The Tim Ferriss Show

#432: Books I've Loved — Kevin Kelly

May 13, 2020

In this captivating discussion, Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick at Wired, shares his diverse literary loves that have sparked transformative ideas. He dives into 'Open Borders' by Brian Kaplan, revealing how it humorously champions immigration. He also highlights the significance of adaptable building design from 'How Buildings Learn.' Kelly further explores creativity through 'The Innovator's Dilemma' and 'Finite and Infinite Games,' emphasizing the need for both immediate and long-term thinking in innovation. A must-listen for book lovers!

18:03

Episode guests

Kevin Kelly

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

'Open Borders' argues for the benefits of open borders and addresses objections with economic reasoning.

'How Buildings Learn' emphasizes the importance of adaptable structures to accommodate changes and increase efficiency.

Deep dives

Book Recommendation: Open Borders

The podcast episode featured a book recommendation called 'Open Borders' by Bryan Caplan. This radical graphic novel, co-authored by Zach Weinersmith, explores the science and ethics of emigration. The book argues for the benefits of having open borders, allowing individuals to live and work anywhere they want as long as they adhere to local laws. Caplan provides economic reasoning and counterarguments to address objections to open borders, suggesting that it is not only practical but also the best economic choice for societies.

Intro

4min

The Transformative Power of Books: Exploring 'Open Borders'

5min

The Importance of Adaptable Building Design

2min

Exploring Innovation and Perspective Through Literature

6min

#432: Books I've Loved — Kevin Kelly | Brought to you by Audible.

Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is my job to sit down with world-class performers of all different types—from startup founders and investors to chess champions to Olympic athletes. This episode, however, is an experiment and part of a shorter series I’m doing called “Books I’ve Loved.” I’ve invited some amazing past guests, close friends, and new faces to share their favorite books—the books that have influenced them, changed them, and transformed them for the better. I hope you pick up one or two new mentors—in the form of books—from this new series and apply the lessons in your own life.

Kevin Kelly (@kevin2kelly) might be the real-life most interesting man in the world. Kevin is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine. He co-founded Wired in 1993, and served as its executive editor for its first seven years. His most recent book is The Inevitable, which is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. His other books include the best-selling New Rules for the New Economy, the classic Out of Control, and his summary theory of technology in What Technology Wants. From 1984–1990 Kelly was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. He co-founded the Hackers’ Conference, and was involved with the launch of the WELL, a pioneering online service started in 1985. He also founded the popular Cool Tools website in 2003.

Recomendo is his free, weekly newsletter that gives you six brief personal recommendations of cool stuff.

Note from the editor: This episode was recorded in late 2019.

“Books I’ve Loved” on The Tim Ferriss Show is brought to you by Audible! I have used Audible for many years now. I love it. Audible has the largest selection of audiobooks on the planet. I listen when I’m taking walks, I listen while I’m cooking… I listen whenever I can. Audible is offering Tim Ferriss Show listeners a free audiobook with a 30-day trial membership. Just go to Audible.com/tim and browse the unmatched selection of audio programs. Then, download your free title and start listening! It’s that easy. Simply go to Audible.com/tim or text TIM to 500500 to get started today.

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.

For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss

YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.