A reading companion for curious working lives
What people read. What they recommend. And what authors have to say about their own work.
8 Sep 2026
Gretchen Rubin · Focused
One host references Gretchen Rubin's framework, originally introduced by a prior guest named Kat, to explain why external accountability works for certain people. The obliger tendency — following through on commitments made to others — is presented as a wiring difference, not a flaw, relevant to the episode's discussion of accountability.
What was said about it8 Sep 2026
Eliyahu M. Goldratt · Focused
One host mentions having just finished The Goal, describing it as being about the theory of constraints. They express discomfort with the book's factory-production metaphor and find it poorly suited to knowledge work, which the other host echoes.
What was said about it8 Sep 2026
Gary Keller · Focused
One host invokes the book's juggling metaphor — all balls appear to be glass, but the book explicitly identifies work as the rubber ball, the one you should feel free to drop when life demands it. This is used to argue that work need not always override other priorities.
What was said about it7 Sep 2026
Donald Miller · The StoryBrand Podcast
The podcast intro identifies Building a StoryBrand as the basis for The StoryBrand Podcast, describing the framework as having seven key elements anchored in the idea that the customer is the hero and the host is their guide. No guest or host discusses the book's content beyond this standard intro.
What was said about it7 Sep 2026
Andrew Huberman · Huberman Lab
The host promotes his forthcoming debut book, saying he has worked on it for more than five years drawing on over 30 years of research. He describes it as covering protocols for sleep, exercise, stress control, focus, and motivation, with scientific substantiation for each, and directs listeners to presale at protocolsbook.com.
What was said about it7 Sep 2026
William Still · The Everyday Pastor
Lig Duncan recommends The Work of the Pastor by William Still, which he has read and found worthwhile. He describes Still as eccentric but enormously influential on the Scottish Evangelical movement, noting that the book contains his thoughts on the rhythms and proper focus of pastoral ministry.
What was said about it24 May 2026
Eric Ries · The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk
Eric Ries is the sole guest and the episode is built around his new book. He and host Ryan Hawk discuss its central argument that structural governance — not culture or mission statements — protects companies from corruption. Topics include the Costco origin story and hot-dog pricing commitment, the Whole Foods sale to Amazon as a governance failure, and a practical checklist: encoding mission in the corporate charter as a public benefit corporation, making explicit fiduciary commitments, adopting a director's oath, and creating an accountable secondary trustee body such as a foundation or purpose trust.
What was said about it24 May 2026
Eric Ries · The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk
Host Ryan Hawk introduces Eric Ries as the author of The Lean Startup and calls it one of the most influential business books of the past 25 years. Ries then notes that the book's final chapter already raised the idea of building a long-term stock exchange and argued for ecosystem-level reform of business education and capital markets — ideas he later pursued by founding the Long-Term Stock Exchange.
What was said about it