Tech billionaire Elon Musk has given us an insight into his mind and shared his top podcast recommendations
He might be the richest man in the world, but that doesn't mean Elon Musk can't enjoy a bit of casual gaming every now and then. During his surprise appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience before the 2024 American election, Musk casually mentioned that he's one of the Top 20 players in the world for Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo. While some wrote this off, it's true that Musk is quite the formidable Barbarian (his usual class).
Musk is known for streaming Diablo, and during these games, audiences get to see a different side of him. When not driving around in a Cybertruck or refusing to leave Mar-a-Largo, Musk is just like the rest of us and likes to kick back with a podcast or two.
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During a June 2024 Diablo stream, Musk revealed his favorite podcast recommendations. When asked what he likes to listen to, the X and SpaceX CEO suggested: "Explorers podcast is excellent, The Age of Napoleon, Revolutions."
He added: "I like history podcast in general, Of course, Dan Carlin if you've not listened to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, that would probably be my top recommendation. I've listened to so many so many history podcasts."
In terms of audiobooks, Musk gave the nod to The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant, as well as The Penguin Edition of The Iliad. Finally, he suggested you should download The Parasitic Mind by Gad Saad. As the Parasitic Mind is about 'how infectious ideas are killing common sense,' it seems apt given the current discourse around X and freedom of speech.
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As for Musk's top choices of podcast, it's clear he's a history buff.
Explorers podcast focuses on the lives and accomplishments of some of history's most legendary explorers, having looked at the likes of Ernest Shackleton, James Cook, and Marco Polo. The Age of Napoleon unsurprisingly tracks the life and career of Napoleon Bonaparte, also honing on the context of Europe between the 18th and 19th Century. Revolutions is another that puts war in the firing line, with episodes ranging from the French Revolution to the Haitian Revolution.
As for his favorite, Hardcore History is described as a "unique blend of high drama, masterful narration and Twilight Zone-style twists." Unfortunately for Musk, not everyone is here for his glowing recommendations.
When Musk previously asked the owners of the popular Fall of Civilizations Podcast to upload its episodes to X, the account responded with a firm 'no': "Hi Elon, at present the platform is too compromised for me to consider it.
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"It’s become a safe haven for hate speech, and meanwhile crypto scammers and bots are paying to be boosted to the top of replies. Everything that once made Twitter special seems to be leaching away."
Musk has recommended plenty of books to read over the years, with some interesting picks like Nick Bostrom's Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, James Barrat's Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era, and even J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. If you fancy yourself as something of a wannabe Musk, you can copy his morning routine and then end your day with some wartime podcasts.