The Denial of Death

This book by Ernest Becker has been genuinely recommended 5 times across 2 different shows: Andrew Huberman, Lex Fridman. The people who vouched for it on air: Andrew Huberman, Brian Greene, David Wolpe, Lex Fridman, host. It comes up in conversations about anxiety & stress, consciousness, fasting, longevity & aging, nutrition & diet. The earliest recommendation we indexed is from Aug 2020 and the most recent from Apr 2025. Every quote below is verbatim, attributed, and linked to the exact second it was said. Sourced expert opinion, not medical advice.

• “I'm reading Erns Becker's the denial of death highly recommend it to everyone a Pulitzer after all”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “highly recommend it to everyone”
  Andrew Huberman · Huberman Lab · Apr 202500:36:54

  Said during "How to Find & Be a Great Romantic Partner | Lori Gottlieb". The episode features Lori Gottlieb: Psychotherapist and best-selling author of "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone," widely regarded as one of the world's leading experts on relationships. She also writes the "Ask the Therapist" advice column (formerly at The Atlantic, now The New York Times). Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb explains how to find and be a great romantic partner by reading your feelings, choosing calm over chaos, and rewriting the stories you tell yourself.

• “i read ernest becker's denial of death which i found and still find to be one of the most profound works i've ever come across”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “one of the most profound works i've ever come across”
  David Wolpe · Lex Fridman Podcast · Mar 202201:41:56

  Said during "David Wolpe: Judaism | Lex Fridman Podcast #270". The episode features David Wolpe: A prominent American rabbi (longtime leader of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles), author, and public intellectual known for debating atheists like Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris. Rabbi David Wolpe and Lex Fridman explore God, faith, free will, the Holocaust, mortality, and whether machines could one day have souls.

• “there's this wonderful book that had a great influence in me called the denial of death by ernest becker”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “wonderful book that had a great influence in me”
  Brian Greene · Lex Fridman Podcast · Oct 202101:38:31

  Said during "Brian Greene: Quantum Gravity, The Big Bang, Aliens, Death, and Meaning | Lex Fridman Podcast #232". The episode features Brian Greene: Theoretical physicist at Columbia University and a leading string theory researcher. Bestselling author of physics books including The Elegant Universe and Until the End of Time. Physicist Brian Greene unpacks quantum gravity, the Big Bang, consciousness, free will, aliens, and how mortality gives a meaningless universe its meaning.

• “somebody i've enjoyed reading ernest becker wrote the denial of death there's also martin heidegger”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “somebody i've enjoyed reading ernest becker wrote the denial of death”
  Lex Fridman · Lex Fridman Podcast · Jun 202101:32:28

  Said during "David Sinclair: Extending the Human Lifespan Beyond 100 Years | Lex Fridman Podcast #189". The episode features David Sinclair: Professor of genetics at Harvard and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical School. Author of 'Lifespan' and co-founder of several longevity biotech companies. Harvard geneticist David Sinclair explains how aging is a loss of biological information that can be slowed, measured, and even reversed.

• “ernest becker's book denial of death had a big impact on my thinking about human cognition consciousness and the deep ocean currents of our mind”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “had a big impact on my thinking”
  host · Lex Fridman Podcast · Aug 202000:00:30

  Said during "Sheldon Solomon: Death and Meaning | Lex Fridman Podcast #117". The episode features Sheldon Solomon: Social psychologist at Skidmore College and co-developer of Terror Management Theory. He co-authored 'The Worm at the Core' and built decades of experiments on how mortality awareness shapes human behavior, extending the ideas of Ernest Becker. Social psychologist Sheldon Solomon argues the fear of death secretly drives nearly everything humans build, believe, and destroy.