Person
Every book Russell Brand recommended on podcasts
Across 8 podcasts. Every show Russell Brand appears on, in one place — not just one.
Russell Brand recommended and discussed several influential books on spirituality, philosophy, cultural critique, and personal recovery across multiple podcast appearances. He recommended C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce on separate occasions, utilizing the text to illustrate the spiritual struggle of letting go of human ego, earthly identity, and earthly attachments in order to embrace spiritual transformation. In discussions regarding his book club, Brand pointed readers to Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon. To explore recurring mythic tropes and universal philosophical principles across diverse cultures, he suggested Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy, noting its alignment with the work of thinkers like Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung. Brand also recommended Martin Gurri's The Revolt of the Public, praising the former CIA analyst's insights into authority and public distrust, and suggested Robert Lanza and Bob Berman's Biocentrism for its breakdown of quantum experiments and the nature of reality. In addition to these recommendations, Brand discussed George Orwell's 1984 in the context of tyranny and social democracy, and he referenced the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous to illustrate perspectives on human behavior and debate.
Books recommended by Russell Brand
-
The Great Divorce
The Great Divorce by C.S.
Recommended“As CS Lewis says in the great divorce, when you accept him, your whole life will have been heaven. If you reject him, you are in purgatory forever. And why do they stay in purgatory? In the great divorce, I'm recommending read the great divorce is because they won't let go of their earthly identity.”
Where to get it
-
The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium
Martin Gurri's The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium examines how digital technology and the democratization of information have fueled public distrust in traditional institutions and political elites.
Discussed“I said ages ago after reading Martin gur's book The Revolt of the public that there was an inevitability The Independent Media and the way that it you know M gory saw this much earlier than any of us”
Where to get it
-
1984
George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984 presents a chilling vision of a totalitarian society characterized by perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, and the systematic manipulation of historical truth and language.
Discussed“And like we were I showed you this bit from Orwell and and you said oh well you said Orwell's anticipate this is prior to the most recent American electoral cycle. You said that Orwell understood Soviet uh communism well and at this point you said in 1984 he's talking about social democracy's tendency to evolve towards or degenerate one”
Where to get it
-
Daily Inspiration for the Purpose Driven Life
Daily Inspiration for the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren is a devotional book designed to help readers find spiritual clarity, personal meaning, and a sense of divine calling in their everyday lives.
Discussed“I mean like I just started to I read that book the Pastor Rick Warren book Purpose Driven Life because I saw him talking about his son taking his own life”
Where to get it
-
The Purpose-Driven Life
The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren is a Christian devotional book that guides readers through a forty-day spiritual journey to discover God's purpose for their lives.
Discussed“quote_context”
Where to get it
-
Biocentrism
Biocentrism by Robert Lanza and Bob Berman is a book exploring how life and consciousness are fundamental to understanding the universe rather than being mere byproducts of matter.
Recommended“darn good book that I reckon your listeners will be Bang into is called biocentrism by a man called Rob ber Lanza who he did the best breakdown I've ever read of that double slit experiment and of and of the the the you know made me understand for the first time that reality is happening within your own Consciousness”
Where to get it
-
Hollywood Babylon
Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger is a notorious chronicle of scandals, gossip, and alleged corruption during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Recommended“You know, I I have to force you to read this book. It's in tatter sitting next to me. I have a book club and we're reading Hollywood Babylon and I just oh god what's going on”
Where to get it
-
The perennial philosophy
The perennial philosophy by Aldous Huxley is a comparative study of mysticism and religion that compiles writings from various spiritual traditions to argue for underlying universal truths shared across human cultures.
Recommended“I suppose if you want some help, perennialism by Aldis Huxley is a good place to look at where he identified in the same way that Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung it could be said, identified respectively that there are mythic tropes that appear to recur in all cultures. He began to write a a famous book which I believe”
Where to get it
-
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous by Alcoholics Anonymous is the foundational text of the recovery program of the same name, detailing the twelve steps designed to help individuals overcome alcohol addiction.
Discussed“In fact, the 12 steps puts it so well, Tucker, in the great big book of Alcoholics Anonymous, which I a student of, it says, um, we want to stay out of this debate around sex. Some people think that sex is the be all and end all, and some people want to live in absolute denial of sex.”
Where to get it
-
Bible
Bible by Bible is the foundational canonical text of Judaism and Christianity, comprising ancient narratives, laws, poetry, and prophetic writings that have shaped Western civilization.
Discussed“I thought I was too smart. I thought somehow that I knew what was in the Bible even without reading it.”
Where to get it
-
Enlightenment Now
Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker is a data-driven defense of reason, science, humanism, and progress that argues humanity is living in an era of unprecedented health, prosperity, and safety.
Critiqued“Because also like if I always feel like I'm on the precipice of the pinker conversation, of 'do you know that so many people have been pulled out of poverty and things are so great now?' Oh, really?”
Where to get it
-
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Complete and Unabridged
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Complete and Unabridged is a sweeping historical work by Edward Gibbon chronicling the trajectory of the Roman civilization.
Discussed“It’s not in there, specifically. Keep reading Romans 13.”
Where to get it
-
Holy Bible (NIV)
Holy Bible (NIV) by Various Authors is a foundational collection of sacred scriptures that has shaped Western civilization, religious traditions, and literary history for millennia.
Discussed“The more I look at literal gospel Christianity from the good book itself, the more it's somehow unraveling, melting away, throwing out my preconceptions, my arid, ardent, severe sense of materialism and replacing it with a certainty only in love—a certainty only in our ability to have a relationship with an indwelling God that died for us.”
Where to get it
-
Infinite jest
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace is a sprawling, maximalist novel exploring addiction, entertainment, and modern American culture.
Discussed“you know in David Foster Wallace your great American author in his book Infinite Jest postulated a world where all stadiums were named after brands where countries and regions were named after brands and it's sort of I mean it's happening”
Where to get it
-
Living the Message
Discussed“I read acts again recently in some easy accessible almost slang version of it in fact a man who shares your surname Eugene Peterson's book uh the message”
Where to get it
-
Mere Christianity
Mere Christianity by C.S.
Discussed“All of us know what love is. All of us know what intuition is. All of us know as CS Lewis beautifully outlines in mere Christianity when we have transgressed against some moral code that appears to have been instilled”
Where to get it
-
Moby Dick
Moby Dick by Herman Melville is a classic 19th-century novel exploring the obsessions of Captain Ahab and the dramatic whaling voyage of the Pequod.
Discussed“and at this great quote in Herman Melville's moby-dick that says you know Noah's Flood is still happening we are the majority of the earth is still flooded in water these we are connected to these events”
Where to get it
-
Murder in Three Acts
Murder in Three Acts by Agatha Christie is a classic mystery novel featuring her famed detective Hercule Poirot as he investigates a seemingly motiveless murder at a dinner party.
Discussed“Yeah, as Acts, first of all, because of course the Gospels are incredible—the accounts of our Lord and Savior, but in particular Acts, because he is pasted, and the kind of fervor, febrility, evangelism, and zeal of the Apostles—like the absolute belief, like early on with Stephen, like being torn apart and just going, 'Whoa, I’m off!'”
Where to get it
-
Sapiens
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari is a sweeping exploration of how Homo sapiens evolved, dominated the planet, and constructed complex imaginary orders like religion, money, and nations.
Discussed“I was looking at the work of Uval Noah Harrari, the writer of Sapiens, uh, which I s foundly enjoyable till it became clear to me it was an atheistic trope”
Where to get it
-
Symbolism, the Sacred and the Arts
Symbolism, the Sacred and the Arts by Mircea Eliade explores religious motifs, myths, and the fundamental differences between sacred and profane experiences across various cultures throughout history.
Discussed“elsewhere in that you talked about something that I picked up while reading that book you gave me told me to read profane in the sa oh you read that oh great”
Where to get it
-
The Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Jack Hawley, is an ancient Hindu scripture that presents a profound philosophical dialogue between Prince Arjuna and Lord Krishna on duty, righteousness, and spiritual liberation.
Discussed“I'm thinking how unusual that felt, those sort of those worlds colliding, and Radhanath Swami telling those stories from the Bhagavad Gita.”
Where to get it
-
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.
Discussed“I mean that's why in in The Lord of the Rings it's the ring of power that unites all the Rings”
Where to get it
-
The Sacred and the Profane
The Sacred and the Profane by Mircea Eliade is a classic study of the history of religions that explores the dual ways human beings experience the cosmos and the sacred versus the mundane.
Discussed“elsewhere in that you talked about something that I picked up while reading that book you gave me told me to read profane in the sa”
Where to get it
-
The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins is a seminal science book that popularizes a gene-centric view of evolution and explores the biological origins of selfishness and altruism.
Discussed“and that's I think shows you that we're not as in a Darwinistic model or some of the ideas derived from Darwinism rather like The Selfish Gene and the Richard Dawkins idea that people just want to survive and we just want to kill them [ __ ] and you know and this is what propels us forward”
Where to get it
-
Tools for the Master's work, comprising over 250 sermon outlines [&c.] collected by J. Ellis
Tools for the Master's work, comprising over 250 sermon outlines collected by J.
Discussed“so this beginners mind so I did a course for Peterson Academy on The Sermon on the Mount and this so I thought I would mention something about that in relationship to this idea of like every moment being born a new let's say so in The Sermon on the Mount Christ says to focus your attention on what's most”
Where to get it
-
Tribe
Tribe by Sebastian Junger is a non-fiction book that explores the psychological need for community, human connection, and the challenges veterans face when reintegrating into modern society.
Discussed“are you familiar with uh Sebastian Junger no Sebastian Junger is an amazing war journalist and he wrote a great book called tribe and his how his book is essentially all about how human beings really only feel at their best and they're happiest when they're coming together to only on something”
Where to get it
Books Russell Brand wrote
Appearances
Other mentions (10: passing, ad reads, own books)
“I don't know that purpose-driven life sold 30 million. I don't know things like that.”
“And I was reading Das Capotel.”
“Frankenstein Pinocchio like what are what we're saying is is that spontaneity in the moment itself something unique and divine happens”
“Pinocchio like what are what we're saying is is that spontaneity in the moment itself something unique and divine happens”
“So, you know, on the last day I was writing about it, funnily enough, today cuz I've like written a book on mentorship, and Radhanath Swami is one of the mentors that I write about in that book.”
“and that's what that this book here mentors which i talk about you in only for a paragraph you know i mean it's not too”
“the book mentors”
“the book here that I'm promoting recovery I written this book it's my version to 12-step some of it last night you're in it”
“and like in a lot of these ancient texts that I've mostly got at through Joseph Campbell or you know Hinduism for beginners that's normally my entry point”
“and I wrote a book as well like about like called Revolution and in that book I talked about like it was basically a book that was meant to be for younger people”