Book · recommended on 2 episodes
The Road
Cormac McCarthy ISBN 9861734368
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Cormac McCarthy ISBN 9861734368
Find it on AmazonAffiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
This book by Cormac McCarthy has come up 2 times across 2 different shows: Lex Fridman, Tim Ferriss. 2 of those mentions were genuine on-air recommendations, not just passing references. The people who brought it up: Janna Levin. The earliest mention we indexed is from 2020-07-13 and the most recent from 2025-05-05. Every occurrence below links to the episode page and to the exact second it was said on YouTube.
Cormac McCarthy's tenth novel, The Road, is his most harrowing yet deeply personal work. Some unnamed catastrophe has scourged the world to a burnt-out cinder, inhabited by the last remnants of mankind and a very few surviving dogs and fungi. The sky is perpetually shrouded by dust and toxic particulates; the seasons are merely varied intensities of cold and dampness. Bands of cannibals roam the roads and inhabit what few dwellings remain intact in the woods.
“there was one book that I think was kind of surprising that I think is an absolute masterpiece which is the road”— Janna Levin
The guest here is Janna Levin: A theoretical physicist and cosmologist specializing in black holes, extra dimensions, the topology of the universe, and gravitational waves. She is chief science officer of Pioneer Works in Brooklyn and author of books including 'Black Hole Blues' and 'A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines.'. Theoretical physicist Janna Levin explains black holes, the information paradox, wormholes, extra dimensions, gravitational waves, and the human stories behind the science.
“Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I read that book literally in cabs by streetlight. I read it in less than 24 hours. I was possessed by it”— Janna Levin
The guest here is Janna Levin: Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University and director of sciences at Pioneer Works. She studies black holes, extra dimensions, and gravitational waves, and is an award-winning author of books including Black Hole Blues and A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines. Physicist Janna Levin on the finite universe, extra dimensions, time travel, and reframing life's obstacles as the path itself.
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