Podcast
Shane Parrish's book list: the books mentioned on The Knowledge Project
Books from the latest episodes
Most recommended on The Knowledge Project
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A Few Lessons from Sherlock Holmes
On the August 4, 2020, episode of The Knowledge Project titled #89 Maria Konnikova: Less Certainty, More Inquiry, host Shane Parrish recommended the book A Few Lessons from Sherlock Holmes by Peter Bevelin. Parrish mentioned the publication during the conversation and stated that he thought the book about Sherlock Holmes was really good.
Recommended“Peter Bevelin wrote a book on Sherlock Holmes, too, a few lessons from Sherlock Holmes, which I thought was really good as well.”
Where to get it
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Lights out
On The Knowledge Project, Shane Parrish shared Charlie Munger's recommendation that the book Lights Out by Ted Koppel ought to be required reading in every business school in the country for how it chronicles the decline of General Electric.
Recommended“I think that book lights out, which chronicles the decline of GE ought to be required reading in every business school in the country. It won't be because they don't want to offend anybody, but it should be. If there's anybody here who's not red lights out, you should buy it and read it.”
Where to get it
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Perception and Misperception in International Politics
On The Knowledge Project, Philip Tetlock appeared as a guest on the episode #6 Philip Tetlock: How to See the Future. He cited Robert Jervis's book Perception and Misperception in International Politics as the work that had the most profound impact on his academic career, recalling that it was published in 1976 when he had just started graduate school.
Recommended“He wrote a wonderful book in 1976 that I was in graduate school. I just started in graduate school in 1976. And it's called Perception and Misperception in International Politics.”
Where to get it
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Blink
Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink was mentioned by Philip Tetlock on the December 8, 2015 episode of The Knowledge Project. Tetlock brought up the book to debate the merits of intuition against analytical thinking, noting a contrasting psychological rejoinder book titled Think.
Discussed“Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called Blink. And some psychologists wrote a rejoinder book, much less widely read, called Think.”
Where to get it
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Critique of Pure Reason
Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant was mentioned on The Knowledge Project during an episode featuring guest Maria Konnikova. Konnikova discussed encountering a specific section of Kant's philosophical work and explained how excited she was to find that she could apply its principles directly to decision-making and playing poker.
Discussed“Yes, he did, he did, he did, and I was so excited when I found that section of critique of pure reason, and was able to apply it to poker.”
Where to get it
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Failure
On The Knowledge Project, Annie Duke discussed Failure by Stuart Firestein. While exploring the themes of science and error, she noted that the author previously wrote an amazing book titled Ignorance before following it up with Failure.
Discussed“And he wrote, he actually wrote an amazing book called Ignorance, and actually another book titled Failure.”
Where to get it
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Harrington on Hold 'em
On The Knowledge Project, Maria Konnikova discussed reading Dan Harrington's Harrington on Hold 'em during the August 4, 2020 episode titled '#89 Maria Konnikova: Less Certainty, More Inquiry'. She mentioned that she read the first two volumes of the work, noting that those were the two relevant volumes for her poker learning process.
Discussed“So I read I read Harrington on Hold'em, the first two volumes, which are the two relevant volumes.”
Where to get it
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Ignorance: How It Drives Science
On The Knowledge Project episode #37 Annie Duke: Getting Better by Being Wrong, released on July 25, 2018, Annie Duke brought up the book Ignorance: How It Drives Science by Stuart Firestein. During a broader conversation focused on embracing ignorance in scientific pursuits, Duke praised Firestein's work and noted that he also wrote another book titled Failure.
Discussed“And he wrote, he actually wrote an amazing book called Ignorance, and actually another book titled Failure.”
Where to get it
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Mastermind
On The Knowledge Project, Shane Parrish brought up Maria Konnikova's book Mastermind. Parrish mentioned the book to provide context, noting that it served as his first real exposure to Konnikova's work.
Discussed“Mastermind, just for context, was my first real exposure to your work.”
Where to get it
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Misbehaving
On The Knowledge Project in July 2018, guest Annie Duke mentioned Richard H. Thaler's Misbehaving. Duke brought up the book early in the text where Thaler discusses theories of learning and feedback.
Discussed“Here's this thing, you know, actually a place I just saw it was in Richard Thaler's misbehaving and he's got it right there pretty early in the book, like this sentence about, you know, how you learn.”
Where to get it
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The Art of War
During an episode of The Knowledge Project titled How to Get People to Say Yes with Ryan Serhant, released on October 13, 2026, Ryan Serhant brought up The Art of War by Sun Tzu. He referenced the text to illustrate how surprising opponents can cause them to double down their focus on you.
Discussed“And when you surprise them, like in the art of war, they don't know what to do. And it makes them double down their focus on you.”
Where to get it
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The Wisdom of Crowds
On episode 6 of The Knowledge Project, Philip Tetlock brought up James Surowiecki's book The Wisdom of Crowds while discussing the concept of group averaging and crowdsourcing accuracy. Tetlock asked the listener if they were familiar with Surowiecki's work, using it to frame a conversation on collective intelligence and predictive accuracy.
Discussed“I don't know if your listeners are familiar with the James Serwicky Wisdom of the Crowd book.”
Where to get it
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Theory of Games and Economic Behavior
On The Knowledge Project, guest Maria Konnikova discussed Theory of Games and Economic Behavior by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern. Konnikova mentioned that she picked up the foundational text of game theory while conducting research and gathering material for her own writing.
Discussed“So I picked up Theory of Games, which is the foundational text of game theory.”
Where to get it
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Thinking in Bets
On The Knowledge Project, Shane Parrish introduced his interview with Annie Duke by mentioning her new book, Thinking in Bets. He noted that the book is about how people can make smarter decisions when they do not have all the facts.
Discussed“Her book, Thinking in Bats, is about how we can make smarter decisions when we don't have all the facts.”
Where to get it
Guests who recommended books
Latest mentions
“And when you surprise them, like in the art of war, they don't know what to do. And it makes them double down their focus on you.”
“I think that book lights out, which chronicles the decline of GE ought to be required reading in every business school in the country. It won't be because they don't want to offend anybody, but it should be. If there's anybody here who's not red lights out, you should buy it and read it.”
“So I picked up Theory of Games, which is the foundational text of game theory.”
“So I read I read Harrington on Hold'em, the first two volumes, which are the two relevant volumes.”
“Yes, he did, he did, he did, and I was so excited when I found that section of critique of pure reason, and was able to apply it to poker.”
“Mastermind, just for context, was my first real exposure to your work.”
“Peter Bevelin wrote a book on Sherlock Holmes, too, a few lessons from Sherlock Holmes, which I thought was really good as well.”
“Her book, Thinking in Bats, is about how we can make smarter decisions when we don't have all the facts.”
“Here's this thing, you know, actually a place I just saw it was in Richard Thaler's misbehaving and he's got it right there pretty early in the book, like this sentence about, you know, how you learn.”
“And he wrote, he actually wrote an amazing book called Ignorance, and actually another book titled Failure.”
“And he wrote, he actually wrote an amazing book called Ignorance, and actually another book titled Failure.”
“I don't know if your listeners are familiar with the James Serwicky Wisdom of the Crowd book.”
“Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called Blink. And some psychologists wrote a rejoinder book, much less widely read, called Think.”
“He wrote a wonderful book in 1976 that I was in graduate school. I just started in graduate school in 1976. And it's called Perception and Misperception in International Politics.”
Episodes
| Episode | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|
| How to Get People to Say Yes | Ryan Serhant | 2026-10-13 | 1 |
| Charlie Munger's Interview with Todd Combs | 2026-10-06 | 1 |
| #89 Maria Konnikova: Less Certainty, More Inquiry | 2020-08-04 | 5 |
| #37 Annie Duke: Getting Better by Being Wrong | 2018-07-25 | 4 |
| #6 Philip Tetlock: How to See the Future | 2015-12-08 | 3 |
Link to this list from your show notes
Host or produce The Knowledge Project? 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.
