Autodidacts lead the way in achieving success, and this list of 321 books from 170 interviews over 5 years provides a wealth of knowledge to help individuals achieve their goals. From “Never Split the Difference” to “The Fountainhead” to “Clean Meat,” this collection covers a broad range of topics and offers something for everyone. Whether you are interested in science, technology, business, or storytelling, there is a book recommendation here to help you grow and innovate in your field.

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*Disclosure: Links in this post are affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. After 5 years, I have decided to try to monetize the show in various ways so I can do even better interviews (in person, better equipment, etc).

Michael Levin(US) – Episode 170

Anatomical Compiler, Bioelectricity, Epigenetic Adaptation, longevity, research and development

Drea Burbank (US / Amazon) – Episode 169

Medicine, carbon credits, non profit, DAO, Amazon (Jungle not company)

Alan Perlstein (US) – Episode 168

Cellular agriculture, coffee, chocolate, business, startup, deep tech

Lisa Fabiny-Kiser (US) – Episode 167

Longevity, research, non profit, ecosystem building SENS

Bob Walters (US) – Episode 166

Corrections officer, Rykers Island, unions, conflict resolution, sports

Jim Cantrell (US) – Episode 069, 123, 165

Space, rockets, Race cars, racing, engines, engineering

George Church (US) – Episode 054, 164

Genetic engineering, CRISPR, Synthetic Biology

Janine Davis(US) – Episode 131, 163

EQ, leadership, programing, training, mentoring, leading

Ladan Jiracek (US) – Episode 162

Neurotech, podcasting, science, innovation

Brom Rector (US) – Episode 161

Psychedelics, venture capital, Psychedelic Medicine, Psychedelic therapy

Robin Mansukhani (US) – Episode 159

Longevity, Senolytic Drug, therapy development, biotech

Tim Smith (US) – Episode 158

Civil war historian, writer, teacher, tour guide

Jay Sarkar (US) – Episode 157

Longevity, innovation, R&D

Stephen Krueger (US) – Episode 156

TV show production, audio dramas, nerd culture, writing, story telling

Christin Glorioso (US) – Episode 155

Brain Longevity, longevity, brain health, community building

Paul Shapiro (US) – Episode 153

Clean Meat, Rhiza Fermentation, cellular agriculture, technology, business, writing

Julie Vincent(Canada) – Episode 152

Professional Photography, First Nations, Exhibiting Around The World

Kevin Perrott (US) – Episode 151

Longevity, Multi Omic Data, non profit

Giovanni Lauricella (US) – Episode 150

Hiring, Medtech, wine, fund raising

Jo Zayner (US) -(Censored on youtube)- Episode 149

Biohacking, science, business, communication

Aubrey De Grey (US) – Episode 148

Longevity, Mouse Rejuvenation, Longevity escape velocity, Yamanaka Factor, research

Joe Pawelski(US) – Episode 146

In space manufacturing, space, innovation

Mark Hamalainen (US) – Episode 145

Longevity, programming, non profits, education, mentorship

Patty Wexler (US) – Episode 070, 144

Venture capital, deep tech, innovation, startups

Connor Glass (US) – Episode 142

Neurotech, brain computer interfaces, muscle computer interfaces, implants,

Amer Khan(US) – Episode 141

Sleep, sleep optimization, medicine, medtech

Matthew ‘Oki’ O’Connor(US) – Episode 94, 140

Cholesterol, Longevity, Startup, Cyclodextrins

Chris Ruden(US) – Episode 136

Professional Keynote Speaker, fitness, nutrition

Rishabh Jain(US) – Episode 134

Scientist, Translating Science To Business Leadership, Creative Economy, Brand Deals, Tactics

Kiara Bickers (US) – Episode 130

Blockchain, writing, career change

Lowell Thompson (US) – Episode 129

Entrepreneurship, deeptech, problem solving, Podcast hosts

Bill Kramer(US) – Episode 127

Fire science, emergency management, firefighter, aliens

Jibran Khan (US) – Episode 126

Sleep, startups, operations, blockchain, web3

Rai Menges(US) – Episode 104–105, 121,125

Space, technology, innovation, space plane, aliens, engineering

Murat Tunaboylu (UK / Turkey) – episode 040, 122

Drug discovery, antibodies, machine learning,startups, biotech

Zane Witherspoon(US) – Episode 120

Crypto, blockchain, privacy, startups, data rights

Dominic Falcao (UK)- Episode 020 & 119

Venture capital, deep tech, science, startups

Nicholas Goldner & Christopher Bulow (US) – Episode 010 & 117

Cancer, biotech, antibiotics, startups, y combinator

Zoë Routh(Australia) – Episode 116

Business, culture, HR, writing

Marcus Collier-Wright & Manuel La Rosa Betancourt(EU) – Episode 115

Space, propulsion, satellites, engineering

David Warmflash (US) – Episode 114

Space, the moon, astrobiology, writing

Brandon Hopkins(US) – Episode 112

Bees, germplasm preservation, insemination, genetics, research

Matias Viel (US) – Episode 111

Pollination, bees, technology, beekeeping, startups, business

Mark Winston(US) – Episode 110

Bees, insects, writing

James Crall (US) – Episode 109

Bumblebees, bees, insects, citizen science, research

Dawn Musil(US) – Episode 108

Agriculture, farming, honey bee

Kelly Rourke(US) – Episode 107

Bees, pollinating insects, agriculture

Christina Thompson(US) – Episode 102–103

Polynesia, writing

Bridget Baumgartner (US) – Episode 100

De-extinction, genetic rescue, program management, science

Blake Bextine (US) – Episode 099

DARPA, Advanced Plant Technologies, Engineered Living Materials, science

Elliot Roth(US) – Episode 097–098

Algae, Spirulina, startups, business

Daniel Faber (US) – Episode 096

Space, startups, business development,

Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom (NZ) – Episode 093

Democratizing space, space programs, business development, writing

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (US) – Episode 092

African Savannah, bushmen, Nature Focused Life, african tribes

Sarah O’Connor (EU) – Episode 091

Plant Natural Products, Folk Medicine, And Biosynthesis

Peter Nguyen (US) – Episode 090

Engineering living materials, biotechnology, research, science

Brenda Peterson (US) – Episode 089

Nature, Wolves, writing, Author,

Arturo Casadevall (US) – Episode 088

Public health, fungi

Subhadeep Das (US) – Episode 080

Stem Cells, Neurodegenerative Conditions, startups, deeptech

Isha Datar(US) – Episode 078

Cellular Agriculture, non profit, community building

Jun Axup(US) – Episode 076

Biotech, startups, investing, life science

Michael Gallagher (Canada) – Episode 073

Space, Medicine, non profit

Gitte Pedersen (EU) – Episode 068

Cancer, cancer detection, health, business

Tito Jankowski (US) – Episode 067

Climate change, tech, venture capital

Sy Montgomery(US) – Episode 063

Science Author, Animals, Cephalopods

Paul Bunje (US) – Episode 062

Conservation, community building

Robert Quinn (Australia) – Episode 060

Sepsis, monitorering, sensors, startups, technology

Gautam Dantas(US) – Episode 059

Microbiome, Microbiology, Pathology, immunology, and biomedical engineering

Daniel Grushkin (US) – Episode 058

Bio Design, biotech, DIY Biotech

Thomas Meany (UK) – Episode 051

DNA circuits tests, biotech, open source, business

Molly Morse (US) – Episode 044

Biodegradable Biopolymer Materials

Yeshwanth Pulijala (UK) – Episode 042

Healthcare, surgery, patient safety

Matthew Higgins (UK) – Episode 041

Bioinformatics

Sam Arbesman (US) – Episode 037

Venture Capital, Science, Writing

Jose Videira & Gianmaria Bullegas (UK) – Episode 036

Materials Engineering, Shock Physics, Composites Engineering, startups

Thomas Farrugia ( UK) – Episode 035

next generation insect crop creation

Alana Santos Benz & Ana Elisa Antunes dos Santos (Brazil, UK) – Episode 033

Clean Meat, Tissue Engineering,Biotech

Dyan DeNapoli (US) – Episode 026

Penguin expert, conservation

Heidi Steltzer (US) – Episode 025

Environmental Scientist, Explorer, Science Communicator

Alysa McCall and BJ Kirschhoffer (Canada/US)- Episode 022

Polar bears, in-field research, biology

Erica Barnell and Andrew Barnell (US) – Episode 021

Cancer detection, colon cancer, biotech, business startup

Adora Cheun (US) – Episode 019

Venture capital, biotech, engineering, y combinator

Gareth Highnam (US) – Episode 017

Genetics, Bioinformatics, Science, business, startups

Leo Petrossian (US) – Episode 016

Neuroscience, brain, startup

Brandon Frenz (US) – Episode 013

Protein engineering, chemistry, biochemistry

Ali Afshar & Ignacio Willats (UK) Episode – 012

Cell culture automation machine, entrepreneurship

Paul Berning (US) – Episode 011

Technical sales, business, science

Elizabeth Stulberg (US) – Episode 008-009

Agriculture, policy, farm bill, government

Jess Morin (US) – Episode 007

Science, teaching

Jon Helander (US) – Episode 006

Biotechnology, Chemistry, drug development

Leonardo Nunes (Chile) – Episode 004–005

Biotechnology & transhumanism

Matthew Pavlovich (US) – Episode 003

Biotechnology, science

Ravi Teja(Australia) – Episode 002

Space Satellite Expert

Sarah Proefke(US) – episode 001

Experienced Technical Recruiter