2 Pages with MBS

Discover the best bits of the best books read by people you admire. Michael Bungay Stanier hosts the podcast where brilliant people read the best two pages of a favourite book. Listen as authors, leaders, activists, academics, celebrities, and entrepreneurs dig in with MBS to explore the insights and ideas within. Whether it’s books that inspire leadership, change, self-development and growth, power, strategy, ambition, productivity, or creativity and innovation - this is hand-curated wisdom from people who know. These are the books that change minds, shape lives, and inspire great work and worthy goals.

Business
Books
Self-Improvement
1
Success, Failure & Design: Debbie Millman, auth...
Debbie Millman reading from David Foster Wallace’s Consider the Lobster, and discussing the presence of design in everything that we do, especially leadership.
46 min
2
How You Are You: Anil Seth, author of ‘Being Yo...
Anil Seth reading from Daniel Dennett’s Consciousness Explained, and discussing the concept of the brain as a prediction machine & how consciousness controls our personal navigation of life.
43 min
3
How Loss Can Lead to Love: Laurel Braitman, aut...
Laurel Braitman reading from Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air, and discussing becoming comfortable as a risk-taker, to live a meaningful and nourished life.
50 min
4
How You Get Good at Something: McKinley Valenti...
McKinley Valentine reading from David Robson’s The Expectation Effect, and discussing understanding and utilizing your mental resources.
45 min
5
How to Practice: Neil Heyde [reads] ‘The Crafts...
Neil Heyde reading from Richard Sennett’s The Craftsman, and discussing the importance of learning how you learn in order to grow and succeed in your work.
43 min
6
How to Survive Disaster: Peter Brannen, author ...
Peter Brannen reading from Annie Dillard’s Teaching a Stone to Talk, and discussing how understanding the past helps to preserve the future.
33 min
7
How to Move from Pessimism to Optimism: Ayse Bi...
Ayse Birsel reading from Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit, and discussing the most tedious design project; remodeling your life into one you want to live.
38 min
8
When All Is Confusion: Eric Klein, author of ‘W...
Eric Klein reading from Goswami Kriyananda's The Bhagavad Gita and sharing a few sacred teachings you can use to create the world you want to live in.
42 min
9
How to More Deeply Understand Your World: Carol...
Caroline Webb reading from Lisa Feldman Barrett’s How Emotions Are Made, and discussing how emotions work, and how experiments can help us explore our deeper rhythms and identify what feels good.
37 min
10
How to Face Fear: JeVon McCormick, author of ‘M...
JeVon McCormick reading from Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, and discussing his experience growing up in poverty and how it has shaped his views on wealth and ambition.
52 min
11
How to Find Your Values: Whitney Johnson, autho...
Whitney Johnson reading from her book Dare, Dream, Do and discussing dreaming within the context of your values.
17 min
12
Give > Take: Bobby Herrera, author of ‘The Gift...
Bobby Herrera reading from Brett McCracken’s The Wisdom Pyramid, and discussing the difference between knowledge and wisdom.
34 min
13
Happy Holidays from Michael
2 Pages with MBS is on holiday break until January 10th.
1 min
14
When Building is Being: Shariff Abdullah, autho...
Shariff Abdullah reading from Christopher Alexander’s The Timeless Way of Building, and discussing the timeless way of being.
47 min
15
The Art of a Tender Conversation: Kathryn Manni...
Kathryn Mannix reading from Oliver Sacks’ Gratitude, and discussing the satisfaction of helping others.
47 min
16
How to be an Artist: Chadney Everett [reads] ‘T...
Chadney Everett reading from José Ortega y Gasset’s The Dehumanization of Art, and discussing the importance of authenticity and integrity when creating art in order to connect with others.
40 min
17
Not Wasting Time: Andri Snær Magnason, author o...
Andri reading from Alan Lightman’s Einstein’s Dreams, and discussing his author’s journey, shedding light on being a product of his society and life experiences.
34 min
18
The Ethical Revolution: Robert Chesnut, author ...
Robert Chesnut reading from his bestseller Intentional Integrity and outlining the steps that leaders can take to create and maintain an integrous environment.
14 min
19
Where Empathy & Activism Meet: Loretta Ross, co...
Loretta Ross reading from Jamil Zaki’s book, The War for Kindness, and discussing compassion fatigue, connecting with others, and how the activism landscape has changed over the past 50 years.
32 min
20
Whose Heart Did You Break?: Simon Alexander Ong...
Simon Alexander One reading from Brianna Wiest’s book The Mountain is You, and discussing resilience, self-mastery, and expanding your comfort zone.
36 min
21
A Woman’s Guide to Surviving Entrepreneurship: ...
Nathalie Molina Niño reading from her own book Leapfrog, and discussing finding courage as a woman in the entrepreneurial world.
18 min
22
Why We’re All Entrepreneurs: Asheesh Advani, au...
Asheesh Advani reading from Safi Bahcall’s Loonshots, and discussing investing in the mindset and skill set to nurture a vibrant community.
34 min
23
The Doorway to Shared Meaning: Haesun Moon, aut...
Haesun Moon reading from David Bohm’s On Dialogue, and discussing the importance of open communication.
41 min
24
Wrestling with Your Monsters: Richard Winters, ...
Richard Winters reading from David Whyte’s The Heart Aroused, and discussing confronting the fears that may be stopping you from getting things done.
39 min
25
How to be Alive: Madeleine Dore, Author of ‘I D...
Madeleine Dore reading from Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, and discussing unlearning the ‘rules’ of life.
34 min