"The dead outnumber the living fourteen to one, and we ignore the accumulated experience of such a huge majority of mankind at our peril."
That quote by Niall Ferguson has been burned into my brain—and it’s the reason this podcast exists.
When I hear names like Socrates, Steve Jobs, Dostoevsky, Napoleon, or Cormac McCarthy… I don’t just think about what they accomplished—I wonder what it cost them to get there.
And more importantly, what can we learn from the worlds they left behind?
Unfortunately, most of them aren’t around to sit down for a podcast interview. But we have the next best thing: their books.
The biographies, the memoirs, the fiction, the essays, the meditations—the works that still punch us in the gut, decades or centuries later.
These books contain the ideas that shaped history—and continue to shape the way we think, build, and live today.
But let’s be honest: most people don’t have time to sit down and read a 600-page biography or a dense philosophical classic.
That’s where I come in.
Each episode, I dive deep into the lives and works of these fascinating people and breakdown their stories and the most important ideas we can use in our own lives today. But each episode isn’t going to be just a basic plot summary of their greatest works or some bullshit generic advice that can be prompted by ChatGPT.
Not just the polished takeaways. Not just the inspirational quotes.
But the full truth—the brilliance, the contradictions, the darkness, and the humanity.
Some episodes will be about the lives of iconic people—from Elon Musk to Marcus Aurelius.
Others will explore timeless books—from Blood Meridian to When Breath Becomes Air
What connects them all is this question:
“What does this story reveal about what it means to be human—to chase something, to suffer for it, to find meaning or madness in it?”
This isn’t just about history. It’s not just about business.
It’s about obsession, ambition, failure, morality, power, and wisdom—told through the greatest books ever written.
If you’re the kind of person who wants more than surface-level life hacks…
If you care about big ideas and want stories that hit deep and stay with you…
You’re in the right place.
Welcome to Novel Wisdom.
I’ll see you in the first episode.
Oh—and if this hits home, leave a 5-star review. It helps more people find the show.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit novelwisdom.substack.com
