Person
Michael Shellenberger's book recommendations
Across 7 podcasts. Every show Michael Shellenberger appears on, in one place — not just one.
Michael Shellenberger’s most recommended books
- Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
- Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier
- One Nation under Blackmail by Whitney Alyse Webb
- Woke Racism by John McWhorter
- City of Quartz by Mike Davis
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey
- Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Blind Spots by Marty Makary
- Mind, Modernity, Madness by Liah Greenfeld
Michael D. Shellenberger is a political and ecomodernist activist and writer best known for his heterodox views. On various podcasts, Shellenberger discussed or recommended several books across diverse subjects. On The Tucker Carlson Show, he recommended Liah Greenfeld's Nationalism, The Spirit of Capitalism, and Mind, Madness and Modernity as part of her trilogy on nationalism and modernity. Appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience, he brought up Marty Makary's Blind Spots to discuss medical guidelines and pediatrician recommendations. In the same podcast, he mentioned Nassim Nicholas Taleb's Antifragile while discussing the concept of leaning into adversity and hardship, and referenced Viktor E. Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning to discuss resilience, mental attitude, and the importance of a statue of responsibility. On The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast, Shellenberger reflected on reading Abigail Shrier's Irreversible Damage, revealing that he initially struggled to accept its claims until he encountered the WPATH files. Additionally, he recommended Andrew M. Łobaczewski's Political Ponerology when discussing the psychology of totalitarianism, using these various recommendations to support his analyses on society, medicine, and human psychology.
Books recommended by Michael Shellenberger
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Man's Search for Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E.
Discussed“i was like uh you know Victor Frankl who wrote man search for meaning was this incredible Holocaust Survivor”
Where to get it
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Apocalypse Never
Apocalypse Never by Michael Shellenberger is a bestselling book that critiques environmental alarmism and examines modern perspectives on climate change, energy, and social issues.
Discussed“san francisco refers also to compassion sickness sanford you know saint francis is the saint of of compassion you go too far and you get pathological altruism”
Where to get it
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Irreversible Damage
Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier is a 2020 non-fiction book that explores the social contagion aspect of gender dysphoria, focusing on the sudden, massive surge in teenage girls identifying as transgender.
Recommended“I’d read Abigail Shrier's book, but honestly, my psychological reaction until I was confronted with these files and asked to effectively bring them into the world was one of denial.”
Where to get it
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One Nation under Blackmail
One Nation under Blackmail by Whitney Alyse Webb is a heavily researched, two-volume investigation into the historical connections between organized crime, intelligence agencies, and elite blackmail rings, including the operations surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.
Discussed“I mean that's the premise of Whidley Webb's two volume book One Nation under blackmail. Um but when you look at it like we don't see that.”
Where to get it
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Woke Racism
Woke Racism by John McWhorter is a critical examination of contemporary social justice movements, arguing that a new dogmatic ideology functions similarly to a traditional religion and negatively impacts Black America.
Discussed“because we had read I had read John mcc's book woke racism which came out right around the time that San Francisco came out and I just was like and he argues that wokeism is a religion”
Where to get it
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San Fransicko
San Fransicko by Michael Shellenberger is a critical examination of urban decay, homelessness, and governance in modern American cities, arguing that progressive policies have severely harmed places like San Francisco.
Discussed“This is you know there's a chapter on my book called love bombing, but it's basically this is the big blind spot for progressives”
Where to get it
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City of Quartz
City of Quartz by Mike Davis is a critical urban history and examination of Los Angeles that explores the social, political, and racial forces shaping the metropolis.
Discussed“I mean the the best the most articulate um advocate of that view is a Marxist named U Mike Davis who wrote this book called city of quartz”
Where to get it
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The Death of Environmentalism
Discussed“for uh the first book i did which was co-authored and it's a book it was a book called breakthrough from the death of environmentalism to the politics of possibility”
Where to get it
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The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is a classic American novel depicting the hardships of Oklahoma families migrating to California during the Great Depression.
Discussed“well remember the remember uh grapes of wrath uh the john steinbeck novel is the oh they came from the dust bowl in oklahoma”
Where to get it
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The Man Who Would Be Queen
The Man Who Would Be Queen by J.
Discussed“the other psychologist is Michael Bailey and he wrote a book on it so it's really these two characters twoy book I can't I it's something I think it was something like the man who be a woman yeah that's the man who would be Queen”
Where to get it
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Antifragile
Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a groundbreaking exploration of systems that not only withstand shocks and disorder but actually thrive and grow stronger when exposed to volatility, stress, and uncertainty.
Recommended“you know Nim TB does a good job with this with his book um anti fragile yeah antifragile”
Where to get it
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Blind Spots
Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong and What It Means for Our Health by Marty Makary is a critical examination of medical dogma and systemic errors within the healthcare establishment.
Recommended“my friend Marty mcari just came out with this amazing book called blind spot yeah blind spots”
Where to get it
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Mind, Modernity, Madness
Mind, Modernity, Madness by Liah Greenfeld is the third installment in a major sociological trilogy exploring the relationship between cultural environments, human consciousness, and psychological distress.
Recommended“she wrote A Trilogy on nationalism named Leah greenfeld recommend her books her first book is called nationalism second book is called Spirit of capitalism and then the third book is called Mind Madness and modernity”
Where to get it
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Nationalism
Nationalism by Liah Greenfeld is a foundational sociological study exploring the historical emergence and global transformation of national identity.
Recommended“she wrote A Trilogy on nationalism named Leah greenfeld recommend her books her first book is called nationalism”
Where to get it
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Political ponerology
Political Ponerology by Andrew M.
Recommended“if you read political ponerology this really interesting book on the psychology of totalitarianism”
Where to get it
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The Spirit of Capitalism
The Spirit of Capitalism by Liah Greenfeld is the second volume in a prominent scholarly trilogy examining the cultural foundations of modern economic systems and national identity.
Recommended“she wrote A Trilogy on nationalism named Leah greenfeld recommend her books her first book is called nationalism second book is called Spirit of capitalism”
Where to get it
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1984
1984 by George Orwell is a classic dystopian novel depicting a totalitarian regime characterized by extreme surveillance, historical denial, and psychological manipulation.
Discussed“remember George Orwell he was you know a leftist wrote 1984 because he had read James Bham who's this very famous you know former Trosky who becomes a conservative and writes u you know this book about the managerial state”
Where to get it
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American Homicide
Discussed“this is all based on this work from a book called american homicide by randolph roth”
Where to get it
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Blaming the Victim
Discussed“you get to 1970 and this very famous book gets published called uh blaming the victim”
Where to get it
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Dominion
Dominion by Tom Holland is a sweeping historical work examining how Christianity shaped Western culture, secular values, and modern moral frameworks.
Discussed“the enlightenment is a is arguably a secularized version of the judeo-christian tradition that's the argument that Tom Holland makes and dominion and N made it others make it”
Where to get it
The other 14 books Michael Shellenberger recommended or discussed, ranked
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt
- Fathers and Sons (Warbler Classics Annotated Edition) by Ivan Turgenev
- Imagined communities by Benedict Anderson
- Medical Nemesis by Ivan Illich
- Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
- The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker
- The Essential Whole Earth Catalog by Unknown
- The Innovators by Walter Isaacson
- The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt
- The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium by Martin Gurri
- The Scout Mindset by Julia Galef
- the second sex by Simone de Beauvoir
- The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James
Books by Michael Shellenberger
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Break through
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Apocalypse Never
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Fighting for the soul of Brazil
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San Fransicko
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War on Nuclear
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Pathocracy
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The Death of Environmentalism
Appearances
Other mentions (38: passing, ad reads, own books), the 30 most recent
“the person that thinks it was a lone shooter wrote a book called Case Closed that came out in the '90s.”
“I mean I was concerned around the ways in which the most civilized people the elites have been undermining civilization since my since really my first and second book both on the environment and on homelessness undermining for exact for example the security of a city you know making cities dangerous again”
“I mean I was concerned around the ways in which the most civilized people the elites have been undermining civilization since my since really my first and second book both on the environment and on homelessness undermining for exact for example the security of a city you know making cities dangerous again”
“I last time I was here you asked me if if what the new book was and this is what it is pathocracy is the new book why Elites subvert civilization”
“I last time I was here you asked me if if what the new book was and this is what it is pathocracy is the new book why Elites subvert civilization”
“I'd read Abigail shri's book”
“It's an old phenomenon; there's a wonderful book called "The Fourth Leading Cause of Death"u2014the fourth leading cause of deathu2014and that was before the vaccine compulsion.”
“well actually I then got my book apocalypse never came out in 2020 and Facebook censored me”
“that's why I wrote San Francisco is as I I couldn't understand”
“you know when the book came out I was criticized the New York Times of course they didn't like my book”
“I have two characters in my book real life characters”
“how when my book on the environment came out apocalypse never in 20120 I wrote an article that sort of summarized the book”
“she did dopamine Nation”
“but yeah I mean what we I also wrote about that in my book which is basically San Francisco pays a cash welfare payment”
“the issue has been the manipulation of people's minds has been around one floor of the cuckoo's nest people don't want to be involuntarily hospitalized”
“you're your book san francisco what would you call that that's a socio-political book”
“i wrote two books during the pandemic apocalypse never in san francisco and in both cases it was some humility that i was wrong”
“never in san francisco and in both cases it was some humility that i was wrong and i wanted to figure out what i was right that you know what what was right”
“and he said he's like you know the fritz lang i think he's like first-line movie metropolis you know which kind of depicts like this terrible capitalist industrial civilization”
“this is the subject of this is where san francisco and apocalypse never are going is that really people have created a new religion”
“i'm the author of apocalypse never”
“and also the new uh book san francisco why progressives ruined cities right on”
“and while you're at it by apocalypse never why environmental alarmism hurts us all”
“and steve also blurbed my new book san francisco and so san francisco”
“I have two books out, one last year, one this year, "Apocalypse Never," and "San Fran-sicko."”
“I have two books out, one last year, one this year, "Apocalypse Never," and "San Fran-sicko."”
“Part of the reason I wrote "San Fran-sicko" is because when I would raise the problems with them, including the fact that the vast majority of people living on the streets are addicted to hard drugs or suffering mental illness, they would say to me, it sounds like you just want to arrest everybody.”
“"San Fran-sicko" really describes the whole history of how did we get here, but basically we're in the midst of two overlapping drug epidemics, as you know...”
“San Francisco has more permanent supportive housing per capita than any other city, and it has the worst outcomes.”
“So what you find in the book in "San Fran-sicko," I document a long history going back, of course, to the '60s of antagonism, to the police, but to the criminal justice system more broadly.”