Tim Urban, of Wait But Why fame, released his first proper book in 2023. What’s Our Problem? is an ambitious 700+ page book that explores the ideological and psychological forces shaping modern society. With an often witty style, Urban breaks down complex ideas on the history of politics and collective behaviour, giving readers useful frameworks to better gauge the world around them. By explaining critical thinking, Urban encourages the reader to use it while reading and while living in society.
However, What’s Our Problem? also struggles under the weight of its own complexity. The dozens of new frameworks, diagrams and explanations that are largely clear and easy to understand in the moment, do get complex across the whole journey of the book – feeling overwhelming at times. As the pages pile up, the experience starts to feel less like engaging reading and more like homework. Some key ideas are repeated more than they need to be, blunting the overall impact.
At its best, What’s Our Problem? is a fascinating, eye-opening read that leaves readers thinking differently about the world. While it may be a bore at times to push through its slower stretches, the reward is a genuinely useful set of tools for navigating today’s complicated social and political landscape and really everyone should read this.