Curiosities
This is an incomplete, albeit intentionally constructed, list of things that satisfy my curiosity. By curating these curiosities, I hope to articulate for myself what I find most creatively resonant and maybe, just maybe, it can help you do the same.
GREAT BOOKS
GREAT BOOKS
Subliminal by Leonard Mlodinow | Read
The Big Sort by Bill Bishop | Read
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom | Read
Complexity by Mitchell Waldrop | Read
Spillover by David Quammen | Read
The Revolt of the Public by Martin Gurri | Read
Why We’re Polarized by Ezra Klein | Read
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell | Read
Red Rising by Pierce Brown | Read
Dark Towers by David Enrich | Read
How to Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi | Read
Hail Mary by Andy Weir | Read
Stolen Focus by Johann Harr | Read
PODCASTS
PODCASTS
The Convivial Society hosted by LM Sacasas | Listen
The Candid Frame hosted by Ibarionex Perello | Listen
Someone Knows Something hosted by CBC Radio | Listen
Song Exploder hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway | Listen
The Science of Birds hosted by Ivan Phillipsen | Listen
Song Radio by Alex Delany | Listen
Radiolab by WNYC Studios | Listen
This American Life by This American Life | Listen
DOCUMENTARIES
DOCUMENTARIES
New Additions
Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine (Must watch!)
Fantastic Fungi
14 Peaks
Breakpoint (Series)
Black Holes | The Edge of All We Know
Full List
Brooklyn Bridge (Ken Burns)
13th
Into the Abyss
Salt of the Earth
Lo and Behold
Design as One
Tim's Vermeer
A Life on Our Planet
My Octopus Teacher
Chasing Coral
Into the Inferno
Winter on Fire
Sky Ladder
The White Helmets
E-Team
Abstract (series)
Chef’s Table (series)
Earth at Night (series)
PHOTOGRAPHERS
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Joel Meyerowitz
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Vivian Maier
Helene Schmitz
Joe Greer
Sebastiao Salgado
Ansel Adams
Paul Nicklen
Michael Gaillard
Dorothea Lange
Todd Hido
Lauren Lepfert
Tom Blachford
Stefan Kohli
Reuben Wu
Xavi Bou
YOUTUBERS
YOUTUBERS
Peter McKinnon
Willem Verbeeck
Thomas Heaton
Marques Brownlee
Jamie Windsor
Matt Day
Nick Carver
Daniel Schiffer
Iz Harris
Brae Hunziker
Becki and Chris
Binging with Babish
How to Drink
Peaceful Cuisine
Cory Vanderploeg
THINKERS
THINKERS
Amanda Gorman
Simon Sarris
Shane Parrish
LM Sacasas
Venkatesh Rao
Patrick Collison
Yi Fu Twan
Ivan Illich
Michel de Montaigne
Seneca
WORDS
WORDS
Sonder
n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.
Liminal
n. Where we are betwixt and between the familiar and the completely unknown. There alone is our old world left behind, while we are not yet sure of the new existence. That’s a good space where genuine newness can begin. Get there often and stay as long as you can by whatever means possible…This is the sacred space where the old world is able to fall apart, and a bigger world is revealed. If we don’t encounter liminal space in our lives, we start idealizing normalcy.
Things I Believe
This list is augmented sporadically…
Take longer pauses. To think. To eat. To observe.
Enjoy language and its intricacies—words mean more than we give them credit for.
Don’t rush personal conversations in business—each builds stronger bridges than any work project ever will.
If it takes you less than sixty seconds to do, do it now.
Close your eyes when you take a bite of really delicious food.
Character is how you act when no one is watching.
You can only prioritize three of these well at any one time: work, family, friends, partner, health, or hobbies. Give yourself permission to deprioritize at least a few.
Buy more flowers at random—for yourself and for others.
It’s okay to read multiple books at once.
It’s okay to not finish the books you start.
Cultivate wonder in the everyday mundane—it’ll makes the mundane magical.
There are three tiers of pizza and burgers: Fast, Classic, & Fancy. It’s ill-advised to compare across tiers.
Pizza
Fast = Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s
Classic = Joe’s Pizza, Armando’s
Fancy = Roberta’s, or really anything with hot honey drizzle
Burgers
Fast is McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys
Classic is Five Guys, Shake Shack, In & Out
Fancy is Au Cheval, anything with pickles or eggs or skewers on top