Person
Every book Michael Pollan recommended on podcasts
Michael Pollan explores the intersections of consciousness, science, philosophy, and human perception, most notably demonstrated during his extensive discussion on The Ezra Klein Show. As an author and investigator of altered states and the mind, Pollan's book recommendations reflect a profound interest in how humans experience reality. Among his top recommendations is The Blind Spot by Adam Frank, Marcelo Gleiser, and Evan Thompson, which he highlights as a powerful critique of Western physical science. He has also recommended Anil Seth's Being You as an insightful exploration of the self perceived through neuroscience, and Lucy Ellmann's monumental stream-of-consciousness novel Ducks, Newburyport. In discussing his own research into mystical experiences and the mind, Pollan frequently references foundational texts such as William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience, Thomas Nagel's essay What Is It Like to Be a Bat?, Mark Solms's The Hidden Spring, and Antonio Damasio's Descartes' Error. Through these selections, Pollan reveals an intellectual dedication to bridging empirical science with the deeply subjective mysteries of human consciousness.
Books recommended by Michael Pollan
-
Being You
Being You: A New Science of Consciousness by Anil Seth is a book by an English neuroscientist that explores the nature of the self and human consciousness.
Recommended“Lastly, there was a book about conscience. There were several books on consciousness I liked, but the one I want to recommend is "Being You" by Anil Seth. He’s an English neuroscientist, and it’s a book about the self, and he treats the self as a perception.”
Where to get it
-
Ducks, Newburyport
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann is a sprawling, experimental stream-of-consciousness novel written predominantly as a single, massive sentence spanning roughly one thousand pages.
Recommended“Another book that was really influential as I was working on the stream of consciousness is a stream-of-consciousness novel by Lucy Ellmann called "Ducks, Newburyport" It’s 1,000 pages, one sentence. And that sounds I know that sounds really daunting and I’m not going to pick that up. You can open it anywhere you want, read 10 pages...”
Where to get it
-
The Blind Spot
The Blind Spot by Adam Frank, Marcelo Gleiser, and Evan Thompson is a philosophical and scientific critique examining the limitations and assumptions inherent in modern Western physical science.
Recommended“Well, a book that was really influential in the writing of this book is a book called "The Blind Spot" It’s by a philosopher, Evan Thompson, and two physicists, Adam Frank and Marcelo Gleiser. It’s a critique of Western science, and it makes a very powerful case that the blind spot of the physical sciences is inability to deal with”
Where to get it
-
The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide
The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide by James Fadiman is a practical manual that offers guidance and instruction on navigating psychedelic experiences.
Recommended“there's a very good book called the psychedelic explorers manual”
Where to get it
-
A World Appears
Discussed“So, basically it yeah, the book grew out of the psychedelic experiences and some meditation experience.”
Where to get it
-
Descartes' Error
Descartes' Error by Antonio Damasio is a foundational neuroscience book exploring the vital role that emotions and feelings play in human decision-making and rational thought.
Discussed“I mean, in a way, this is the lesson of Antonio Damasio’s first book in 1994, "Descartes' Error," it was called, and he was basically showing that feelings and emotions should be admitted into the decision making process...”
Where to get it
-
Drug Use for Grown-Ups
Drug Use for Grown-Ups by Carl L.
Discussed“and i just read his book um yeah drug use for grown-ups it's a really interesting and courageous book”
Where to get it
-
Finding the Mother Tree
Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard is a compelling scientific work that explores how trees communicate and function within complex forest ecosystems.
Discussed“suzanne simard just wrote this really interesting book about this called searching for the mother tree”
Where to get it
-
Frankenstein
Frankenstein by Mary W.
Discussed“You know, in Frankenstein Dr. Frankenstein made a monster that was intelligent, but he also gave it consciousness.”
Where to get it
-
How to Change Your Mind
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan is an investigative exploration of the history and science of psychedelics, including psilocybin, LSD, and their potential therapeutic applications.
Discussed“i said in how to change your mind that you know it could be that psychedelics are wasted on the young”
Where to get it
-
The doors of perception
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley is a classic exploration of consciousness and psychedelic experiences that details the author's experiments with mescaline.
Discussed“and the trip that became the the wonderful book the doors of perception was administered by Humphry Osmond”
Where to get it
-
The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness
Discussed“And he’s written a really interesting book called "The Hidden Spring" And his theory is that consciousness arises when you can’t automate things.”
Where to get it
-
The Varieties of Religious Experience
The Varieties of Religious Experience is a foundational 1902 psychological work by William James based on his lecture series regarding human consciousness and spiritual phenomena.
Discussed“And I first got acquainted with him when I was working on how to change your mind, because he’d written the varieties of religious experience, and there’s a fantastic chapter there on mystical experience.”
Where to get it
-
What Is It Like to Be a Bat?
Discussed“There’s the famous definition of Thomas Nagel, who wrote this great essay called "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" And his test for consciousness is if it is like anything to be a creature, that creature then is conscious.”
Where to get it
Books Michael Pollan wrote
- Cooked
- The Botany of Desire
- Cannabis, Forgetting, and the Botany of Desire
- How to Change Your Mind
- The Omnivore's Dilemma
- This Is Your Mind On Plants
- A World Appears
Appearances
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“cooked was a book i wrote a few years ago about cooking”
“I wrote about Anam botany of desire there's a long chapter on cannabis and I've always been curious about that desire because it doesn't seem on its face to be so helpful or adaptive”
“and in fact I've written about this abiding and universal desire of humans to change their consciousness for a long time I wrote about Anam botany of desire there's a long chapter on cannabis and I've always been curious about that desire because it doesn't seem on its face to be so helpful or adaptive”