Podcast
Erik Torenberg's book list: the books mentioned on a16z Podcast
The a16z Podcast discusses tech and culture trends, news, and the future – especially as ‘software eats the world’. It features industry experts, business leaders, and other interesting thinkers and voices from around the world. This podcast is produced by Andreessen Horowitz (aka “a16z”), a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. Multiple episodes are released every week; visit a16z.com for mo…
Books from the latest episodes
Most recommended on a16z Podcast
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Sapiens
On the a16z Podcast, hosts frequently discussed Yuval Noah Harari's book, Sapiens. In "a16z Podcast: Network Effects, Origin Stories, and the Evolution of Tech" (2018-05-17), the host noted that Harari had been a guest and highlighted the book's core argument that technology allows humanity to leapfrog natural evolution. In "a16z Podcast: Cryptonetworks and Cities -- Analogies" (2018-08-01), the host Devin strongly recommended the work for its analysis of how shared myths enable large-scale coordination. Later, in "a16z Podcast: All About Stablecoins" (2018-12-21), the host referenced Harari's examples of collective fictions driving economic growth, such as a baker attempting to open a restaurant without cash.
Discussed“But I'm thinking of the examples that Yuval Harari sites in 'Sapiens' and how we all have these collective myths and fictions that drive economic growth and innovation. He gives the example of a talented baker like my grandmother wanting to open a restaurant, but not having enough actual money.”
Where to get it
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The Innovator's Dilemma
On the a16z Podcast, guests Amjad Masad, Steven Sinofsky, and Chris Dixon discussed Clayton Christensen's The Innovator's Dilemma. Masad referenced the book to introduce the concepts of sustaining versus disruptive technologies in artificial intelligence. Sinofsky noted how frequently people cite the book when discussing disruption despite rarely reading it, and Dixon used the canonical hard drive case study from the book as an analogy for the semiconductor and AI industries.
Discussed“So the terminology of sustaining versus disruptive comes from uh uh the innovator's dilemma. Uh and uh it's it's this idea that uh whenever there's a new technology trend, it sort of there's this idea of a power curve.”
Where to get it
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Breakneck
On the a16z Podcast, Dan Wang's bestseller Breakneck was discussed in episodes such as 'The Lawyerly Society vs. The Engineering State: Who Owns the Future?' and 'Faster Science, Better Drugs'. Hosts Erik Torenberg, Stephen, and guest Patrick Hsu explored the book's central framing regarding the cultural and philosophical differences between American and Chinese societies, contrasting the U.S. legal system with China's engineering-focused approach to markets, manufacturing, and governance.
Discussed“Dan, the book is Breakneck. It's a New York Times bestseller in just under two weeks. Congratulations. Thank you. Um, what is the conversation that you hope to to to create with the book?”
Where to get it
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Snow Crash
Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash was discussed on the a16z Podcast. Stephenson appeared on the show to explain the concept of the metaverse, noting that a central idea in the book is the existence of only one metaverse. The podcast host also referenced the novel to highlight how its technological predictions have materialized over the decades.
Discussed“I think this is because a central idea of the metaverse, at least in the book, is that there is just one of them.”
Where to get it
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Thinking, Fast and Slow
On the a16z Podcast, June Park and Tren Griffin referenced Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow" to discuss cognitive biases and human behavior. June Park brought up the book while questioning whether modern artificial intelligence models genuinely replicate human behavior or simply echo the text. Tren Griffin cited the book to illustrate human overconfidence, noting that even Kahneman himself fell for the cognitive traps he studied.
Discussed“or did it just read can's book thinking fast and slow”
Where to get it
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The Hundred-Year Marathon
The Hundred-Year Marathon by Michael Pillsbury was featured on the a16z Podcast. One of the hosts recommended the book to defense-based founders during a lightning round. Later, Lt. Gen. Leonard J. Kosinski brought up the book to illustrate how adversaries like China have systematically studied American vulnerabilities and supply chains over a long period.
Discussed“There's a book out there called the hundred-year marathon by Michael Pillsbury. Just some of the background, the premise of the book is that adversaries like China have been looking at our vulnerabilities and supply chains for quite some time.”
Where to get it
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Moneyball
Michael Lewis's book Moneyball was discussed by Erik Torenberg across multiple episodes of the a16z Podcast. Torenberg brought up the book to draw a parallel between baseball analytics and the growing use of data in the NBA. He highlighted Moneyball as a great insight into the use of data to frame up an organization and emphasized how the culture of that organization was ready to act on the data.
Discussed“so in Moneyball they they showed the war between the the old but seat-of-the-pants Scouts and the new quants is that happening in the NBA”
Where to get it
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Superintelligence
Nick Bostrom's book Superintelligence was mentioned on two episodes of the a16z Podcast. Ali Ghodsi brought up the 2014 book in the episode Databricks CEO on AI Pacing, Cyber Risk, and the Enterprise when discussing the theoretical origins of existential superintelligence concerns. Later, Martin Casado referenced the same book in Balaji Srinivasan: How AI Will Change Politics, War, and Money to explain the historical roots of the anthropomorphic fallacy and platonic ideals surrounding artificial intelligence.
Discussed“There is the super intelligence problem. Yeah. You know, and I think a lot of this comes from like Bodstrom 2014 super intelligence book.”
Where to get it
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The Diamond Age
On the a16z Podcast, Jessie mentioned Neal Stephenson's novel The Diamond Age while explaining how she gives her AI agents particular books to read for identity and philosophy, while Oliver Wang also brought up the novel to reference the concept of a personalized textbook.
Discussed“Okay, you're an engineer. But like you just read, you know, Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age and you thought it was like very fascinating.”
Where to get it
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The Emperor's New Mind
On the a16z Podcast, Roger Penrose's The Emperor's New Mind was discussed by guests exploring artificial intelligence and consciousness. Amjad Masad brought up the book to examine arguments in the philosophy of mind regarding whether human brains function like computers, while Reid Hoffman recalled that he had previously interviewed Penrose about the book when discussing mathematics and consciousness.
Discussed“Like one of my favorite one is uh the uh Roger Penrose um Emperor's New Mind where he wrote a book about how everyone in the sort of philosophy of mind space uh and perhaps the larger scientific ecosystem start thinking about the brain in terms of a computer. And in that book he tried to show that it fundamentally”
Where to get it
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The Lean Startup
On the a16z Podcast, Aaron Levie mentioned Eric Ries's book The Lean Startup while discussing company culture and enterprise adoption. Levie explained that Box took the principles of The Lean Startup to heart, contrasting them with Ben Horowitz's concept of the fat startup. Additionally, the host discussed how lean manufacturing methods inspired the Lean Startup approach and tied closely to DevOps and feedback loops.
Discussed“Um and yeah, in response to the lean startup, right? And we uh let's just say we very much took that to heart.”
Where to get it
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The Mythical Man-Month
Ben Horowitz discussed The Mythical Man-Month by Frederick P. Brooks Jr. on the a16z Podcast in episodes from February and April 2026. Horowitz referenced the famous software development principle from the book, using the analogy that nine women cannot have a baby in a month to illustrate that throwing more engineers or money at a delayed technology project does not solve underlying timelines or scale issues.
Discussed“So for example if I had a product and I was two years behind I could not hire a thousand engineers and catch my competitor like it's a mythical man-month. Nine women can't have a baby in a month. Everybody knows that.”
Where to get it
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The Sovereign Individual
On the a16z Podcast, speakers Amjad Masad and Katherine Boyle referenced The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson, William Rees-Mogg, and Lord William Rees-Mogg. Masad discussed its predictions regarding technological revolutions and the changing nation-state, while Boyle described it as a canonical book that influenced Silicon Valley investors.
Discussed“I think the best prediction for where the world is headed and this is not a endorsement or necessarily like this is where I think the world's headed because I think part of it is uh will be slightly in uh instable unstable system but I think the sovereign individual continues to be I think a really good set of”
Where to get it
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How to Decide
On the a16z Podcast, Jeff Jordan welcomed author Annie Duke to discuss her book How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices. Duke explained the underlying philosophy of her work, noting how it shares a common starting point with her previous writing regarding the paradox of experience, and outlined the practical tools and robust decision-making processes detailed in the first six chapters of the book.
Discussed“So Annie, as the author of one of my favorite books, what motivated you to do a sequel, your new book, How to Decide, simple tools for making better choices, how to decide?”
Where to get it
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Apple in China
Apple in China by Patrick McGee served as the central inspiration for an episode of the a16z Podcast. Host Erik Torenberg brought up the book to frame a discussion regarding Apple and its manufacturing footprint, while Stephen referenced specific details from the text concerning the history of joint design efforts at Apple.
Discussed“So uh we're here to talk about Apple. We're here to talk about you inspired by the book Apple in China.”
Where to get it
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Thinking in Bets
Annie Duke's Thinking in Bets was discussed by the author herself on the a16z Podcast on October 8, 2020. Duke referenced her first book while introducing her subsequent work, explaining how Thinking in Bets explored the disconnect between decision quality and outcome quality. She specifically highlighted the concept of resulting—using the quality of an outcome to judge the underlying decision—noting that she covered the topic extensively in her earlier book before diving deeper into belief quality in her new writing.
Discussed“So when I think about what Thinking Invest was about, it was really the way that our decision making gets frustrated by this kind of discorrelation between decision quality and outcome quality.”
Where to get it
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The Sirens' Call
On an episode of the a16z Podcast released on July 30, 2025, guest Antonio García Martínez and host Erik Torenberg discussed Chris Hayes's book, The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource. García Martínez recommended the work as a phenomenal read, and Torenberg formally plugged the book at the conclusion of the episode.
Recommended“which by the way I I think I think it's time we just plug Chris's book I think you wrote a phenomenal book actually thanks and I would recommend it to most of my ads”
Where to get it
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Charlie Munger
Tren Griffin's book Charlie Munger was discussed on the a16z Podcast in January 2019. Host Michael Copeland recommended reading the book as the primary first step for anyone looking to think like Charlie Munger. Copeland also referenced the book during the interview while asking the author about the connection between thinking models and investing.
Discussed“and and how does that play into the new book that you've recently written about Charlie Munger as the complete investor”
Where to get it
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Techno-Optimist Manifesto
On an episode of the a16z Podcast, Katherine Boyle brought up the Techno-Optimist Manifesto by Marc Andreessen. She recommended it to listeners seeking a unifying force behind various technology categories and suggested it served as a coherent thesis for tech builders.
Discussed“Well, and I and I always say, Eric, I've been I've been begging you and telling you we have to have the Techno Optimist Manifesto on the front page of our website, right?”
Where to get it
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Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital
On the a16z Podcast, Marc Andreessen recommended Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital by C. Perez as one of his favorite books on economic history. Erik Torenberg also referenced the work to discuss the installation and deployment phases of major technological surges and market bubbles.
Discussed“you refer to a great book here by Carly de Prez the technological revolutions and financial capital where she talks about the phases of great surges in technology essentially and there's the installation phase in the deployment period”
Where to get it
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The Founders
On the September 3, 2026 episode of the a16z Podcast titled "Why AI Agents Could Finally Reinvent the Credit Card", guest Max Levchin recommended Jimmy Soni's book The Founders. Levchin noted that the author spent extensive time interviewing every single person involved in the story, while host Erik Torenberg brought up the recently published book to revisit the historical impact and alumni network of PayPal.
Discussed“there's been you know a book came out founders recently there's been sort of a lot of uh you know revisiting of of of PayPal both in its impact”
Where to get it
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In search of excellence
Stephen referenced Thomas J. Peters's book In Search of Excellence on the a16z Podcast to illustrate the 1980s business management mindset of sticking to core tasks and outsourcing non-core functions. However, Stephen also critiqued a premise argued within the book regarding Apple's historical manufacturing decisions in China.
Discussed“There's a very famous book in the 80s called In Search of Excellence. And In Search of Excellence is sort of this Jack Welchian GE management mantra of like what you do, you stick to your knitting.”
Where to get it
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Adventures of a White-Collar Man
On the a16z Podcast episode titled Why Physical AI Is the Next Frontier | Applied Intuition in July 2026, Peter Ludwig brought up Adventures of a White-Collar Man by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. He recommended the book as essential reading for anyone who runs a large engineering organization.
Recommended“Sloan's My Years at General Motors and Adventures of a White-Collar Man. If you run a large engineering organization, you should read that.”
Where to get it
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Amp It Up
On the a16z Podcast episode featuring Ben Horowitz and Ali Ghodsi on October 15, 2025, Ali Ghodsi mentioned the book Amp It Up by Frank Slootman. He brought up the text while discussing his competitor, noting that Slootman wrote the book to address building and running a high-performance execution culture.
Recommended“you know, one of my competitors, Frank Slutman, wrote a book called Amp It Up.”
Where to get it
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Bitcoin, a Peer-to-peer Electronic Cash System
On the a16z Podcast, Chris Dixon brought up the original Bitcoin whitepaper in January 2019. He emphasized that the foundational paper is always worth reading and highlighted its original focus on small, casual payments.
Recommended“and you actually if you read it's always worth reading like the the original Bitcoin paper there's a lot of discussion around Bitcoin but the original paper is actually lost”
Where to get it
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Creativity, Inc.
On the a16z Podcast episode titled Improv'ing Leadership, guest Dick Costolo referenced Creativity, Inc. (The Expanded Edition) by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace. He cited Pixar president Ed Catmull's work to explain his leadership philosophy, emphasizing that a leader's job is to correct mistakes as quickly as possible rather than prevent them.
Recommended“I always told the team—and the Pixar president, Ed Catmull, says this as well in his great book Creativity, Inc.—it's not your job as a leader to prevent mistakes from happening; it's your job as a leader to correct mistakes as quickly as you can when they happen.”
Where to get it
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Freedom's Forge
On the a16z Podcast episode Building a Company in Stealth, Erik Torenberg brought up Freedom's Forge by Arthur Herman. Torenberg highlighted the book to draw historical parallels between modern industrialists and the builders of the American war machine during World War II.
Recommended“There's a book actually that that's very interesting on the kind of building of the war machine by the industrialists which won us World War II, no question.”
Where to get it
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How Non-Conformists Move the World
On an episode of the a16z Podcast, the host recommended Adam Grant's book How Non-Conformists Move the World to listeners at the conclusion of the episode, encouraging people to read it.
Recommended“but I think people just go ahead read your book originals how non conformist move the world which is out now”
Where to get it
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Men, Machines, and Modern Times
On an episode of the a16z Podcast titled Why Technology Still Matters with Marc Andreessen, Marc Andreessen brought up Men, Machines, and Modern Times by Elting E. Morison. He used the book to explain the process by which new technology enters society and how the existing status quo reacts to it.
Recommended“And it's the title of the book is called Man Machines in Modern Times. It's this topic.”
Where to get it
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My Years With General Motors
On the a16z Podcast episode Why Physical AI Is the Next Frontier, Peter Ludwig recommended Alfred P. Sloan's My Years With General Motors. He suggested that anyone managing a large engineering organization should read the book.
Recommended“Sloan's My Years at General Motors and Adventures of a White-Collar Man. If you run a large engineering organization, you should read that.”
Where to get it
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Predictably Irrational
On the a16z Podcast episode Is This the Biggest Software Shift of the Decade? | a16z Interview - Atlassian C, released on March 6, 2026, the host brought up Dan Ariely's book Predictably Irrational. The host explained that he used to give the book to all his product managers to help them understand the psychology behind pricing models and human perceptions of fairness.
Recommended“there's this great book by Dan Arieli called Predictably Irrational. And I used to give it to all my product managers at my company. It's like study this to figure out how we charge people for stuff.”
Where to get it
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So You've Been Publicly Shamed
On the a16z Podcast, Erik Torenberg brought up Jon Ronson's book So You've Been Publicly Shamed. He referenced the book to illustrate that people who truly survive being canceled are those who continue speaking out rather than retreating into silence.
Recommended“There's this great book, So You Think You've Been Shamed, and it chronicles the stories of a number of people who've gotten canceled over the past like 15 years and that's basically the the takeaway is that the the people can't who are truly canceled are the ones who shut up.”
Where to get it
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Steve Jobs in Exile
On the a16z Podcast episode titled How AI Changes the Economics of Innovation, the host brought up Geoffrey Cain's Steve Jobs in Exile. The speaker recommended the book as required reading for the audience and used it to illustrate the concept of building products people genuinely need and solving real-world problems.
Recommended“Look, there's a great book out now um called Steve Jobs in Exile, which I absolutely think is required reading if you're listening to this podcast.”
Where to get it
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The Artist's Way
Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way came up on the a16z Podcast in March 2019. The speaker discussed the concept of morning pages, which are a daily writing technique that originates directly from Cameron's book, while exploring topics relevant to creatives.
Recommended“So, what are morning pages? They are from Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way.”
Where to get it
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The Courage to Be Disliked
On the a16z Podcast episode titled Opendoor CEO: Building the Amazon for Homes, released on October 7, 2025, the host Alex brought up the book The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. Alex recommended the work to listeners, explicitly stating that it is among the best books for founders to read.
Recommended“and uh you know the courage to be disliked. It's a good book. Courage to be disliked.”
Where to get it
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The Hard Thing About Hard Things
On the a16z Podcast episode titled Ben Horowitz and Ali Ghodsi: How to Run a Billion-Dollar Business, Ali Ghodsi brought up The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. Ghodsi praised the book as the best business book he had ever read, noting that he read it before starting Databricks and that it significantly influenced him and his company.
Recommended“I mean especially you know this the story you had in heart about heart things which is probably the best business book I've read which I read by the way before starting data bricks and influenced us a lot”
Where to get it
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The journalist and the murderer
On the a16z Podcast, Balaji Srinivasan recommended The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm, quoting its opening line to illustrate the immoral nature of traditional journalism.
Recommended“Janet Malcolm, you know, talks about this and and her opening line, this is this great book called The Journalist of the Murderer.”
Where to get it
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The Magic of Thinking Big
On the a16z Podcast episode Marc Andreessen: How Movies Explain America, Marc Andreessen recommended David J. Schwartz's book Thinking Big. He referenced it to explain the creation and early history of the city of Los Angeles.
Recommended“and literally it's a um there's a great book we can we'll put put in the notes called thinking big where it goes actually the creation of the city of Los Angeles”
Where to get it
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The Partnership
On the a16z Podcast episode Ben Horowitz & David Solomon on Why Scale Is The Only Thing That Matters, the host recommended Charles D. Ellis's book The Partnership. The speaker brought it up to listeners to chronicle Goldman Sachs's nearly 160-year history.
Recommended“Um if you haven't read, I highly recommend reading the book The Partnership uh which is written by a guy named Charles Ellis which chronicles Goldman's nearly 160ear history.”
Where to get it
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The Score Takes Care of Itself
On the a16z Podcast, guest Greg Brockman brought up The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh, Steve Jamison, and Craig Walsh. Brockman cited it as one of his favorite management books, using it to illustrate the importance of focusing on fundamentals, basics, and operational inputs rather than solely fixating on outcomes.
Recommended“Like one of my one of my favorite management books is the score takes care of itself. Have you guys read that one? Yeah, Keith boy favorite. Yeah, it's a it's a great one”
Where to get it
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The Seven Powers of Spiritual Evolution
On the a16z Podcast episode on August 26, 2026, Anisha Charia brought up the book Seven Powers by Hamilton Helmer while discussing moats in the technology and AI sectors. She highlighted the book as one of her favorites for codifying economic moats and analyzing how the vast majority of traditional moats operate.
Recommended“You know, there's been a huge sort of discussion of moes. Are there any moes? There's no more moes. And it's it's very funny because if you actually study u moes, which I think are most famously codified in the book seven powers that's one of my favorites. The vast majority of moes actually are not affected by abundant lowcost”
Where to get it
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1984
On an a16z Podcast episode titled Sacks, Andreessen & Horowitz: How America Wins the AI Race Against China from November 3, 2025, David Sacks brought up George Orwell's 1984. Sacks referenced the novel to articulate his dystopian concerns regarding artificial intelligence, arguing that the primary risk of AI is not a Terminator-style scenario, but rather a 1984-style totalitarian control of information as AI consumes the internet.
Discussed“So to just to me this is the the biggest risk of AI actually is it's not it was not described by James Cameron it was described by George Orwell you know it's in my view it's not the Terminator it's 1984 that um you know that as AI eats the internet and becomes the main way that we interact”
Where to get it
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97 Delicious Ratatouille Recipes
On the a16z Podcast episode Kavak's Playbook for Rebuilding a Company Around AI, Ali Massa brought up the movie Ratatouille and its associated literature references. She used the comparison to illustrate how AI agents collaborate with human mechanics in the same way a chef collaborates with a mouse.
Discussed“I was telling you guys earlier, it's like the the movie Ratatouille, like the the mouse that's actually a chef collaborating with a with a human. It's kind of like that.”
Where to get it
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A Wrinkle in Time
On the a16z Podcast, Adam Grant mentioned A Wrinkle in Time as a favorite childhood book of prominent tech leaders such as Jeff Bezos and Sheryl Sandberg.
Discussed“Jeff Bezos and Sheryl Sandberg boasted a wrinkle in time”
Where to get it
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AMERICAN GRAFFITI.
Shyam Sankar mentioned American Graffiti on an a16z Podcast episode in March 2026. He referenced George Lucas creating the film as a cultural palate cleanser because he was tired of other projects and simply wanted to make a movie about young people driving cars.
Discussed“In '73 George Lucas made American Graffiti because he was tired of it. He's like, I'm tired of it. I just want to make a movie about boys driving cars chasing girls.”
Where to get it
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Anatomy of the Spirit
On the a16z Podcast, Oprah Winfrey mentioned Caroline Myss's book Anatomy of the Spirit. She referenced the author during a discussion about definitions of God, recalling an exchange from Super Soul Sunday where Myss defined God as law.
Discussed“super soul Sunday I was asking Carolyn mace what I ask everybody what's your definition of god and Carolyn Mays who wrote the anatomy of spirit said God is law”
Where to get it
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Baldur's Gate 3
On the a16z Podcast, Jonathan Lai referenced Baldur's Gate 3 to illustrate how modern role-playing games incorporate deep personalization and complex mechanics through character builders.
Discussed“so uh role playing games like balers Gate 3 have incredibly detailed character Builders where you can customize everything from your skin color”
Where to get it
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Closing of the American Mind
On the a16z Podcast, Marc Andreessen brought up Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind to discuss historical criticisms of moral relativism in higher education.
Discussed“and there were these furious de there's a classic book of that era Peter's book is great but actually before that there was a famous book at the time which has been huge headline news all through the country when it came out called the the closing of the American mind”
Where to get it
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Divergent
On the a16z Podcast episode a16z Podcast: How to Be Original and Make Big Ideas Happen, the host Sonal brought up Veronica Roth's Divergent series. The book was mentioned as an example of contemporary young adult literature featuring strong female protagonists, alongside The Hunger Games.
Discussed“include The Hunger Games with Katniss Everdeen the divergent series by Veronica Roth”
Where to get it
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Dragons
On the a16z Podcast in December 2023, Jonathan Lai discussed the historical context of role-playing games. He cited Dungeons and Dragons as an age-old example of a personalized, narrative-driven adventure crafted dynamically by a human dungeon master and a group of friends.
Discussed“one of the oldest RPGs of all time is Dungeons and Dragons which by definition is a personalized Adventure that is told by a human narrator a dungeon master a game master he basically crafts an improv adventure with you and your group of friends”
Where to get it
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Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Academy: Last Best Hope
On the a16z Podcast, Jonathan Lai cited Dungeons and Dragons as an enduring example of a personalized, narrative-driven role-playing game facilitated by a human game master.
Discussed“one of the oldest RPGs of all time is Dungeons and Dragons which by definition is a personalized Adventure that is told by a human narrator a dungeon master a game master he basically crafts an improv adventure with you and your group of friends”
Where to get it
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Economics
On the a16z Podcast episode Oren Cass & Noah Smith Debate the True Impact of Tariffs, Oren Cass cited Paul A. Samuelson and William D. Nordhaus's textbook Economics. He used it to discuss arguments for and against tariffs and beggar-thy-neighbor strategies.
Discussed“I think if you look at at somebody like Paul Samuelson's work I I often point out that in his seinal textbook economics he kind of goes through the arguments for and against tariffs and basically at the end of the day acknowledges that any country could pursue a beggar thy neighbor their thy neighbor strategy.”
Where to get it
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Ender's Game
On the a16z Podcast, Erik Torenberg brought up Orson Scott Card's novel Ender's Game during a discussion about emerging technology. He used the vision of Jane from the book to illustrate the concept of an all-knowing, audio-only companion.
Discussed“I think people, you know, I mean, the vision of sort of Jane from Ender's Game was all about this sort of all-knowing audio-only companion.”
Where to get it
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Fordlandia
On the a16z Podcast episode on August 28, 2026, Ben Horowitz mentioned Fordlandia by Greg Grandin. He brought up the book to illustrate historical attempts at extreme vertical integration, describing how Henry Ford created a company town in the Amazon jungle.
Discussed“And there's a great book called Ford Landia where so because he wanted to like own like the complete vertical thing where he created this city called Ford Landia in the Amazon jungle”
Where to get it
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
On a16z Podcast, during the episode "a16z Podcast: How to Be Original and Make Big Ideas Happen," Adam Grant brought up J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Grant highlighted the series as an influential work that shapes original thinking and noted that Rowling is a highly influential original life.
Discussed“I really think Harry Potter's gonna have this impact I probably put my money on JK Rowling as the most influential original life”
Where to get it
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How will you measure your life?
On the a16z Podcast in December 2025, the host discussed relationship maintenance and life goals. He referenced Clayton M. Christensen's book, sharing how a story about Harvard Business School graduates inspired him and his wife to institute periodic relationship reviews.
Discussed“We read this book um called How You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen and he basically told the story of how Harvard Business School professor kids come back at reunions and they're Fortune 500 CEOs, super rich and their lives are in shambles.”
Where to get it
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Infinite jest
During the a16z Podcast on July 30, 2025, Chris Hayes brought up David Foster Wallace's novel Infinite Jest. Hayes cited it as an example of a book that everyone claims to have read but few actually have.
Discussed“I mean with the possible exception of David Foster Wallace and Infinite Jazz. But but it's one of those books everyone claims to read but no one's actually read.”
Where to get it
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Kill All Normies
On the a16z Podcast in March 2026, Marc Andreessen discussed the evolution of online behavior. He brought up Angela Nagle's book to illustrate the roots of angry internet culture and how it developed over the preceding decade.
Discussed“I couldn't resist. I posted a link to it another book on this topic with it has a great title called Kill All Normies. And it's this this book actually from like a decade ago that talked about like this kind of very angry internet culture”
Where to get it
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Lean In
Erik Torenberg discussed Sheryl Sandberg's book on the a16z Podcast while examining technology and leadership in Africa. He noted that guest Nkiru Balonwu credited the book with giving her the inspiration and confidence she needed to accept a CEO position.
Discussed“and she actually didn't think she was ready to be CEO until she read Sheryl Sandberg's book lean in which actually inspired her to go ahead and take the CEO job”
Where to get it
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Me and Ted Against the World
Marc Andreessen brought up Me and Ted Against the World by Reese Schonfeld on an April 2026 episode of the a16z Podcast. He referred to the relatively obscure book about CNN's history while discussing the early founding concepts of the news network.
Discussed“and then because I'm an obsessive, I there's this book at one point that nobody's read, but it's the book is called Me and Ted Against the World.”
Where to get it
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Oh, the Places You'll Go!
On the a16z Podcast episode from February 2, 2016, Adam Grant mentioned the book Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. Grant brought up the book to illustrate themes present in popular children's literature, noting that it was a widely popular children's book of the 1990s focused on choosing one's own path.
Discussed“and more recently oh the places you'll go I think was the most popular children's book of the 90s which was all about choosing your own path”
Where to get it
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On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors
On the a16z Podcast episode Why Physical AI Is the Next Frontier, Peter Ludwig mentioned that he was reading John Z. De Lorean and J. Patrick Wright's On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors. He brought up the book while discussing the internal organizational dynamics and operations of legacy automakers.
Discussed“incidentally and ironically, I'm reading or coincidentally I should say, I'm reading this very famous book which I had actually never read before called On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors. And DeLorean's book.”
Where to get it
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Pollyanna
On the a16z Podcast, Sonal discussed Eleanor Hodgman Porter's classic book Pollyanna. During a debate about the term pollyannaish, Sonal pointed out that the actual story focuses on overcoming hardship rather than just blind optimism.
Discussed“in reality Pollyanna is actually a story about overcoming hardship the reality of the movie is and I hope I'm not giving spoilers”
Where to get it
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Radical Candor
On an episode of a16z Podcast released on October 15, 2025, Ali Ghodsi mentioned Kim Malone Scott's book Radical Candor. He brought up the title while discussing feedback and management styles, noting that people sometimes take the book's concepts too far and misunderstand them.
Discussed“So like you know I think that's a you know there's this book called radical cander and I think people take it too far and they misunderstand it and so on.”
Where to get it
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Ready Player One
On the a16z Podcast, Kyle Russel brought up Ernest Cline's novel Ready Player One. Russel referenced the book to question whether future virtual reality technology and usage patterns would result in people sitting entirely isolated in rooms.
Discussed“are we gonna go full ready player one right where they're sitting in a room by themselves”
Where to get it
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Rise of the Machines
On the a16z Podcast episode Marc Andreessen's 2026 Outlook: AI Timelines, US vs. China, and The Price of AI, Marc Andreessen brought up Thomas Rid's Rise of the Machines. He mentioned it to describe the historical debate surrounding computer inventions starting in the 1930s.
Discussed“So um if you kind of trace all the way back to the 1930s, there's a great book called Rise of the Machines that kind of goes through this.”
Where to get it
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Shatter Me
On the a16z Podcast episode featuring Marc Andreessen, the discussion briefly touched on media history. Andreessen mentioned a book concerning the history and early concepts of CNN to illustrate the founding and development of the network.
Discussed“and then because I'm an obsessive, I there's this book at one point that nobody's read, but it's the book is called Me and Ted Against the World.”
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Stupid White Men
On the January 2, 2019, episode of the a16z Podcast titled 'The Internet is His Religion', guest Jim Gilliam discussed reading Michael Moore's book 'Stupid White Men'. Gilliam mentioned that he picked up the book in the early 2000s while searching for answers on how to become a political activist.
Discussed“I read a book by Michael Moore it was called stupid white men I was like this must be answer must be in here”
Where to get it
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Superforecasting
On the a16z Podcast, Annie Duke referenced Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner's book Superforecasting while discussing fox-like thinking and predictive reasoning.
Discussed“And this is something like Phil Tutlock, I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with super forecasting, talks a lot about.”
Where to get it
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Thank You for Smoking
On the a16z Podcast in an episode from November 12, 2025, Varun Krishna brought up Christopher Buckley's novel and film adaptation Thank You for Smoking. Krishna referenced a specific line from the story to illustrate how central mortgages are as a milestone and life goal.
Discussed“Yeah, there's a a great movie that came out like I think it was around 15, 20 years ago. It's called Thank You For Smoking. I don't know if you've ever seen that one. Yeah. There's this there's this one line that popped into my head where, you know, she kind of scams him, you know, and gets some information”
Where to get it
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The Age of Em
On an episode of the a16z Podcast in October 2026, Erik Torenberg brought up Robin Hanson's The Age of Em during a conversation with Nick Bostrom. Torenberg asked Bostrom for his disagreements with the book's premises, specifically noting the timeline discrepancy regarding whether mind uploads or artificial superintelligence would emerge first.
Discussed“Do you have any disagreements with Robin Hansen's age of M on this topic yeah I mean I guess the most obvious is that it doesn't look like we will be getting M's before we have super intelligence artificial super intelligence”
Where to get it
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The Bhagavad Gita
A guest on the podcast referenced The Bhagavad Gita to share a perspective on building and creating, emphasizing the philosophical idea that individuals are not entitled to the fruits of their labor.
Discussed“There's a great quote um in the Bhagavad Gita which I read recently again, and I was like, "You know, you're not entitled to the fruits of your labor."”
Where to get it
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The City and the Stars
On the a16z Podcast episode "Amjad Masad on Rethinking College for the AI Era" from September 23, 2026, guest Amjad Masad brought up Arthur Charles Clarke's science fiction book The City and the Stars. He mentioned the work to draw a parallel between a fictional future city governed by AGI and modern discussions surrounding higher education, human knowledge, and young people questioning deeply held societal norms.
Discussed“As we were talking, uh I I remembered this uh sci-fi story that I read once. Uh it's called The City and the Stars. And it's about this future city that's governed by AGI.”
Where to get it
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The Color Purple
The Color Purple by Alice Walker came up on the a16z Podcast during an interview with Oprah Winfrey titled 'Belief -- An Interview with Oprah Winfrey'. Winfrey brought up the novel to illustrate a broader philosophical point concerning the golden rule and the third law of motion, specifically referencing a pivotal moment where the character Celie tells someone that everything they try to do to her is already done to them.
Discussed“because the Golden Rule says do unto others as you would have them do unto you in the color purple remember color purple That moment when miss Celie says everything you even try to do to me is already done to you”
Where to get it
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The Corrections
Jonathan Franzen's novel The Corrections was discussed on the a16z Podcast in July 2025. Chris Hayes brought up the book while pondering what the last massive literary event was that managed to capture the attention of the entire American public.
Discussed“What was the last sort of like literary event that like every American paid attention to? And and my vote is for like Jonathan Frank's The Corrections that came out.”
Where to get it
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The Diversity Myth
On the a16z Podcast, Marc Andreessen brought up The Diversity Myth by David O. Sacks and Peter A. Thiel. He used the 1995 book to illustrate how multiculturalism and moral relativism were debated in academia during his college years.
Discussed“or Peter Teal and David Sax wrote about it in their book you know diversity myth in 1995 the diversity myth and it was it was actually it was actually a term that it's called multi multicult multiculti multicultural”
Where to get it
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The End of Work
On an April 2026 episode of the a16z Podcast, Stephen brought up The End of Work by Jeremy Rifkin. He discussed the 1990s book and its central thesis, noting that its predictions about the technology revolution and productivity gains arrived shortly before the rise of the internet.
Discussed“this was a book in the 80s called the end of work. Yeah. And I this so actually sorry it was in the '90s. It it it came out like six months before the internet hit and the whole thesis was the technology revolution was a complete bust and we got no gains in productivity”
Where to get it
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The Frenzy of Renown
On the a16z Podcast episode AI Content and the War for Your Attention, released on July 30, 2025, Antonio García Martínez mentioned reading The Frenzy of Renown by Leo Braudy. Martínez noted that he started reading the book based on a previous recommendation from Chris Hayes while they were discussing the negative impacts of social media.
Discussed“One thing I find interesting of the impact of social media I mean you cite a lot of the negative impacts of social media and you cite one book the frenzy of renown that I actually started reading based on your recommendation actually.”
Where to get it
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The Goal
On the October 8, 2026 episode of a16z Podcast titled Building the Cloud for an Agentic World, guest Matt Garman discussed the book The Goal. Garman brought up the publication to illustrate business and supply chain management concepts, noting that there is never just one constraint in a system, but rather a continuous series of latest constraints.
Discussed“we read the goal and have read the goal right and so it turns out there's never one constraint there's always just the latest constraint”
Where to get it
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The Halo
On a16z Podcast, Jonathan Lai brought up the Halo franchise during the 2024 Big Ideas AI-First Games episode to illustrate how players have historically developed deep emotional attachments to pre-scripted in-game artificial intelligence companions, specifically referencing the character Cortana who resides inside the helmet of Master Chief.
Discussed“a great example is the halo franchise there's an AI companion in that game called quana and she talks to Master Chief comments and what he's doing basically like is a it's a chip that rides in his helmet and he and she tells him where to go next when he's lost and is there from the beginning to the”
Where to get it
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
On the a16z Podcast, Marc Andreessen mentioned Douglas Adams's science fiction novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Andreessen used Adams's work to illustrate generational attitudes and perspectives toward new technologies.
Discussed“Douglas Adams, the science fiction author who wrote the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy had another take on this.”
Where to get it
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The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins's novel The Hunger Games was mentioned on the a16z Podcast in February 2016. The host brought up the book series as a prominent, contemporary example of modern literature featuring strong female protagonists like Katniss Everdeen, citing it in a broader discussion on originality and big ideas in media.
Discussed“you know like obvious examples include The Hunger Games with Katniss Everdeen the divergent series by Veronica Roth”
Where to get it
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The Last of Us and Theology
On the a16z Podcast, Jonathan Lai discussed the video game franchise The Last of Us. He mentioned it as a prime example of a popular game featuring an AI companion who accompanies the player throughout the journey.
Discussed“um and in another game a favorite of mine The Last of Us which is a famous Naughty Dog franchise that was recently turned into an HBO share you play as Joel but then you have Ellie as an AI companion and she follows you around for basically the entire game”
Where to get it
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The Last Supper
On an episode of the a16z Podcast, Adam Grant mentioned Leonardo da Vinci's work on The Last Supper. Grant brought up the famous painting while discussing the concept of productive procrastination, noting that da Vinci spent roughly fifteen years attempting to finish it while repeatedly putting it off.
Discussed“Leonardo da Vinci for example who spent roughly 15 years trying to finish up the Last Supper and kept putting it off”
Where to get it
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The Little Engine That Could
Ben Horowitz brought up the classic children's book The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper to illustrate the underlying American cultural mindset of persistent optimism, ambition, and the belief in one's own capability.
Discussed“There's a reason we all read our kids. You know that what is it? The little red jing. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. That's in America. You can believe you can.”
Where to get it
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The Lord of the Rings
On the a16z Podcast, Adam Grant mentioned The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien while discussing original thinkers and big ideas, noting that prominent entrepreneurs like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk both cited the fantasy epic as their favorite childhood book.
Discussed“if you ask Peter Thiel and Elon Musk to name their favorite childhood books they both pick Lord of the Rings”
Where to get it
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The Man Who Invented Fidel
On the a16z Podcast episode titled Balaji Srinivasan on the Battle Between Traditional Media & Tech, released on August 1, 2025, Balaji Srinivasan brought up The Man Who Invented Fidel by Anthony DePalma. Srinivasan referenced the book to highlight how journalists historically acted as apologists for communist figures, specifically discussing the portrayal of Fidel Castro, Cuba, and Herbert El Matthews of the New York Times.
Discussed“the man who invented Fidel, Castro, Cuba, and Herbert El Matthews of the New York Times.”
Where to get it
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The Sims Bustin' Out
On the a16z Podcast episode Virtual Worlds Mean Real Business: How Games Power the Future, released on December 25, 2024, the host discussed The Sims Bustin' Out by Greg Kramer. The speaker mentioned the title to illustrate that consumer 3D simulation software has existed for decades, even though similar tools remain underutilized for everyday tasks like planning interior layouts.
Discussed“despite the fact that we've had The Sims for, you know, 25 years where we can in a 3D environment drag and drop furniture and see how it fits.”
Where to get it
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The True Believer
Eric Hoffer's book The True Believer was brought up by Marc Andreessen on the a16z Podcast in March 2026. Andreessen referenced the text to illustrate traditional characterizations of elites and masses while discussing online discourse surrounding complex domains like AI and politics.
Discussed“No, I was just going to say yeah, I know like what Ben said is yeah, so like this is a I posted a link to a book called The True Believer that kind of talk talks about this is, you know, the the old characterization is elites and masses”
Where to get it
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The Truth Machine
On the a16z Podcast episode Balaji Srinivasan on the Battle Between Traditional Media & Tech, released on August 1, 2025, Balaji Srinivasan discussed The Truth Machine by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey. Srinivasan cited the book to support his argument regarding decentralized cryptographic truth, noting that the work provided a formal book citation for a concept that had existed for years.
Discussed“this is like seven years ago and the thing is this just basically puts in book form a concept that existed for a long time so I've just got a citation for the concept right so essentially the point is that Bitcoin is decentralized cryptographic truth.”
Where to get it
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The Warren Buffett Way
On the a16z Podcast, Tren Griffin mentioned Robert G. Hagstrom's book The Warren Buffett Way while discussing the concept of investing as the last liberal art. He highlighted how the book emphasizes the importance of utilizing numerous mental models to become a successful investor.
Discussed“there's a book actually by Hagstrom where he actually would that was the original title and you know basically to be a good investor you really need to know a lot about a lot in this whole metal mental models concept”
Where to get it
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The Wealth of Nations
On the a16z Podcast, Oren Cass referenced Adam Smith's foundational work The Wealth of Nations during a debate about tariffs. Cass brought up the text to clarify Smith's arguments concerning the invisible hand, emphasizing that the concept does not mean markets automatically function by magic.
Discussed“this goes all the way back to Adam Smith and the wealth of nations and the invisible hand where his argument about the invisible hand is not that this kind of somehow automatically works by magic.”
Where to get it
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The World Is Flat -A Brief History OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Lila Jinnah brought up Thomas Friedman's book The World Is Flat -A Brief History OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY on the a16z Podcast in January 2019. She referenced the central thesis of the work to illustrate an optimistic perspective on how the internet economy allows people to cross geographic borders freely for digital work.
Discussed“and that was the thesis of Tom Friedman's book”
Where to get it
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Unicorn
On the January 2, 2019, episode of the a16z Podcast, Martha Lane Fox brought up Angela Carter's 1965 poem, Unicorn. She used the poem to mock tech valuation terminology and express her annoyance with the word unicorn.
Discussed“I found an absolutely brilliant poem by the British writer Angela Carter the old day called unicorn she wrote in 1965 it's really seedy and absolutely brilliant for any time I hear the word unicorn I'm gonna give this poem to the tech gazillionaire sitting in front of me and just say stop it”
Where to get it
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War and Peace
On the a16z Podcast in January 2019, the host brought up War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and translated by Clara Bell as a metaphor for corporate meeting minutes that contain excessive detail, contrasting Tolstoy's length with the brevity of a haiku.
Discussed“then the answer usually lies somewhere between haiku and Tolstoy okay all right it's gonna be somewhere in that range”
Where to get it
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When Reason Goes on Holiday
On the a16z Podcast, Marc Andreessen brought up Neven Sesardic's book When Reason Goes on Holiday. Andreessen referenced the work to discuss Albert Einstein's historical writings, speeches, and political views.
Discussed“there's a book that goes through this called when reason goes on holiday that came out a few years ago that kind of goes through all of Einstein's writings and speeches and kind of reconstructs this history”
Where to get it
Guests who recommended books
- Marc Andreessen (12)
- Annie Duke (7)
- Jonathan Lai (5)
- Adam Grant (5)
- Amjad Masad (4)
- Ali Ghodsi (4)
- Peter Ludwig (3)
- Balaji Srinivasan (3)
- Oren Cass (2)
- Antonio Garcia Martinez (2)
- June Park (2)
- Neal Stephenson (2)
- Jeff Jordan (2)
- Tren Griffin (2)
- Matt Garman (1)
- Greg Brockman (1)
- Max Levchin (1)
- Anisha Charia (1)
- Ali Massa (1)
- Shyam Sankar (1)
- Varun Krishna (1)
- David Sacks (1)
- Oliver Wang (1)
- Reid Hoffman (1)
- Patrick Hsu (1)
- Aaron Levie (1)
- Brian Koppelman (1)
- Jim Gilliam (1)
- Martha Lane Fox (1)
- Lila Jinnah (1)
- Jesse Walden (1)
- Denis Nazarov (1)
- W. Brian Arthur (1)
- Jez Humble (1)
- Dick Costolo (1)
Latest mentions
“Do you have any disagreements with Robin Hansen's age of M on this topic yeah I mean I guess the most obvious is that it doesn't look like we will be getting M's before we have super intelligence artificial super intelligence”
“we read the goal and have read the goal right and so it turns out there's never one constraint there's always just the latest constraint”
“I think people, you know, I mean, the vision of sort of Jane from Ender's Game was all about this sort of all-knowing audio-only companion.”
“As we were talking, uh I I remembered this uh sci-fi story that I read once. Uh it's called The City and the Stars. And it's about this future city that's governed by AGI.”
“There is the super intelligence problem. Yeah. You know, and I think a lot of this comes from like Bodstrom 2014 super intelligence book.”
“Like one of my one of my favorite management books is the score takes care of itself. Have you guys read that one? Yeah, Keith boy favorite. Yeah, it's a it's a great one”
“there's been you know a book came out founders recently there's been sort of a lot of uh you know revisiting of of of PayPal both in its impact”
“And there's a great book called Ford Landia where so because he wanted to like own like the complete vertical thing where he created this city called Ford Landia in the Amazon jungle”
“You know, there's been a huge sort of discussion of moes. Are there any moes? There's no more moes. And it's it's very funny because if you actually study u moes, which I think are most famously codified in the book seven powers that's one of my favorites. The vast majority of moes actually are not affected by abundant lowcost”
“Look, there's a great book out now um called Steve Jobs in Exile, which I absolutely think is required reading if you're listening to this podcast.”
“I was telling you guys earlier, it's like the the movie Ratatouille, like the the mouse that's actually a chef collaborating with a with a human. It's kind of like that.”
“There's a book actually that that's very interesting on the kind of building of the war machine by the industrialists which won us World War II, no question.”
“incidentally and ironically, I'm reading or coincidentally I should say, I'm reading this very famous book which I had actually never read before called On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors. And DeLorean's book.”
“Sloan's My Years at General Motors and Adventures of a White-Collar Man. If you run a large engineering organization, you should read that.”
“Sloan's My Years at General Motors and Adventures of a White-Collar Man. If you run a large engineering organization, you should read that.”
“There's this great book, So You Think You've Been Shamed, and it chronicles the stories of a number of people who've gotten canceled over the past like 15 years and that's basically the the takeaway is that the the people can't who are truly canceled are the ones who shut up.”
“There's a reason we all read our kids. You know that what is it? The little red jing. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. That's in America. You can believe you can.”
“or Peter Teal and David Sax wrote about it in their book you know diversity myth in 1995 the diversity myth and it was it was actually it was actually a term that it's called multi multicult multiculti multicultural”
“and there were these furious de there's a classic book of that era Peter's book is great but actually before that there was a famous book at the time which has been huge headline news all through the country when it came out called the the closing of the American mind”
“this was a book in the 80s called the end of work. Yeah. And I this so actually sorry it was in the '90s. It it it came out like six months before the internet hit and the whole thesis was the technology revolution was a complete bust and we got no gains in productivity”
Episodes
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Host or produce a16z Podcast? Give your listeners every book mentioned on the show, with the episode and the minute it came up. New episodes are added as they come out.
