Person
Every book Noah Smith recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- Noah Smith has recommended or discussed 5 books on podcasts, as of July 2, 2025.
- Noah Smith has talked about books on 3 podcasts, as of July 2, 2025.
- Those books came up in 3 episodes, as of July 2, 2025.
- The 3 books Noah Smith has mentioned in the most episodes, as of July 2, 2025: Chip War, How Asia Works and The Invisible Bridge.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Noah Smith aired on July 2, 2025.
Updated
Across 3 podcasts. Every show Noah Smith appears on, in one place — not just one.
Noah Smith is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a left-back. Smith is currently a free agent, having most recently played for the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League. He has previously played for Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar, and Melbourne Victory. Smith recommended and discussed several non-fiction books on podcasts to explain economic policy, industrial trends, and historical parallels. On The Ezra Klein Show, he recommended Chris Miller’s Chip War to help listeners understand semiconductor export controls. Smith also recommended Joe Studwell’s How Asia Works as a guide to industrial policy and alternatives to recent economic paradigms, as well as Rick Pearlstein’s The Invisible Bridge to draw parallels between the cultural evolution of the 1970s and the 2020s. On other podcast appearances, he brought up Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler’s Abundance while discussing government regulation and costs, and he referenced Adam Hochschild’s American Midnight to illustrate historical shifts toward authoritarianism during and after World War I.
Books recommended by Noah Smith
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Chip War
Chip War by Chris Miller is an essential exploration of the semiconductor industry and its profound influence on global geopolitics.
Recommended“so one book I would recommend is Chip War if you want to understand the semiconductor export controls and why that is happening then shipwar will explain it you should really read it you'll understand semiconductors”
Where to get it
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How Asia Works
How Asia Works by Joe Studwell is a prominent economic study that analyzes the developmental trajectories of East Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Recommended“the second book is how Asia works because if you want to understand industrial policy or what industrial policy might look like what might replace the sort of libertarian laissez-faire uh we could even say neoliberal policy of recent decades what might replace that how Asia works is sort of the the book that started people thinking about the alternative”
Where to get it
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The Invisible Bridge
The Invisible Bridge by Rick Perlstein is a comprehensive historical narrative chronicling the cultural, social, and political transformations that took place in the United States during the 1970s.
Recommended“and the third book that I would recommend is called The Invisible bridge by Rick pearlstein it is about the 1970s and about the cultural and political Evolution that we went through in the 1970s which I believe is similar to the one we're going through in the 2020s so the invisible bridge is my third one”
Where to get it
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Abundance
Abundance by Peter H.
Discussed“And then also because American government is you has this thing that the authors of the book Abundance talk about where American government hobbles itself. It it self-regulates to the point where government stuff costs more costs too much.”
Where to get it
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American Midnight
Discussed“And there's a really interesting book called American Midnight about how America had been going in a more authoritarian direction since the end of the Civil War and then in the 1920s after World War I that dramatic or sorry during World War I it dramatically accelerated.”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is AI Really Taking Our Jobs? — With Noah Smith | Big Technology Podcast | 2025-07-02 | 1 |
| Two Cheers for Libertarianism and Econ 101 (with Noah Smith) | EconTalk | 2025-06-09 | 1 |
| Why Silicon Valley Bank Collapsed — And What Comes Next | The Ezra Klein Show | 2023-03-16 | 3 |
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“The reason you have Game of Thrones type situations with people trying to kill the king all the time is because you're competing for like the one non-poverty position in society.”