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
Niccolo Machiavelli · The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
The guest (Dr. Leanne Ten Brinke) references The Prince while explaining the Machiavellian personality type as one of the Dark Tetrad traits, describing it as a how-to manual for gaining and wielding power—the origin of the name for the trait.
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 it4 Sep 2026
Annette Bosworth · The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
The host (Steven Bartlett) holds up the guest's 2020 book and asks them to explain its central concept. The guest, who authored the book, describes the keto continuum as a 12-step process for achieving consistent ketosis. They walk through the four beginner stages, starting from eating every two to three hours and progressing to cutting carbohydrates to under 20 grams, with ketone strips used to measure progress.
What was said about it3 Sep 2026
James Hollis · The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Andrew Huberman names The Eden Project as one of the books by James Hollis, an 84-year-old Jungian analyst Huberman hosted on his own podcast, noting it is about relationships. The mention is brief and serves to establish Hollis's credentials as a serious author before Huberman relays advice Hollis shared on the podcast.
What was said about it3 Sep 2026
Rich Roll · The Rich Roll Podcast
Guest Tommie Runz describes discovering Rich Roll's book during his early sobriety, while seeking information about veganism. He found it deeply resonant—Roll's recovery journey mirrored his own feelings and struggles, making him feel 'at home.' He credits the book, alongside the podcast, as pivotal in transforming his life from addiction to a thriving running and wellness practice.
What was said about it3 Sep 2026
Michael Crichton · Deep Questions with Cal Newport
Cal Newport notes that his 13-year-old son is reading Michael Crichton's 2002 novel Prey at the same time OpenAI's AI-swarm revelations broke, observing that Crichton's AI villain is itself a literal swarm of small cooperating agents — the same concept now unsettling the public. Newport also notes that LLMs trained on Prey (and similar sci-fi) are liable to reproduce its tropes when prompted in ways that evoke AI-run-amok narratives.
What was said about it3 Sep 2026
Susan P. Mattern · The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
In a passage about how reading hard books enriches the mind and supports brain health, a speaker recommends 'The Prince of Medicine,' describing it as being about Galen and suited to anyone interested in the history of medicine. No author is named in the transcript.
What was said about it3 Sep 2026
Cori Doerrfeld · Raising Boys & Girls
Kate Bowler raises this picture book as an illustration of the right way to be with someone who is suffering: unlike the other animals in the story who try to fix the problem, the rabbit simply sits and listens. Bowler uses it to affirm that people are better at being with sufferers than they realise, if they step back from the urge to solve the pain.
What was said about it3 Sep 2026
James Hollis · The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Andrew Huberman briefly mentions James Hollis's book 'Under Saturn Shadow,' describing it as being about the healing and trauma of men. He cites it alongside 'the Eden Project' as evidence of Hollis's range as a writer, while praising him as a brilliant Jungian analyst whose ideas about what constitutes a good life made a deep impression.
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