Chapter 35: Jen Agg on fussy feminism and ferocious fastidiousness
Release Date: 10/21/2025
The Best Of 2025: Neil Pasricha mines memorable, mind-shifting moments and messages
3 Books With Neil Pasricha
Happy Solstice, everyone! In the northern hemisphere today we have the least amount of daylight of any day of the year. Below the equator it has the most! And as we do every December solstice it's time for our annual "Best Of" episode of 3 Books. 3 Books is our award-winning 22-year-long conversation to uncover and discuss the 1000 most formative books in the world ... 3 books at a time. This year we recorded shows in Nairobi, Ottawa, Del Mar, and even a few on the street ... journeying to collect stories and lessons that can help us all live richer lives of meaning and intention. ...
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Chapter 37: Malcolm Gladwell on strangers, spies, and silencing the system
3 Books With Neil Pasricha
Who we are is a function of where we are. Do you agree with that? Who you are depends on where you are. We’re different people in different places, right? You’re different in the board room than you are on vacation. You’re different with your parents than you are with your kids. I’m different hanging out with Malcolm Gladwell in his West Village apartment than I am sitting in my basement as I type up a little note about it. That theme is one that we get to open up in this chapter of 3 Books with the one and only . I flew down to New York and joined Malcolm at his place where we...
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My Book 'Canada is Awesome' | Full Audiobook
3 Books With Neil Pasricha
This podcast is me reading a little book I put out earlier this year: CANADA IS AWESOME It's an audio book about all the weird, wonderful, beautiful things that make Canada ... Canada. Did you ever notice Canadians speak in the collective? “What do you think of the weather we’re having?” “Shall we grab a Timmy's before the meeting?” “Think we have a shot at the playoffs?” We, we, we. We use the word we so much. Why do we feel like such a collective? I don’t think it’s complicated. I think it’s because we are one. We all toss around half of everything we make into a big...
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Chapter 155: Bulle the Bookseller broadens borders and births bibliophiles
3 Books With Neil Pasricha
We're back to Africa! Last month we kicked off a little Kenyan series on and today I’m thrilled to share another chapter recorded in the heart of pulsing downtown Nairobi in the country's top bookstore. I landed after an overnight flight and immediately filled my belly with fresh samosas, pakoras, curried goat tripe, and fresh tamarind juice ... for breakfast! ... and then, after seeing the city I hopped into a car with Perlexy, who works with our guest in Chapter 104 and current Kenyan Presidential nominee , and drove downtown... We parked the car and met up with Boniface and his son...
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Chapter 36: Two teenage Mormon missionaries on missing mom to make miracles
3 Books With Neil Pasricha
So one day I’m out taking one of my magical when suddenly two guys are like “Hi! How are you?!” And I look up kind of stunned because I’m walking around downtown Toronto where no one really pops out of the woodwork to shout a “Hi! How are you?!” at you … What do I see? Two young men smiling back at me. Like, big smiles! Gigantic smiles. Dressed up, too. It takes me a minute to piece it together but turns out they’re Mormon Missionaries living away from home for two years with the sole purpose of teaching people about their church. They asked me what I’d heard about...
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Chapter 154: Peter Kimani on conquering the curse of choreographed colonialism
3 Books With Neil Pasricha
We're heading to Africa! Over the years we have taken the 3 Books podcast on the road many times ... from recording in in Key West to to the in St. Louis to in New York we've gone where the stories take us. And for the first time we are going to the 55-country and 1.5 billion person continent of Africa. I am so excited to share the first of three chapters of 3 Books recorded in Nairobi, Kenya. I landed there and went whizzing down busy streets with colourful stalls, wandering goats, people pulling carts full of eggs, women carrying baskets on their heads, endless whizzing bodas...
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Chapter 35: Jen Agg on fussy feminism and ferocious fastidiousness
3 Books With Neil Pasricha
"Whatever Jen Agg says is worth listening to," said Anthony Bourdain. I fully agree! If you live in Toronto you probably know Jen Agg. If you don't, let me tell you she runs the best restaurants in town! Come visit and try them! Her most recent stunner is a two-story converted auto-body shop turned Toronto Life #1 ranked restaurant called "" and it is a feast for the senses. Jen describes the place as "part Narnia, part fancy British pub, and part '80s cocaine dream" which gives you a sample of her incredible way with words on top of dishes on top of lighting on top of music on top of...
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Chapter: 153: Carl Honoré imparts illuminating insights into intentional idleness
3 Books With Neil Pasricha
The pace of living is accelerating. I often feel like things are happening too quickly to process ... the reels are going too fast, the scrolls have too many colors, the information feed feels like a flood. I just can't process it all! Do you feel the same way? If so you need this conversation as much as I did. Carl Honoré is the godfather of the "slow movement" — a Canadian born, UK-based author, journalist, and whose first book, the 2004 long-running bestseller '', sparked a global conversation about time, speed, and how we live. What's happened since 2004? Life has gotten even...
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Chapter 27: Robin the Bartender on fiddling with frankincense and fighting for freedom
3 Books With Neil Pasricha
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Chapter 152: Robin Sloan weaves wonder and weirdness into the warbly world of words
3 Books With Neil Pasricha
Last year I picked up a book called ‘’ by Robin Sloan and it blew me away. Reading it was like riding some rainbow-speckled rocket ship where I experienced the bizarre combination of having no idea what was going on while not being able to wait for what happened next. The book was full of talking beavers. Talking swords! Strange video games. And ever-expanding worlds with wizards, who maybe aren’t really wizards, and oh—it's narrated by a microscopic AI-type chronicler, who’s been in many different lives across millennia and who now sits inside our protagonist’s left shoulder. ...
info_outline"Whatever Jen Agg says is worth listening to," said Anthony Bourdain.
I fully agree!
If you live in Toronto you probably know Jen Agg. If you don't, let me tell you she runs the best restaurants in town! Come visit and try them!
Her most recent stunner is a two-story converted auto-body shop turned Toronto Life #1 ranked restaurant called "General Public" and it is a feast for the senses.
Jen describes the place as "part Narnia, part fancy British pub, and part '80s cocaine dream" which gives you a sample of her incredible way with words on top of dishes on top of lighting on top of music on top of ... vibe. I was at General Public last week with my friend Agostino and we split Rainbow Trout Tartare, Hiramasa Crudo, Chicory Salad, and Popcorn Clams and Mussels. And those were just our appetizers! And precisely none of the items fully described the depth of surprising and fresh ingredients leading to the full-body sensory experiences we had when taking our first bites...
Jen Agg has opened many other award-winning restaurants including Bar Vendetta, Grey Gardens, Le Swan, Rhum Corner, Hoof Cocktail Bar and, famously, The Black Hoof (RIP), where I still remember my friend Drew ordering a Spicy Raw Horse Sandwich with raw egg on top many years ago. His verdict? "Delicious!" Of course that place turned the restaurant scene in the city sharply sideways!
And sharply sideways is such a great way to live...
I admire Jen Agg's sharply sideways ways and also highly recommend her bestselling memoir “I Hear She’s A Real Bitch” (perhaps the best memoir title of all time?)
Now there is of course no where else to sit down with Jen than one of her restaurants so for this one we slip into the front booth at the delectable "french diner" that is Le Swan. Btw, if you go you might find yourself making a new Spotify playlist like I did to remember the great music you're hearing—"Ooh la la" by Ronnie Lane followed by "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison followed by "Everybody's Talkin'" by Harry Nilsson followed by "Tangled Up In Blue" by Bob Dylan!
Of course it's hard to pay attention to the music when you're gobbling Smoked Trout Rillette, Steak Tartare, and the city's best Corn Dogs!
Let's sit down and talk about fussiness as a virtue, the art of dining alone, having a healthy marriage with someone much older than you, the brilliant Jen Agg's 3 most formative books, and much, much, MUCH more...
It was an honour and privilege to talk to Jen Agg in this classic chapter of 3 Books.