#3213
Mentioned in 19 episodes

Invisible Cities

Book • 1972
Invisible Cities is a novel by Italo Calvino that defies traditional narrative structures.

The book revolves around the conversations between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan, where Polo describes 55 imaginary cities he encountered during his travels.

These cities are not just physical places but also metaphors for human experiences, desires, and the passage of time.

The novel explores themes of memory, place, and the subjective nature of experience, highlighting how our perceptions of cities and the world are shaped by our personal histories and biases.

The cities described by Polo are often reflections of his home city, Venice, and serve as vehicles for Calvino's commentary on human nature, culture, and the limits of communication.

Mentioned by

Mentioned in 19 episodes

Mentioned by
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Sam Schillace
as a beautiful meditation on cities and Venice.
220 snips
How to be more innovative | Sam Schillace (Microsoft deputy CTO, creator of Google Docs)
Recommended by
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Matan Grinberg
as a short, thought-provoking book he suggests everyone read at some point.
54 snips
The Token Budget Problem Nobody Is Talking About (Matan Grinberg, Co-Founder & CEO of Factory)
Mentioned by
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David Frum
as a reflective book illustrating how literacy trains skepticism and meaning-making.
54 snips
What It Means to Be American
Recommended by
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David Eagleman
as a favorite book of fiction.
46 snips
#119 – David Eagleman: Neuroplasticity and the Livewired Brain
Mentioned by
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Jamie Metzl
in the context of alternate lives and choices.
34 snips
#247 – Jamie Metzl: Lab Leak Theory
Suggested by Tamler as a novel he'd love the hosts to cover in the listener-selected episode.
33 snips
Episode 328: Weapons Free
Mentioned by
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Tamler Sommers
when discussing books for a future podcast episode.
30 snips
Episode 298: Pass the Peace Pipe
Mentioned by
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Thomas Jones
and
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Marina Warner
as Calvino's hypnagogic novella of 55 fantastical cities told by Marco Polo to Kublai Khan.
24 snips
Travel with Close Readings: ‘Invisible Cities’ by Italo Calvino
Mentioned by
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Jamie Metzl
through Italo Calvino’s metaphor of cities as collections of actual and possible lives shaped by different choices.
16 snips
The Psychology of The 10 Commandments| Jamie Metzl

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