The Books My Podcast Guests Are Reading

Show NotesSpecial Book Edition: 25,000 Streams CelebrationRecorded in New York City on Thanksgiving DayA milestone episode. After just a dozen conversations, Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know has crossed 25,000 streams. Instead of another interview, we’re doing something revealing, personal, and surprisingly political: we’re revisiting book recommendations from our guests.These are the titles that shape how leaders think about New York, democracy, wealth, poverty, power, inequality, science, climate, and their own decisions. From collapsing empires to the Koch era, from hedge funds to poverty in Brooklyn, from spiritual discipline to climate-fiction superheroes, this episode shows how reading choices become political choices.📚 Featured Book Recommendations🗽 New York City history and powerThe Gods of New York — Jonathan Mahler (recommended by Brad Lander, Kathryn Wylde, Grace Rauh, Juan Manuel Benítez is currently reading, and the author is coming on the show)The City We Became — N.K. Jemisin (Brad Lander)🌍 Climate imagination & speculative politicsA Half-Built Garden — Ruth Emrys (Brad Lander)💡 Ideas reshaping public policyAbundance — Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson (Mark Levine)🧠 Psychology, mindset & self-determinationThe Science of Mind — Ernest Holmes (Eric Adams)⚔️ Labor history, unions & fear of socialismThe Jungle — Upton Sinclair (Curtis Sliwa)💸 Wealth, exploitation & the cost of growing up poorBlack Edge — Sheelah Kolhatkar (Jessica Ramos)Invisible Child — Andrea Elliott (Jessica Ramos)⚾ Escapism with substanceThe Bee Sting — Paul Murray (Brian Lehrer)🔎 Race, economics, and shared struggleWhite Poverty — Rev. William Barber (Antonio Delgado)🏛️ A crumbling empire as metaphorThe Emergency — George Packer (Ben Smith)🎙️ Voices in This EpisodeBrad Lander • Kathryn Wylde • Mark Levine • Eric Adams • Curtis Sliwa • Jessica Ramos • Brian Lehrer • Grace Rauh • Christina Greer • Josh Greenman • Nicole Gelinas • Antonio Delgado • Ben Smith📌 BonusThe most mentioned book: The Gods of New York, by Jonathan Mahler. Stay tuned — the author joins the podcast in a couple of weeks.🙏 Thank You for 25,000 StreamsIf you’ve been listening, reviewing, or sharing episodes, you helped grow a show focused on understanding power in New York City. Keep going:👍 Subscribe⭐ Leave a review📚 Send Juan your current book recommendationBecause the ideas we read today shape the choices we make tomorrow.🦃 Happy Thanksgiving from Juan Manuel Benítez Wants to Know.