I’ve written before here about my respect for the late intellectual Christopher Hitchens. Boy, could we use his wit nowadays! There are other living writers, thinkers, and pontificaters that I continue to enjoy learning from. Here are 5 of them.

1. David Brooks

Brooks was a long time columnist for the New York Times, one of their ‘conservative’ writers. He is also the author of several 5-star books, including The Social Animal, The Second Mountain, and How to Know a Person. Brooks has moved to the center over the past 10 years or so. While I don’t agree with all his takes, I admire his thoughtfulness and his willingness to acknowledge changes to his thinking on important issues.

2. Sam Harris

Sam Harris pisses everybody off. Liberals don’t like him because he condemns the ideology hiding behind organized monotheistic religions, and conservatives don’t like him because he is one of the most effective verbal butchers of MAGA stupidity. He’s also an AI doomer, which can be off putting to those who are AI optimists. Most importantly though, Harris speaks clearly about the benefits of a meditation practice and his app Waking Up is arguably one of the most comprehensive secular tools for waking up from the ongoing and persistent delusion of the self.

3. Ryan Holiday

Holiday is a writer, book store owner (yes!), podcaster, and general promoter of Stoic wisdom. His books, like those by Brooks and Harris, are fantastic collections of history and all-purpose wisdom. He also walks his talk regarding virtue, calling out racism and greed that are commonly dressed up as patriotism and ‘family values.’ And did I mention he likes great music?

4. Shane Parrish

Parrish is the Canadian writer and podcaster behind the Farnam Street blog, which is a trove of wisdom about the human condition. He is also thoughtful, smart, and his work is consistently offering new and interesting ideas to explore further. Parrish, unlike the others on this list, generally avoids politics.

5. Scott Galloway

I’ve been a fan of Prof G, as he is affectionately known, since I first came across his podcast. Like Harris and Holiday, he is an outspoken critic of the current state of American politics and I tend to agree with most of his ideas. He can be off putting in the sense that he is often crude and has a juvenile sense of humor, but when it comes to the intersection of economics and politics I find that I am nearly always in agreement with him. He also promotes what I consider to be a much healthier version of masculinity, which is important when there are so many tools promoting toxic masculinity online. Galloway’s book Adrift, which I finished reading about a week ago, is also worth reading.