Podcast
Modern Wisdom book recommendations
Life lessons from the greatest thinkers on the planet with Chris Williamson. Including guests like David Goggins, Dr Jordan Peterson, Sam Harris, Jocko Willink, Dr Andrew Huberman, Dr Julie Smith, Steven Bartlett, Ryan Holiday, James Clear, Robert Greene, Matthew McConaughey, Steven Pinker, Alex Hormozi, Douglas Murray, Chris Bumstead, Mark Manson and more. Understanding the world is hard. This po…
Latest mentions
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Die with Zero
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Drownproof
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A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
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Orthodoxy
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The Alchemist
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Optical Coherence and Quantum Optics
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The Command of the Air
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The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
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Finnegans Wake
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The Hero with a Thousand Faces
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The Great Gatsby
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East of Eden
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Nuclear War
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The Anxious Generation
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Stoner
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The Help
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How to Read the Bible
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Biohacker's Handbook
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The Art of War
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Into Thin Air
Most recommended on Modern Wisdom
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Atomic Habits
James Clear's book 'Atomic Habits' was frequently referenced on Modern Wisdom by host Chris Williamson and various guests as a powerful tool for habit formation, environment design, and self-development. Guests such as Oliver Burkeman and Laura Vanderkam highlighted the specific rule to never miss two days in a row. Others, including Jade Bowler and Steven Bartlett, discussed how the book effectively uses real-world examples from elite athletes and teams to illustrate incremental gains and behavioral change.
Discussed“If you read James Clear's Atomic Habits and you take his habit process to improve your life, does that mean that all of the thoughts and frames that were developed off the back of his habit structure aren't yours?”
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The Precipice
On Modern Wisdom, Chris Williamson and guests like Jonathan Anomaly and Geoffrey Miller frequently recommended Toby Ord's The Precipice across multiple episodes. They praised it as an essential primer and one of the best books on existential risk and the potential threats to human civilization.
Recommended“Stan I've got two [ __ ] reading lists my brother and they've got five books at the top that the most important ones from the list of 100 chrisilex.com/books and chriswex.com/morebooks so that's 200 and there's a top five in both there's a top 10 … today it's read rising one that isn't in there is dungeoncrawler kl and”
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Deep Work
On Modern Wisdom, host Chris Williamson, along with guests such as Eddie Jones, Jim Mullane, and Ben Greenfield, frequently recommended Cal Newport's Deep Work across multiple episodes between 2019 and 2022. The speakers praised the book as an essential guide for productivity, focus, and eliminating distractions, with Williamson referring to it as the bible on the subject.
Discussed“I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of deep work by Cal Newport yeah it's like the work that you do that's the mo that takes the most Focus that's the most valuable right”
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Superintelligence
On Modern Wisdom, host Chris Williamson, alongside guests such as Matt McCusker, Geoffrey Miller, James Ball, and Peter Diamandis, frequently recommended Nick Bostrom's "Superintelligence" across episodes like #066, #144, #213, #241, #306, and #1136. The speakers praised the text as an unbelievable and must-read book regarding the takeoff of artificial general intelligence and the control problem, highly recommending it to listeners interested in existential risk.
Recommended“This is what Bostonramm said like to to put into perspective. It's a great book. Super intelligence. Have you read that book? It's so good.”
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The Moral Animal
Robert Wright's The Moral Animal was repeatedly recommended on Modern Wisdom by host Chris Williamson and various guests, including Dr. Laith Al-Shawaf and Geoffrey Miller. Williamson and his guests praised the book as a foundational text that sparked their interest in evolutionary psychology, emphasizing that the work has held up remarkably well over the decades and remains an essential read for understanding human nature.
Discussed“I've told you this before, but you wrote probably the most influential book in my life, which was The Moral Animal, and it was the thing that got me started on the trajectory of thinking about evolutionary psychology”
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1984
George Orwell's 1984 came up multiple times on Modern Wisdom through recommendations and discussions by guests and host Chris Williamson. Speakers praised it as an easy read with valuable implications for self-development, communication, and understanding how language relates to thought. The book was also used to illustrate the Lindy effect, referenced in discussions about Apple's famous 1984 commercial, and cited by Dominic Cummings regarding how political narratives are handled.
Discussed“So, so, so, so yeah, in a stories a deal, I tell the story of um, well, I sort of pose a question really like about like um, one of the most famous ads that was ever made was Apple's 1984 ad which which which kind of played on the George Orwells novel and showed um, and showed this um,”
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Die with Zero
On Modern Wisdom, Chris Williamson and guest Jimmy Carr frequently recommended Bill Perkins's book Die with Zero. Williamson praised its concise length and cited its lessons to warn against extreme delayed gratification, avoid being overly frugal, and learn how to enjoy and spend money during the right seasons of life.
Recommended“Bill Perkins wrote a book about this die with zero which which is [ __ ] fantastic. Uh there is a certain archetype, the sort of more misery person, maybe there's someone that didn't come from money, but as opposed to I now have it, I'll blow it, it's I now have it and I'm terrified of losing it.”
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Man's Search for Meaning
On various episodes of Modern Wisdom, host Chris Williamson alongside guests like David Brooks, Dr. Christian Busch, Heather Morris, and Chris Bumstead frequently recommended Viktor E. Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. The speakers praised the Holocaust memoir as an essential exploration of human resilience, logotherapy, and the ability to find purpose, maintain personal agency, and choose one's attitude during extreme suffering and trauma.
Discussed“man search for meaning Victor Frankle kind of talked about this and I read that book last year probably when I said this and I reflected a lot about this”
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Why We Sleep
On Modern Wisdom, host Chris Williamson and guests including Peter Diamandis, Dr. Euan Lawson, and Dr. Andy Galpin repeatedly recommended and discussed Matthew Walker's "Why We Sleep" across multiple episodes, such as #077, #182, and #579. The speakers emphasized the book's profound impact on daily habits, praised its insights into sleep deprivation among medical professionals, and recommended it as a life-changing guide for overcoming insomnia.
Critiqued“I probably caused as much insomnia with my TED talk, you know, titled 'Sleep as Your Superpower' or something, and people suggested it should have been called 'Sleep or Else...'”
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Essentialism
Greg McKeown's book Essentialism was frequently recommended on Modern Wisdom by host Chris Williamson and guests such as Eric Jorgenson, Alex Hormozi, and McKeown himself. Williamson and his guests highlighted the book as a foundational personal development text, praising its core thesis of focusing on the vital few rather than the trivial many to combat burnout and prioritize meaningful work.
Recommended“When people say where should I start with personal development? Essentialism by Greg McKeown or the Naval Ravikant.”
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Lost Connections
Johann Hari's book Lost Connections was repeatedly discussed on Modern Wisdom. Chris Williamson frequently mentioned the book across multiple episodes, explaining how it helped him feel he had personal control over his depression in his twenties, and using it to discuss topics such as environmental causes of depression, grief, and sleeping arrangements. The host also referenced Hari's book in earlier episodes when discussing the environmental factors behind mental health struggles.
Discussed“I seem to remember in uh lost connections Johan Harry's book man what a great book uh that there's a carve out in the DSM for grief around depression”
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The Psychology of Money
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel was frequently recommended on Modern Wisdom. Chris Williamson, Richard Shotton, Jim O'Shaughnessy, and the host praised the book for its engaging stories, financial wisdom, short aphoristic style, and accurate definitions of wealth.
Discussed“So for instance um the psychology of money book by Morgan Hel my friend for every person that buys the book another 1.2 2 people buy the book.”
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Why Buddhism is True
On Modern Wisdom, Robert Wright's book, Why Buddhism is True, was repeatedly discussed and recommended by host Chris Williamson and guests such as Sam Harris and Matthew Kobach across multiple episodes. The speakers praised the book for bridging evolutionary psychology with Eastern philosophy, meditation, and mindfulness, while using its insights to examine mental afflictions and emotional discomfort.
Recommended“Yeah, this is gorgeous idea from Robert Wright's Why Buddhism Is True.”
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Getting Things Done
David Allen's Getting Things Done was referenced across multiple episodes of Modern Wisdom by host Chris Williamson and guests such as Cal Newport, Tiago Forte, and David Allen himself. Speakers described the book as a foundational productivity manual and operating system for modern life, discussing its two-minute rule, capture processes, and the lasting legacy of Allen's stress-free productivity methodology.
Discussed“David Allen, who created the most legendary productivity process of all time, GTD, right? Getting things done.”
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Meditations
On Modern Wisdom, Marcus Aurelius's Meditations was discussed by several guests and hosts, including Dewayne Noel, Patrick Bet-David, Jett Franzen, and Connor Beaton. Guests shared how reading the ancient text helped them regain personal perspective, overcome a victim mindset, and appreciate the emotional depth of Stoic philosophy.
Discussed“And then eventually I ended up it was super cliche but ended up reading meditations by Marcus Reelis and I was like wow like this is this is incredible.”
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The Game
The Game by Neil Strauss was discussed across multiple episodes of Modern Wisdom. Chris Williamson, James Bloodworth, Dan Bilzerian, Adam Lane Smith, and Neil Strauss himself explored the book in relation to pickup artistry, dating culture, and the emotional toll of contorting oneself to attract partners. Guests and the host noted its massive popularity in the 2000s, how its tactics caused personal disenchantment for some readers, and how its existence even influenced the founding of modern dating apps.
Discussed“It's like the kind of ick that women had where if they learned a guy was doing real social dynamics or reading the game by Neil Strauss and doing pickup artistry”
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12 Rules for Life
Jordan B. Peterson's 12 Rules for Life came up across multiple episodes of Modern Wisdom. Guests like Vittorio Angelone and Ben Shapiro discussed finding the book's practical, actionable advice helpful during their youth, while host Chris Williamson and various guests referenced its specific rules and thematic focus on navigating order and chaos.
Discussed“Listen, I read the 12 rules for life book and I found it helpful when I was like 22 and I'm so Jordan Peterson.”
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Models
Models by Mark Manson was featured on multiple episodes of Modern Wisdom, where host Chris Williamson, along with guests like Jim Mullane and Amanda Kuda, praised it as an exceptional dating advice and self-improvement book. They discussed its focus on honesty, overcoming neediness, and how it serves as a valuable resource for men wanting to build confidence and attract partners without resorting to manipulative pickup artistry.
Discussed“Mark Manson's models came out in what 2014? Have you ever read that book? Probably not. So Mark Manson before he did the subtle art, he wrote Models.”
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Of Boys and Men
On multiple episodes of Modern Wisdom, host Chris Williamson repeatedly recommended Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves. Williamson praised the book for its concise length and discussed its relevance to structural challenges, education trends, and the struggles facing modern boys and men, referencing the text in conversations with various guests throughout 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Discussed“Yeah, he wrote a book called Boys and Men.”
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Everybody Lies
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz's book Everybody Lies was frequently discussed on Modern Wisdom. Chris Williamson mentioned the book across multiple episodes, highlighting how the author used Google search data to reveal human behaviors and thoughts that individuals conceal elsewhere.
Discussed“Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, ex data scientist at Google, wrote a very famous book called Everybody Lies.”
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Four Thousand Weeks
On the Modern Wisdom podcast, Oliver Burkeman's book Four Thousand Weeks was repeatedly praised and discussed by Chris Williamson and guests like George Mack. The speakers highlighted its insights on mortality, the inevitability of dying with an unfinished to-do list, the concept of productivity debt, and specific ideas such as cosmic insignificance therapy and deciding in advance what to suck at to maintain focus.
Recommended“And there's also a really, this is like the Brit roll call here, but I think Oliver Burkeman is also one of your countrymen, wrote a great book called 4,000 weeks, which is tremendous. And one of the chapters is called cosmic insignificance therapy.”
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The Coddling of the American Mind
The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt was frequently referenced on Modern Wisdom. Guests like Ana Kasparian, Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, and Scott Barry Kaufman, alongside host Chris Williamson, praised the book across various episodes. They highlighted its insights on moral foundations, anxiety, youth mental health, and how younger generations navigate ideas and campus culture.
Discussed“a lot of people feel unsafe around ideas, around words, you know. Oh, uh, that's become a thing in the younger generation as as as Jonathan Height and Greg Luciano have talked a lot lot about in coddling of the American mind.”
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The Happiness Hypothesis
On the Modern Wisdom podcast, host Chris Williamson and guest Tim Urban frequently discussed Jonathan Haidt's book The Happiness Hypothesis. Williamson referenced the book across multiple episodes to explore topics such as evolutionary psychology, companionate and passionate attraction, the external and internal sources of happiness, commute times, and why people enjoy outrage and scandal.
Discussed“You mentioned Anxious Generation. Happiness right last name. Yeah. H A I D T and Happiness Hypothesis is one of my favorite books of all time.”
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The Madness of Crowds
On Modern Wisdom, hosts and guests including Dave Rubin, Chris Williamson, Sam Harris, and Gurwinder Bhogal discussed Douglas Murray's The Madness of Crowds. They explored themes related to the collapse of grand narratives, traditional institutions, and how people latch onto modern ideological movements.
Discussed“but you know your book uh The Madness of crowds talks about the collapse of grand narratives”
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The War of Art
On Modern Wisdom, Chris Williamson frequently discussed Steven Pressfield's The War of Art, noting how it profoundly impacted his commitment to podcasting and sharing quotes about the difficulty of sitting down to write. Taylor Pearson also recommended the book to explain the concept of resistance, while Alex Hormozi mentioned reading it alongside Turning Pro when discussing the decision to commit fully to his show.
Discussed“I'd read Steven pressfield's uh the war of Art and then turning pro and I thought wow like imagine what would happen if you treat The Pursuit Of My Chosen career”
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Thinking, Fast and Slow
Chris Williamson, George Mack, Rob Henderson, and Alex O’Connor discussed Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow across multiple episodes of Modern Wisdom, using concepts like the peak-end rule, cognitive biases, and the heuristic of what you see is all there is to analyze human behavior and limitations in rationality.
Discussed“So uh, Daniel Kahneman got super famous for this work; they got people to do, I think it was like colonoscopies or endoscopies or something, and they were able to track how long someone had been under this procedure and the amount of movement of the camera or whatever; more movement of the camera would mean more discomfort, so that”
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Chasing Excellence
On Modern Wisdom, hosts and guests including Chris Williamson, George MacGill, and Tom Segura repeatedly referenced Ben Bergeron's book Chasing Excellence. They used a story from the book about Matt Fraser memorizing an entire engineering textbook to illustrate the dedication of elite athletes.
Discussed“So Matt in Ben Burgron's book Chasing Excellence, he tells this story about Matt was an engineering student, I think, and he would make himself wrote, memorize entire textbooks, word for word”
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Endurance
Chris Williamson, Colin O'Brady, David Senra, and other guests frequently recommended Endurance by Alfred Lansing on Modern Wisdom. They praised the book as a powerful account of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, using it to illustrate leadership, resilience, and intense human struggle.
Discussed“I remember reading um Endurance by Alfred Lansing and he's talking about Shackleton's diary entries versus what everybody else's diary entries are, right?”
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Digital Minimalism
On the Modern Wisdom podcast, Cal Newport's book Digital Minimalism was referenced across multiple episodes. Chris Williamson and other speakers recommended it as an essential read or life operating manual, discussed Newport's unique definition of solitude found within its pages, and debated whether reading the full self-development book is necessary compared to summaries.
Discussed“another example might be like digital minimalism digital minimalism, right? Like you probably don't need to read and you know, I'm sure I'll get criticized by all of the huge fans of these books, but like I know a lot of people and I'm one of them who read the entire book who still have a problem with that.”
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Don't Trust Your Gut
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz's book Don't Trust Your Gut was recommended and discussed multiple times on Modern Wisdom by Chris Williamson and various guests, including Robert Waldinger and Arthur Brooks. Williamson praised the book as a fantastic resource and top recommendation for finding predictive criteria in relationships, utilizing data to make better life decisions, and understanding dating problems.
Discussed“Um and then his next one was Don't Trust Your Gut. Oh yeah, I've seen that. Don't trust your gut is money.”
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Hardwiring Happiness
On Modern Wisdom, Chris Williamson frequently brought up Rick Hanson's book Hardwiring Happiness across multiple episodes. He recommended it as a practical strategy combining CBT, mindfulness, and neuroscience, explaining that lingering on positive experiences for sixty seconds helps rewire the brain. Williamson discussed the neurobiology of happiness and human set points, while other guests like Dr. John Delony also praised the book's framework for personal growth.
Recommended“I love Rick Hansen's work around that in hardwiring happiness. And yeah, it's effortful.”
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Seveneves
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson was frequently discussed on Modern Wisdom by host Chris Williamson, as well as guests Tim Ferriss and Mark Rober. Across multiple episodes, they praised the science fiction novel's gripping first line regarding the explosion of the moon, its exploration of orbital mechanics and the International Space Station, and how Williamson turned to it for comfort.
Recommended“Well, I mean, Seven Eves by Neil Stevenson, the moon explodes. In the first line, the first line of the book, the moon explodes. I love that.”
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The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho's novel The Alchemist was frequently referenced on Modern Wisdom by host Chris Williamson across multiple episodes. Williamson often recommended it as an easy read and a great novel, and shared how reading it during a media lockdown reignited his personal habit of reading books. He also used the story's themes as an allegorical metaphor for personal life journeys, returning to one's origins, and political situations such as the war in Afghanistan. Other guests, including Joe Folley, also acknowledged Williamson's fondness for the book during discussions on meaning and suffering.
Discussed“The, um, The Alchemist by Paula Quello. Uh, that was like the first book I read. I went so long without reading a book.”
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The Red Rising Series Collection 5 Books Set by Pierce Brown (Red Rising, Golden Son, Morning Star, Iron Gold, Dark Age)
Pierce Brown's Red Rising series was frequently highlighted on Modern Wisdom. Chris Williamson frequently named it his favorite fiction book, praising its addictiveness and urging listeners to read it. Other guests, including Jonathan Watson and Tim Ferriss, also championed the series, with Watson highlighting its immersive audio adaptation and Ferriss calling it his most recommended fiction book.
Recommended“your Pokedad started reading Red Rising after seeing recommendations from multiple sources, yours included. Can you do an episode just on this or does that exist already? Uh, Red Rising, I think I might be the biggest front end of the funnel drug dealer for people getting into Red Rising, except for the author, maybe because it's the top of”
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The Way of the Superior Man
Chris Williamson and other hosts frequently recommended The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida across multiple episodes of Modern Wisdom. The book came up in discussions regarding masculine and feminine energies, navigating the dating market, partner exercises for intimacy, and the feeling of passions losing excitement as men approach their thirties.
Discussed“Is this the next stage after the superior man? Is this a spiritual sequel to the way of the superior man?”
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Case Against the Sexual Revolution
On the Modern Wisdom podcast, Chris Williamson, Whitney Cummings, Mary Harrington, and other guests frequently discussed Louise Perry's book The Case Against the Sexual Revolution. The speakers praised the work as a seminal feminist critique grounded in evolutionary psychology, highlighting its analysis of the undercounted costs of the sexual revolution, modern dating, digital modesty, population collapse, and loveless sex.
Recommended“case against sexual Revolution is a seminal book people refer to being Perry pilled now like young women refer to being per pilled”
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Daring Young Men
Richard Reeves's book Daring Young Men, commonly known as Of Boys and Men, was frequently discussed on Modern Wisdom. Host Chris Williamson repeatedly recommended the concise read to guests including David Geary, Stephen J. Shaw, and Scott Galloway, praising its structural insights into the challenges facing males. Williamson also referenced the book's statistics—such as male college dropout rates during the pandemic—during conversations with guests like Dr. Jean Twenge, Bernie Sanders, Dr. John Delony, and Dr. Carole Hooven.
Discussed“Yeah, he wrote a book called Boys and Men.”
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Human Compatible
On Modern Wisdom, Chris Williamson frequently referenced Human Compatible by Stuart Russell across multiple episodes. Williamson discussed the book's insights into artificial intelligence, algorithmic control problems, and how algorithms interact with and influence human preferences, often highlighting Russell's background as a leading computer scientist.
Recommended“Interestingly, the coolest thing I learned about this is from Stuart Russell, guy that wrote the textbook on AI... He wrote this book called Human Compatible. He's talking about computers, humans, some psychology, a lot of AI and and and computer science.”
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No More Mr Nice Guy
On Modern Wisdom, Dr. Robert A. Glover's book No More Mr. Nice Guy frequently came up in discussions regarding people-pleasing, masculinity, and psychological frameworks. Chris Williamson, Nick Pollard, and host Ben recommended or referenced the text across multiple episodes, highlighting it as a cornerstone resource for understanding nice-guy behaviors and male relationship patterns.
Discussed“and in part um uh uh uh No Mr. nice guy, Robert Glover, like he's sort of like a a looking at a part of this and a wing of this.”
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The 48 Laws of Power
On Modern Wisdom, Chris Williamson repeatedly encouraged listeners to purchase the 25th-anniversary edition of The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers. Other guests, including Rob Henderson, Lewis Howes, Jim Mullane, James Altucher, and Williamson himself across multiple episodes, also discussed the book's themes on power, Greene's writing process, and the historical background of its creation.
Recommended“first off everyone needs to go and pick up uh the 25th anniversary edition of 48 Lo of power”
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The Obstacle Is the Way
On Modern Wisdom, Chris Williamson frequently recommended and discussed Ryan Holiday's book The Obstacle Is the Way between 2020 and 2026. Williamson cited it as a major influence and a key resource he turns to during periods of hardship, depression, or physical recovery, such as following his Achilles tendon rupture. James Smith also referenced the title during an episode to discuss how struggle provides meaning.
Discussed“Other stuff I did that really helped, I read The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday. I read The Art of Resilience by Ross Edgely, and I watched uh Resurfaced, which is a Amazon Prime documentary about Andy Murray's hip replacement.”
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The Status Game
Will Storr's book The Status Game was frequently discussed across multiple episodes of Modern Wisdom. Hosts and guests such as Chris Williamson, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, and Rory Sutherland brought up the book to illustrate how status is a universal, invisible driver of human behavior and social hierarchy.
Discussed“If you've read Will Sto's status game, you've probably interviewed him at some point. His really really good piece of life advice is that everyone is completely obsessed with status.”
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Waking Up
On Modern Wisdom, Sam Harris and host Chris Williamson discussed Waking Up, with Williamson noting he gifts it annually and recommends it for connecting with oneself. Other guests and the host also referenced insights, meditation techniques, and examples from Harris's book throughout various episodes.
Discussed“It's the mundane daily uncertainty and ambient malaise, as you're reading another book on meditation and sitting down, listening to Sam Harris tell you to focus on your breath.”
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Blueprint
Robert Plomin's book Blueprint was frequently discussed across multiple episodes of Modern Wisdom. Chris Williamson repeatedly recommended the text, calling it his favorite fiction-adjacent or child-rearing guide, and mentioned it when exploring behavioral genetics, twin studies, and genetic predispositions alongside guests such as Paul Turke, Robert Plomin, and Fiona Murden. Other guests, including Andrew Thomas and Jonathan Watson, also cited Plomin's insights on genetics during their appearances.
Recommended“I think all of the uh dating advice in the world and all of the child rearing books in the world could be replaced with blueprint by Robert Plowman maybe.”
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The Anxious Generation
Jonathan Haidt's book The Anxious Generation was discussed across multiple episodes of Modern Wisdom by guests and hosts including Chris Williamson, Piers Morgan, and Jeffrey Katzenberg. The participants referenced the book to highlight the rise of anxiety and the harms of social media among youth.
Discussed“I think the that whole anxious generation Jonathan height thing of like it's not good for kids and there's this kind of you know they think it's social media is as harmful as cigarettes for kids”
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The Art of Resilience
The Art of Resilience by Ross Edgley was frequently discussed on Modern Wisdom. Chris Williamson repeatedly recommended the book as a resource for mindset, mental toughness, and recovery from injuries like an Achilles tear, often comparing it to The Obstacle Is the Way. Marcus Smith also highlighted the book as a significant read containing actionable learnings, and Ross Edgley himself discussed his perspective on resilience when appearing on the show.
Discussed“I read The Art of Resilience by Ross Edgely, and I watched uh Resurfaced, which is a Amazon Prime documentary about Andy Murray's hip replacement. All of these were suggested by friends who'd been through other horrendous injuries and come back from it.”
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The Body Keeps the Score
On Modern Wisdom, Bessel van der Kolk's book The Body Keeps the Score was discussed by various guests and host Chris Williamson in relation to trauma, memory systems, and physical manifestations of emotions. While guests like Jessica Baum and Connor Beaton referenced its concepts, Scott Barry Kaufman critiqued the book's immense popularity and the scientific accuracy of its premise that trauma is stored physically in the body.
Discussed“think the body keeps the score. That if you don't want to call it your inner child, we still need to start to look at how memory systems work in your body and how that your memory system is constantly speaking to you.”
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The E-Myth Revisited
On Modern Wisdom, Chris Williamson, Jonny, and Andrew Wilkinson discussed Michael E. Gerber's book The E-Myth Revisited across multiple episodes between 2020 and 2025. The speakers recommended the book as a vital resource for running a business and overcoming entrepreneurial traps, specifically noting the dangers of getting trapped doing operational bakery work instead of delegating and building a scalable enterprise.
Recommended“And I think it's in the E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. Fantastic book if anyone wants to try and run a business.”
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The Evolution of Desire
David M. Buss's book The Evolution of Desire was repeatedly recommended and discussed on Modern Wisdom by host Chris Williamson, with additional mentions by guest Lex Fridman. Williamson and Fridman recommended the text to listeners interested in evolutionary psychology and mating strategies. Williamson frequently referenced specific insights from the book, such as studies on infidelity predictors and male jealousy, to explain human behavior and attraction.
Discussed“Bus had in the evolution of desire I swear one of the lines that's still in my readwise is the single biggest predictor of extrammarital sex is premarital sex.”
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When Men Behave Badly
David Buss's book When Men Behave Badly was frequently referenced across various episodes of Modern Wisdom by host Chris Williamson and guests. Williamson recommended the book as a follow-up in evolutionary psychology and cited its insights to explain behavioral patterns, cross-sex mind-reading failures, and the overperception and underperception biases of attraction.
Discussed“David bus put this out in bad men or Men Behaving Badly depending on which country you're in”
Host picks
- Atomic Habits
- The Precipice
- The Moral Animal
- Superintelligence
- Die with Zero
- Why Buddhism is True
- Lost Connections
- Deep Work
- The Psychology of Money
- Man's Search for Meaning
- Of Boys and Men
- 1984
- Essentialism
- Everybody Lies
- Why We Sleep
- Models
- The Happiness Hypothesis
- The Madness of Crowds
- The War of Art
- Daring Young Men
Guest picks
- Atomic Habits
- Meditations
- 1984
- Why We Sleep
- Deep Work
- The Game
- Man's Search for Meaning
- Essentialism
- Getting Things Done
- The Precipice
- 12 Rules for Life
- Superintelligence
- The Body Keeps the Score
- The Moral Animal
- Thinking, Fast and Slow
- Can't Hurt Me
- Chasing Excellence
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- Mindset
- Sapiens
Guests who recommended books
- David Senra (44)
- Jim Mullane (29)
- George Mack (26)
- Alex O’Connor (24)
- Tim Ferriss (20)
- Rob Henderson (19)
- Sheldon Solomon (19)
- Joe Folley (18)
- Jordan Peterson (15)
- George MacGill (14)
- Douglas Murray (13)
- Massimo Pigliucci (13)
- Alex Petkas (11)
- Donald Robertson (11)
- Nick Pollard (11)
- Ryan Holiday (11)
- Ali Abdaal (11)
- Dr Robert King (10)
- Warren Cass (10)
- Jonathan Anomaly (9)
- Rory Sutherland (9)
- Brad Wilcox (9)
- Geoffrey Miller (9)
- Paul Bloom (9)
- Andrew Doyle (9)
- Benjamin Hardy (9)
- Brian Carroll (9)
- Mary Harrington (8)
- Calley Means (8)
- Robert Greene (8)
- Sam Harris (8)
- Richard Shotton (8)
- Tim Harford (8)
- James Smith (8)
- Douglas Kenrick (8)
- Kyle Eschenroeder (8)
- Nat Eliason (8)
- David Epstein (7)
- Tim Urban (7)
- Gurwinder Bhogal (7)
Latest mentions
“Bill Perkins wrote a book about this die with zero which which is [ __ ] fantastic. Uh there is a certain archetype, the sort of more misery person, maybe there's someone that didn't come from money, but as opposed to I now have it, I'll blow it, it's I now have it and I'm terrified of losing it.”
“It's the replace the toilet paper roll is the example he gives in his book Drown, which is an awesome book. I highly recommend it.”
“It's called "A Swim and a Pond in the Rain." And it's basically nine short stories, Russian short stories.”
“he's has this book I'm reading right now called Orthodoxy, where he started out being like, I'm about to come up there.”
“The, um, The Alchemist by Paula Quello. Uh, that was like the first book I read. I went so long without reading a book.”
“there's a book called coherence and in the latter pages of that book it was one of the first books ever read on resonance breathing”
“since World War I starts with Julio Duh Haye he wrote a book command in the air mostly has to do with air power there's been a hope with either economic blockades or air power that air power or blockades without a ground force could incite a popular revolt to topple the government”
“This is in the Israel lobby. John Mirshimer and Steve Walt's book, they lay it out. Um, and it's fun fundamentally, it's a very simple story, which is that although anybody can give money to elections, it's a it's a free and open process.”
“So I only find this out recently. So Finnegan's Wake is a book that I've read around a lot. I haven't read Finnegan's Wake, but I read about it a lot.”
“Joseph Campbell, you've heard of Joseph Campbell, The Hero Thousand Faces, The Hero's Journey, all of those kind of great books that informed Star Wars.”
“Um um Hunter S. Thompson like he rewrote The Great Gatsby just just to know what it felt like to write a good book.”
“If you read East of Eden by Steinbeck, it's the last sort of big book I read.”
“Had Annie Jacobson on the show who wrote Nuclear War, a countdown scenario. And that's a fun episode.”
“I think the that whole anxious generation Jonathan height thing of like it's not good for kids and there's this kind of you know they think it's social media is as harmful as cigarettes for kids”
“You put me on to Stoner. That was a wonderful book. It is a wonderful book.”
“And and I don't know if you've watched The Help, but Minnie makes a sec- like a very specific pie for her old boss, and let's just say there's fecal matter in there.”
“So I started feeling the urge to read Bible again cuz my parents are Christian and I purposely did not become Christian. I read the Bible properly like I through context and everything.”
“Teimu Arena was it that wrote the Biohackers Handbook. It's his coffee table book. I've still got my house in Newcastle.”
“and he's like you should read this this and he brought me I remember it was like the art of war um with um General Sunzu and he's like these are your people bro you should read this”
“Apparently, so that that guy John Crackour who had the whole in a thin air thing, he wrote that book being like nobody should do this.”