Top Episodes
The most impactful conversations of the year
Sam Altman
"Clear winner" — dominated download numbers for the year
Ezra Klein
Among the highest-traffic episodes of 2025
Steven Pinker
Top five most downloaded
David Brooks
Top five most downloaded
Nate Silver
Top five most downloaded
Any Austin
"One of my three or four favorite episodes for the year... excellent and magical at times."
Jonny Steinberg
"One of my favorite episodes. All of his answers were deep and thoughtful."
Donald Lopez
"One of my favorites of the year, he just had excellent answers."
Cass Sunstein
"Cass at his very peak... a great episode."
Ian Leslie
"Very good" — above average traffic for an arts/culture topic
David Robertson
"He was very good" — praised despite lower popularity
Dan Wang
Extended to 1 hour 40 minutes due to sustained listener interest
Book Recommendations
2015 was an exceptional year for literature — here's what has held up
Submission
"The most classic work of fiction of the last 20 years... a work of philosophy."
The Meursault Investigation
A powerful retelling of Camus — already a modern classic
Neapolitan Novels (Final Volume)
Described as "mega-classic" — the culmination of a landmark series
The English and Their History
"Best was the Robert Tombs book... utterly compelling."
Elon Musk
"All the more important" — prescient biography that has only grown in relevance
Margaret Thatcher (Vol. 2)
"One of the best biographies of the last 10 years."
Film Picks
Documentaries and features that have aged remarkably well
Red Army
"Best movie that year that I know of."
Ex Machina
"Has become seminal... a good movie. It's not a great movie" — important for its cultural impact on AI discourse
Meru
Deserves "a Cass Sunstein award" for its behavioral economics insights — a study in persistence and risk
Music Highlights
2015 marked a peak era for popular and classical music
Hip-Hop's Golden Moment
"Peak time... fantastic." A convergence of artistic excellence rarely seen in popular music.
The Epic
"Jazz album I've enjoyed the most... held up very well." A landmark recording that revitalized interest in jazz.
Scriabin Piano Sonatas
"Best versions of the Scriabin piano sonatas." The definitive modern interpretation.