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Tyler Cowen’s book recommendations in 2026

54 books · 23 episodes · Tyler Cowen’s most recommended books, all years →

Every episode from 2026, newest first

Liaquat Ahamed on Financial Crises, Gold, and the Lessons of 1873

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-10-14

Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed · discussed · at 0:18
1873 by Liaquat Ahamed · discussed · at 0:50

Luis Garicano on Spain, Europe, and the Future of Work

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-09-30

Messy Jobs by Luis Garicano · discussed · at 0:49

Annie Lowrey on the Time Tax, Fraud, and Rationing by Paperwork

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-09-16

The Time Tax by Annie Lowrey · discussed · at 0:06
Give People Money by Annie Lowrey · discussed · at 0:25

Jared Diamond on Leaders, Luck, and Irreplaceability

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-09-09

Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings by Jared Diamond · discussed · at 6:03
Collapse by Jared M. Diamond · discussed · at 43:57

Michael Moritz on Origin Stories, Exile, and Obsessive Curiosity

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-09-02

Ausländer by Michael Moritz · recommended · at 0:44
Exiles by Michael J. Arlen · recommended · at 0:44

Luke Burgis on Mimetic Desire, Catholicism, and the Age of Social Contagion

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-08-19

The One and the Ninety-Nine by Luke Burgis · discussed · at 0:08
The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher · discussed · at 20:36

Daron Acemoglu on Liberalism, Automation, and the Educated Elite

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-08-12

What Happened to Liberal Democracy? by Daron Acemoglu · discussed · at 0:03

Julia Ioffe on Russian Women, Missing Men, and the Roots of Autocracy

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-08-05

Motherland by Julia Ioffe · discussed · at 0:02

Andrew Graham-Dixon on Vermeer, a Forgotten Sect, and Underrated Artists

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-07-22

Vermeer by Andrew Graham-Dixon · discussed · at 0:21
A history of British art by Andrew Graham-Dixon · discussed · at 18:09

What the Experts Really Think About Writing with AI

How I Write · 2026-07-20

Richard II by William Shakespeare · discussed · at 11:46
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë · discussed · at 11:56

Chase Koch on Principles, Music, and Overcoming Entropy

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-07-15

The Wall by Pink Floyd · discussed · at 19:33

Joel Mokyr on Clans, Corporations, and a Culture of Growth

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-07-08

Two Paths to Prosperity by Avner Greif · discussed · at 0:09
Trust by Francis Fukuyama · discussed · at 7:16

Joanne Paul on Thomas More and the Tudor World

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-06-24

Thomas More by Joanne Paul · discussed · at 0:14
... In Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus · discussed · at 0:28
Utopia by Thomas More · discussed · at 3:38
A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt · discussed · at 16:14
Tudor Art by Susie Hodge · discussed · at 31:04

Katja Hoyer on Weimar, the GDR, and the German Character

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-06-10

Weimar by Katja Hoyer · discussed · at 0:06
Beyond the Wall by Katja Hoyer · discussed · at 0:11
Blood and Iron by Katja Hoyer · discussed · at 0:11
Speculations about Jakob by Uwe Johnson · discussed · at 7:10

Toby Wilkinson on Ptolemaic Egypt and the First Great Commercial Civilization

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-05-27

The Last Dynasty by Toby Wilkinson · discussed · at 0:08

Kim Bowes on the Economic Lives of Rome's Ninety Percent

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-04-15

Surviving Rome by Kim Bowes · discussed · at 17:52

Arthur Brooks on Reinvention, Religion, and the Science of Happiness

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-04-01

The Meaning of Your Life by Arthur C. Brooks · discussed · at 0:41
Who Really Cares by Arthur C. Brooks · discussed · at 38:02

Paul Gillingham on Why Mexico Stays Together

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-03-25

Mexico by Paul Gillingham · recommended · at 0:02
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño · discussed · at 1:01:35

Harvey Mansfield on Machiavelli, Straussianism, and the Character of Liberal Democracy

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-03-18

The Republic by Plato · discussed · at 26:10

Henry Oliver on Measure for Measure, Late Bloomers, and the Smartest Writers in English

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-03-04

Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare · discussed · at 0:28
The Rape of Lucrece by William Shakespeare · discussed · at 6:59
All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare · discussed · at 9:35
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift · discussed · at 36:25
Paradise Lost by John Milton · discussed · at 45:42
Faerie queene by Edmund Spenser · discussed · at 46:05
Swan Song (Forsyte Chronicles) by John Galsworthy · discussed · at 46:36
Bleak House by Charles Dickens · discussed · at 47:20
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien · discussed · at 47:44
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling · discussed · at 48:11
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham · discussed · at 51:32
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf · discussed · at 52:55
Second Act by Henry Oliver · discussed · at 53:06

Joe Studwell on Africa, Asia, and What Development Actually Requires

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-02-18

How Asia Works by Joe Studwell · discussed · at 0:14
How Africa Works by JOE STUDWELL · discussed · at 0:24

Diarmaid MacCulloch on Christianity, Sex, and Unsettling Settled Facts

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-01-21

Lower than the Angels by Diarmaid MacCulloch · recommended · at 0:06
Christianity by Diarmaid MacCulloch · recommended · at 0:06

Brendan Foody on Teaching AI and the Future of Knowledge Work

Conversations with Tyler · 2026-01-07

Critique of Judgment by Immanuel Kant · discussed · at 17:58

Other mentions in 2026 (23: passing, ad reads, own books)