Person
Every book Yannis Pappas recommended on podcasts
Yannis Pappas is a comedian and commentator with deep interests in history, philosophy, and the complexities of the human condition, as demonstrated through his appearances on The Joe Rogan Experience and the Lex Fridman Podcast. While he did not exclusively pitch reading lists, Pappas frequently engaged in deep discussions centered around notable books and historical themes. Alongside host Lex Fridman, Pappas explored Ernest Becker's philosophical work The Denial of Death, using it to analyze how human behavior and the broader human condition are deeply rooted in a fundamental fear of mortality. He also discussed George Orwell's classic Animal Farm, expressing a particular fondness for the hardworking horse character, Boxer, and using the allegory to reflect on labor and suffering. In addition to these philosophical and literary discussions, Pappas brought up various non-fiction works and documentaries during his conversations with Joe Rogan. He referenced Jose Canseco's Juiced to explore the rampant use of steroids and the history of professional baseball, and he discussed the documentary Athlete A in connection with the disturbing USA Gymnastics abuse scandal. Through these wide-ranging discussions, Pappas consistently used literature and historical accounts to ground his comedic and cultural commentary in deeper societal truths.
Books recommended by Yannis Pappas
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Animal Farm
Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegorical novella depicting a farm where animals overthrow their human farmer, eventually descending into totalitarian corruption.
Discussed“and one of my favorite books is animal farm by orwell and the horses don't get a good ending in that”
Where to get it
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Juiced
Juiced by Jose Canseco is a tell-all memoir detailing the widespread use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.
Discussed“it's called juiced you know if there's a reason why yeah juice wild times rampant roids smash hits and how baseball got big”
Where to get it
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Sophie's Choice
Discussed“sophie's choice that's a good one yeah that's a real sophie's choice where you gotta choose between explain that to people what is sofia sophie's choices like she had to choose it's great movie by a great movie with meryl streep uh you know that a lot of people just was you were supposed to read the book in high”
Where to get it
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The Denial of Death
The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning psychological study that posits that human civilization, culture, and individual ambition are ultimately driven by an underlying, often unconscious fear of mortality.
Discussed“i i mean i'm with ernest becker as a philosopher uh he wrote a book called denial of death”
Where to get it
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The Resilient Athlete: A Quranic Approach to Mental Toughness and Peak Performance
Discussed“have you seen athlete a the documentary no dude it's called athlete a it's like hard it's disturbing like these girls are abused like that that dude Nasser like um molested like for 20 years with impunity”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Rogan Experience #1594 - Yannis Pappas | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2024-06-27 | 2 |
| Joe Rogan Experience #1689 - Yannis Pappas | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2024-06-27 | 1 |
| #175 – Yannis Pappas: History and Comedy | Lex Fridman Podcast | 2021-04-12 | 4 |