Person
Every book Tristan Harris recommended on podcasts
Tristan Harris appears on The Joe Rogan Experience as a technology ethicist and former design ethicist deeply concerned with the societal impacts of digital platforms, persuasive technology, and the systematic erosion of human attention. Throughout his podcast appearances, Harris has recommended and analyzed works that forecast modern distraction and collective psychological manipulation. He recommended Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, drawing a historical parallel to the British abolition of slavery to suggest that society can consciously dismantle harmful economic models. Additionally, Harris recommended Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, reading a striking passage that anticipated contemporary information overload. In exploring how technology hijacks human cognition, Harris discussed Daniel Kahneman's foundational behavioral economics book Thinking, Fast and Slow, noting how even experts fall victim to digital traps. He also referenced Sherry Turkle's Reclaiming Conversation and Alone Together to illustrate the societal trend of substituting genuine human relationships with digital and artificial connections. Finally, Harris brought up Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited, contrasting Orwellian totalitarianism with Huxley's chilling vision of a society pacified and controlled through an infinite appetite for distractions.
Books recommended by Tristan Harris
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Amusing Ourselves to Death
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman is a media critique arguing that television and modern entertainment have degraded public discourse by transforming serious political and social topics into trivial amusement.
Recommended“it's from the book have you read amusing ourselves death by neil postman”
Where to get it
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Bury the Chains
Bury the Chains by Adam Hochschild is a historical non-fiction book that chronicles the dramatic British abolitionist movement and the tireless efforts to end the slave trade.
Recommended“there's a great book by um adam hokeshield called bury the chains which is about the british abolition of slavery in which he talks about how for the british empire”
Where to get it
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Alone Together
Alone Together by Sherry Turkle is a compelling examination of how digital technology and modern robotics increasingly substitute for genuine human connection and alter our social relationships.
Discussed“and cheri turkel um you know who's been working at mit wrote the book reclaiming conversation and alone together”
Where to get it
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Brave New World
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a classic dystopian novel that envisions a futuristic society shaped by technological control, engineered conformity, and engineered complacency.
Discussed“but we had forgotten that alongside orwell's dark vision there was another slightly older slightly less well-known equally chilling vision of aldous huxley's brave new world contrary to common belief even among the educated huxley and orwell did not prophecy the same thing orwell warns that we will become overwhelmed overcome by an externally imposed oppression”
Where to get it
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Brave New World Revisited
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World Revisited evaluates whether Western societies are evolving closer to the dystopian predictions of his earlier fiction through overpopulation, mass media, and psychological manipulation.
Discussed“as huxley remarked in brave new world revisited the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions”
Where to get it
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Reclaiming Conversation
Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle is a nonfiction exploration of how modern digital communication, smartphones, and social media erode human empathy, emotional depth, and genuine interpersonal connection.
Discussed“and cheri turkel um you know who's been working at mit wrote the book reclaiming conversation and alone together”
Where to get it
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Thinking, Fast and Slow
Thinking, Fast and Slow is a popular science book by psychologist Daniel Kahneman that explores the two systems of thought that drive how we think, make choices, and perceive the world.
Discussed“i talked to daniel kahneman who wrote the he's like the founder of behavioral economics he wrote the book thinking fast and slow if you know that one”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1558 - Tristan Harris | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2020-10-30 | 8 |
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“there are several who actually said that it convinced them not to commit suicide to have this relationship with this chatbot so it's her it's her it's the movie exactly”