In Defense of Food
Episodes about this book
3 episodesRethinking the Deep Life Stack (Again!) | Monday Advice
Cal Newport describes rereading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food as the explicit model for his planned future book on cognitive fitness. He characterises Pollan's method as making a philosophical argument that food culture has gone awry, then getting practical—distilling the advice to something like 'eat real food, mostly plants, not too much.'
Should I Press Pause? | Monday Advice
Cal Newport mentions recently rereading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food to study its manifesto writing style as research for a book idea. He describes it as a calming read and explains that because its subject matter—food and nutrition—does not intersect with his own work, it does not over-stimulate him at bedtime the way books on ideas he is actively developing would.
How Do I Escape the “Busyness Singularity”? | Monday Advice
Cal Newport reports rereading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food as research for a potential book of his own tentatively titled In Defense of Thinking. He describes Pollan's three-part structure—the problem of nutritionism, getting beyond it, and practical advice ("eat food, mostly plants, not too much")—and notes the book is more science-reportorial than he remembered, adding that its ideas now feel unremarkable because Pollan successfully changed the culture.
May 2026
Compiled from Cal Newport’s Deep Questions. Books read, not necessarily recommendations.
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