Welcome to the sixth issue of Great Stuff! For this issue, I decided to take a break from my essays and do something simpler. Because a lot of people had reached out this week asking for content recommendations, I thought I’d use this issue to talk about what I’m reading, listening to, and watching.
Books, Blogs, and Newsletters
Margins
Margins is a Substack newsletter that’s about “the technology of business, and the business of technology.” I couldn’t put it better than that if I tried. I’d recommend starting with this issue about “Pizza Arbitrage,” where Ranjan, one-half of the duo that writes the newsletter, talks about gaming DoorDash’s delivery system to make free money by ordering pizza.
Melting Asphalt
Melting Asphalt is a blog about psychology and philosophy that discusses all kinds of stuff, from neurons to religious beliefs. I’d suggested starting with this insanely interesting post called Neurons Gone Wild—it got me interested in cognitive science!
Kevin Simler, the author of the blog, also co-authored a book called The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life, which I’m hoping to read soon.
Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
This is a book about why being a jack of all trades can actually be a massive advantage, because your brain gains the ability to think across disciplines and problems. It has a lot of relevant discussions about psychology and history, and it explains the mistakes that led us to incorrectly think specialization is a good thing. Here’s the book’s website.
Podcasts
I know podcasts sound lame to some people, but you’ve got to try them. It’s like overhearing a really interesting conversation. I only enjoy podcasts where there’s good chemistry between the hosts. There are surprisingly few that actually meet this requirement—here are the ones I’ve found.
Not Overthinking
If you’ve been subscribed to the newsletter for a while, you’ve probably seen references to Not Overthinking peppered around previous issues. I love the dynamic that Ali and Taimur Abdaal, the hosts of the the podcast, have. The show is described as “the weekly podcast about happiness, creativity, and the human condition.” If you’re only going to listen to one podcast on this list, let it be this one—start with the very first episode, “Why do we like to be correct?”
(Yes, the titles of my newsletter issues are inspired by Not Overthinking.)
Exponent
Exponent is a podcast about tech and society. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it, but the energy of the hosts is pretty infectious. My favorite is their episode on Speech and Systems, where they talk about Facebook’s decision not to take down Donald Trump’s posts. It’s an incredibly insightful conversation about the interplay of technology and free speech, and changed my view on Twitter and Facebook’s policies.
This one’s not on Spotify, so you’ll have to search for Exponent on Apple Podcasts (iOS), Google Podcasts (Android), or whatever other podcast player you like to use.
Other than these podcasts, I also listen to Modern Love, My First Million, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, Founders Talk, and Think Fast, Talk Smart. These are great, but the quality varies a lot from episode to episode, so definitely start with the other two.
Shows and YouTube Channels
NileRed
Although I hated chemistry in school, this channel kind of makes me wish I’d given it another shot. NileRed is a Canadian guy that does (very) weird chemistry stuff, like sniffing cyanide to see if it actually smells like almonds. I found him on one of those YouTube rabbit holes that people tend to spiral into, and I don’t regret it one bit.
Schitt’s Creek
Schitt’s Creek is a show about a family that loses all their money and has to move to a small, dumpy town that they bought in the ‘90s as a joke. This is one of the funniest shows on Netflix, in my opinion. Plus it’s a light watch that won’t take up too much of your time and headspace.
Music
Here’s my Spotify Wrapped playlist, in case anyone’s interested. Lots of genres, including rap, K-pop, country, alternate rock, and so on. 🤩
That’s all for this week—see ya! ✌️