Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir
Mentioned 1 week ago
Selects: The First Road Trip
Book Recommendations
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Episodes
4,641
Books
1,074
Recently mentioned
Latest Recommendations
The Body
Stephen King
Mentioned 1 week ago
Selects: The First Road Trip
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Mentioned 2 weeks ago
Kola: The World’s Deepest Hole
The Pearl
STEINBECK JOHN
Mentioned 2 weeks ago
Kola: The World’s Deepest Hole
Smartest Guys in the Room
Bethany McLean
Mentioned 3 weeks ago
Selects: How Enron Fooled the World
Crime and Punishment (Vintage Classics)
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Mentioned 4 weeks ago
Short Stuff: Why does it feel good to be scared?
Scream with Me
Eleanor Johnson
Mentioned 4 weeks ago
Short Stuff: Why does it feel good to be scared?
A Confederacy of Dunces
John Kennedy Toole
Mentioned 4 weeks ago
Some Interesting Curses
The Incomparable Atuk
Mordecai RICHLER
Mentioned 4 weeks ago
Some Interesting Curses
Jurassic Park
Michael Crichton
Mentioned 1 month ago
The Stuff You Should Know Doin’ Science Playlist: How Chaos Theory Changed the Universe
Merchants of Doubt
Naomi Oreskes
Mentioned 1 month ago
How Global Warming Works
Mash
Richard Hooker
Mentioned 1 month ago
M*A*S*H: The Story of the 4077th
Most Recommended
The Bell Witch
The Full Account
This book, written by historian Pat Fitzhugh, was mentioned as an exhaustive source of research on the Bell Witch story.
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I want to shout out a historian named Pat Fitzhugh, who runs bellwitch.org and wrote the book The Bell Witch, colon, The Full Account.
— Episode: Short Stuff: The Bell Witch
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Episode: Short Stuff: The Bell Witch
This book, written by historian Pat Fitzhugh, was mentioned as an exhaustive source of research on the Bell Witch story.
"
I want to shout out a historian named Pat Fitzhugh, who runs bellwitch.org and wrote the book The Bell Witch, colon, The Full Account.
if you really want to dive into it, check out Pat Fitzhugh's website. Bell Witch.org really has a lot of exhaustive research on it.
Alright, Alright, Alright
The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused
The speaker recently read this book and compared its achievement in capturing the spirit of teenagers to what was done in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
"
I read the dazed and confused oral history recently that's a great book that was sort of a similar movie like that's why that was maybe the best movie about teenagers in high school of all time becaus...
— Episode: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Masterpiec...
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Episode: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Masterpiece
The speaker recently read this book and compared its achievement in capturing the spirit of teenagers to what was done in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
"
I read the dazed and confused oral history recently that's a great book that was sort of a similar movie like that's why that was maybe the best movie about teenagers in high school of all time because of the way they did it and the inexperience and you don't know what you don't know and this movie is very much
If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies
Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All
The speaker bought this recently released book about the existential threat of building AI and found it to be really good, popularly written, and readable in a single day due to its engaging anecdotes.
"
Speaking of, I bought a copy of If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, the Eliezer Yukowski Nate Soros book that just came out.
— Episode: [Insert Your Own Catchy Title About Youn...
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Episode: [Insert Your Own Catchy Title About Younger Dryas...
The speaker bought this recently released book about the existential threat of building AI and found it to be really good, popularly written, and readable in a single day due to its engaging anecdotes.
"
Speaking of, I bought a copy of If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, the Eliezer Yukowski Nate Soros book that just came out.
That book, right? About building AI. And if anyone builds it, then we're all going to die. Like just the existential threat of AI. It is really good. You could read it in, if you had a day that you could dedicate to reading it, you could read it in a day. It's really popularly written. Lots of really cool anecdotes. It's just very good. So I strongly recommend that book.
Futility
This 1898 book detailed a ship called the Titan that struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic at night and sank due to a lack of lifeboats, which closely mirrored the real sinking of the Titanic 14 years later.
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there's a, I mean, there's a lot of, um, evidence of strange and unusual occurrences Sure. that support the idea of ESP. Yeah. Um, this article gives a really good one about, um, an 1898 book called <...
— Episode: Selects: How ESP Works (?)
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Episode: Selects: How ESP Works (?)
This 1898 book detailed a ship called the Titan that struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic at night and sank due to a lack of lifeboats, which closely mirrored the real sinking of the Titanic 14 years later.
"
there's a, I mean, there's a lot of, um, evidence of strange and unusual occurrences Sure. that support the idea of ESP. Yeah. Um, this article gives a really good one about, um, an 1898 book called Futility.
And in it, the guy details this book or this boat called the Titan. A ship. Yeah, a ship. A boat. A big old boat.
Which is sailing across the Atlantic and hits an iceberg at night and sinks and a bunch of people die because there weren't enough lifeboats.
And if that sounds familiar, the Titanic did the same exact thing. The Titanic, not the Titan. Yeah. Did the same exact thing 14 years later.
The Men Who Stare at Goats
The speaker mentioned a book by John Ronson which discussed the CIA's declassified efforts to study ESP and remote viewing.
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I came across a 1995 nightline with Ted Koppel. Yeah. Where the news broke that the CIA had been studying ESP and trying to do remote viewing, what Ronson was talking about in The Men Who Star...
— Episode: Selects: How ESP Works (?)
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Episode: Selects: How ESP Works (?)
The speaker mentioned a book by John Ronson which discussed the CIA's declassified efforts to study ESP and remote viewing.
"
I came across a 1995 nightline with Ted Koppel. Yeah. Where the news broke that the CIA had been studying ESP and trying to do remote viewing, what Ronson was talking about in The Men Who Stare at Goats.
The Tinkerers
The speaker mentioned reading all of Jeff Tweedy's books, specifically naming 'The tinkerer' as being really good, in connection with their long-time enjoyment of the band Wilco.
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I read all of Jeff Tweedy's books.
— Episode: VH-1: MTV for Your Parents
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Episode: VH-1: MTV for Your Parents
The speaker mentioned reading all of Jeff Tweedy's books, specifically naming 'The tinkerer' as being really good, in connection with their long-time enjoyment of the band Wilco.
"
I read all of Jeff Tweedy's books.
And the tinkerer, too, is really good.
Venus and Adonis (Classic Reprint)
They mentioned Shakespeare's narrative poem "Venus and Adonis," describing it as a very popular poem at the time that was published in print.
"
I got a few more ... one is that he had a narrative poem called Venus and Adonis that was a very popular poem at the time that was put in print.
— Episode: Selects: Did Shakespeare really write al...
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Episode: Selects: Did Shakespeare really write all that stu...
They mentioned Shakespeare's narrative poem "Venus and Adonis," describing it as a very popular poem at the time that was published in print.
"
I got a few more ... one is that he had a narrative poem called Venus and Adonis that was a very popular poem at the time that was put in print.
Mars Mission I
Surviving the Kessler Effect - Second Edition
This thrilling novel was described as page-turning and was available for purchase on Amazon. It explored a scenario where astronauts might struggle to return to Earth due to excessive space debris causing the Kessler effect.
"
Find out with the latest page-turning thrilling novel, Mars Mission One, Surviving the Kessler Effect, by Christopher Lee Jones.
— Episode: The Magnificent Golden Gate Bridge
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Episode: The Magnificent Golden Gate Bridge
This thrilling novel was described as page-turning and was available for purchase on Amazon. It explored a scenario where astronauts might struggle to return to Earth due to excessive space debris causing the Kessler effect.
"
Find out with the latest page-turning thrilling novel, Mars Mission One, Surviving the Kessler Effect, by Christopher Lee Jones.
Buy it now on Amazon. Mars Mission One, Surviving the Kessler Effect.
If we have astronauts on the moon, Mars, or on the International Space Station, and excessive space debris causes the full-blown Kessler effect, will they ever make it home?
Raising Good Humans
A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids
This book was mentioned as an example of the best parenting guides available for listeners to find on Audible.
"
Plus, find all the best parenting guides like Raising Good Humans.
— Episode: The Magnificent Golden Gate Bridge
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Episode: The Magnificent Golden Gate Bridge
This book was mentioned as an example of the best parenting guides available for listeners to find on Audible.
"
Plus, find all the best parenting guides like Raising Good Humans.
Simply Done
Embrace New Habits and Streamline the Tasks of Daily Life to Create More Time for Everything You Love.
This was a poem written by Joseph Strauss, the central figure in the Golden Gate Bridge construction. The speaker expressed disapproval that Strauss failed to mention Charles Ellis in the poem while glorifying himself and others.
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He read a poem that he wrote for the day. And he was a poet. So it's not bad. I like the rhythm of it. The meter. Sure. Is that correct? Yeah, I think so. I would say go look it up and read it yoursel...
— Episode: The Magnificent Golden Gate Bridge
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Episode: The Magnificent Golden Gate Bridge
This was a poem written by Joseph Strauss, the central figure in the Golden Gate Bridge construction. The speaker expressed disapproval that Strauss failed to mention Charles Ellis in the poem while glorifying himself and others.
"
He read a poem that he wrote for the day. And he was a poet. So it's not bad. I like the rhythm of it. The meter. Sure. Is that correct? Yeah, I think so. I would say go look it up and read it yourself. I'm not going to read it, but it's called The Mighty Task is Done by Joseph Strauss.
The thing that bothers me, aside from a couple of clunky lines, he says essentially like that all the people who were involved in this are glorified and that no selfish urge stains its life, no envy, greed, intrigue, or strife.
Fear and Fury
The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage
The podcast mentioned FearandFury as a newly released work by HeatherAnnThompson covering the Reagan era, the Goetz shootings, and the resurgence of white rage.
"
You could start with those two books that came out recently that Chuck just mentioned, um, Five Bullets by Elliot Williams and Fear and Fury, colon, The Reagan 80s, The Bernard Goetz...
— Episode: The NY Subway Vigilante
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Episode: The NY Subway Vigilante
The podcast mentioned FearandFury as a newly released work by HeatherAnnThompson covering the Reagan era, the Goetz shootings, and the resurgence of white rage.
"
You could start with those two books that came out recently that Chuck just mentioned, um, Five Bullets by Elliot Williams and Fear and Fury, colon, The Reagan 80s, The Bernard Goetz Shootings, and The Rebirth of White Rage by Heather Ann Thompson
Five Bullets
The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation
The hosts noted that FiveBullets is a recent book by legal correspondent ElliotWilliams that recounts the BernardGoetz subway shooting and its aftermath.
"
there's a book called Five Bullets by a legal correspondent named Elliot
— Episode: The NY Subway Vigilante
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Episode: The NY Subway Vigilante
The hosts noted that FiveBullets is a recent book by legal correspondent ElliotWilliams that recounts the BernardGoetz subway shooting and its aftermath.
"
there's a book called Five Bullets by a legal correspondent named Elliot
That one of those books was Five Bullets in the author's name is Elliot Williams
You could start with those two books that came out recently that Chuck just mentioned, um, Five Bullets by Elliot Williams and Fear and Fury, colon, The Reagan 80s, The Bernard Goetz Shootings, and The Rebirth of White Rage by Heather Ann Thompson
The Crowd (Annotated)
A Study of the Popular Mind
This book, written in 1895, was presented as the foundational text on crowd psychology, though much of its view was later considered outdated. The author posited that crowds inherently become mindless, form a collective mind, and are capable of anything, which the podcast hosts noted was often too focused on the negative aspects of crowds.
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if there's a violent crowd then it was just full of violent people and there was a French psychologist named Gustave Lebon in 1895 who wrote the literal book on this like the first one called ...
— Episode: How Crowds Work
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Episode: How Crowds Work
This book, written in 1895, was presented as the foundational text on crowd psychology, though much of its view was later considered outdated. The author posited that crowds inherently become mindless, form a collective mind, and are capable of anything, which the podcast hosts noted was often too focused on the negative aspects of crowds.
"
if there's a violent crowd then it was just full of violent people and there was a French psychologist named Gustave Lebon in 1895 who wrote the literal book on this like the first one called The Crowd Colon A Study of the Popular Mind and it was very influential but this is one of those that's a little outdated in a lot of ways
his whole thing was like you have any crowd together they're inherently mindless they form a collective mind they become capable of anything they're very suggestible they're going to kill everybody in their path right
one thing I saw that I think it's part of social identity theory is that that depends on the mood of the group or the norms of the group so if it's like a group that is generally saying we're a peaceful protest somebody can come up and throw a Molotov cocktail and everybody else in the group is going to look at them like what the heck are you doing
Hitler and Mussolini both studied the works of Le Bon
The Gilded Age in New York, 1870-1910
The hosts noted that Mark Twain co-wrote a satirical novel called The Gilded Age in 1873 and referenced it while discussing the historical period.
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We mentioned Mark Twain. And the only reason we're going to talk about Mark Twain for a moment is because in 1873 he co-wrote a novel, a satire called The Gilded Age.
— Episode: Robber Barons!
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Episode: Robber Barons!
The hosts noted that Mark Twain co-wrote a satirical novel called The Gilded Age in 1873 and referenced it while discussing the historical period.
"
We mentioned Mark Twain. And the only reason we're going to talk about Mark Twain for a moment is because in 1873 he co-wrote a novel, a satire called The Gilded Age.
He released this in 1873. And this is like at the very beginning of The Gilded Age.
Blake; Or, The Huts of America (Black Narratives)
The hosts noted that Martin Delany wrote a novel called "Blake; or, the Huts of America," an alternatehistory story imagining different outcomes of slavery.
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He wrote a book, a novel called Blake or the Huts of America, which was as a lot of these are alternate histories that kind of suppose like what would life be like had either slavery not happened or s...
— Episode: How Afrofuturism Works
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Episode: How Afrofuturism Works
The hosts noted that Martin Delany wrote a novel called "Blake; or, the Huts of America," an alternatehistory story imagining different outcomes of slavery.
"
He wrote a book, a novel called Blake or the Huts of America, which was as a lot of these are alternate histories that kind of suppose like what would life be like had either slavery not happened or slavery happened in a different way?
Light Ahead for the Negro
The conversation highlighted that EdwardJohnson authored the 1901 book "Light Ahead for the Negro," envisioning a future socialist United States for Black people.
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There was a guy named Edward Johnson who wrote Light Ahead for the Negro in 1901. And he imagined a black man who was transported to a socialist version of the United States in 2006 w...
— Episode: How Afrofuturism Works
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Episode: How Afrofuturism Works
The conversation highlighted that EdwardJohnson authored the 1901 book "Light Ahead for the Negro," envisioning a future socialist United States for Black people.
"
There was a guy named Edward Johnson who wrote Light Ahead for the Negro in 1901. And he imagined a black man who was transported to a socialist version of the United States in 2006 where things were much, much better.
Parable of the Sower
The discussion mentioned Butler's 1993 novel "Parable of the Sower," pointing out its role in drawing attention to her work in the 1990s.
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She also had a series called the Xenogenesis series from the 80s. Parable of the Sower was the beginning of a series that she wrote, and that was the one that got everybody's attentio...
— Episode: How Afrofuturism Works
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Episode: How Afrofuturism Works
The discussion mentioned Butler's 1993 novel "Parable of the Sower," pointing out its role in drawing attention to her work in the 1990s.
"
She also had a series called the Xenogenesis series from the 80s. Parable of the Sower was the beginning of a series that she wrote, and that was the one that got everybody's attention.
The Xenogenesis Series 3-Book Collection Set by Octavia E. Butler – A Groundbreaking Sci-Fi Classic of Transformation and Survival
The hosts referred to Butler's "Xenogenesis" series (also known as "Lilith's Brood"), citing it as part of her 1980s body of work.
"
She also had a series called the Xenogenesis series from the 80s.
— Episode: How Afrofuturism Works
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Episode: How Afrofuturism Works
The hosts referred to Butler's "Xenogenesis" series (also known as "Lilith's Brood"), citing it as part of her 1980s body of work.
"
She also had a series called the Xenogenesis series from the 80s.
Black No More (AmazonClassics Edition)
The panel noted that George Schuyler authored the novel "Black No More," a satirical work about a machine that could turn Black people white, illustrating early Afrofuturist ideas.
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He wrote that book Black No More where you could visit a machine, pay $50 and after a three day process be turned from black to white. And it completely upends society and civilizatio...
— Episode: How Afrofuturism Works
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Episode: How Afrofuturism Works
The panel noted that George Schuyler authored the novel "Black No More," a satirical work about a machine that could turn Black people white, illustrating early Afrofuturist ideas.
"
He wrote that book Black No More where you could visit a machine, pay $50 and after a three day process be turned from black to white. And it completely upends society and civilization both in the white community and the black community.
A Catcher's Companion
A Guide to the World of Holden Caulfield
They described it as a thicker companion guide to The Catcher in the Rye, filled with footnotes, extrapolations, and explanations that dive deeper into the novel.
"
Have you read The Catcher's Companion? It's pretty neat, just footnotes and extrapolations and explanations. This guy went into the world of Catcher in the Rye and made footnotes of the whole thing.
— Episode: SYSK Selects: How Book Banning Works
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Episode: SYSK Selects: How Book Banning Works
They described it as a thicker companion guide to The Catcher in the Rye, filled with footnotes, extrapolations, and explanations that dive deeper into the novel.
"
Have you read The Catcher's Companion? It's pretty neat, just footnotes and extrapolations and explanations. This guy went into the world of Catcher in the Rye and made footnotes of the whole thing.
Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.