuits have been about forging deep emotional connections with people.”
“The title's not an accident. The other side of change.”
“And the people that I interviewed for the other side of change by and large aren't happy that they had to go through what they went through.”
“You know, and so it's so interesting because I was seeing I went into write, by the way, writing the other side of change pretty agnostic as to what I would find.”
“I realized, by the way, so one of the chapters in the other side of change is about a woman who has to revisit her relationship um with her family history.”