Recommendations

🎤 Podcasts

Leah Garces on 80,000 hours – Leah runs the non-profit Mercy For Animals. In a non-heavy-handed way, she discuss strategy for changing a system which is cruel to both farmers and animals.
Audrey Tang on 80,000 hours – Audrey discusses the newly developed democtractic technology used to turn an uruely mob of 5,000 college students in to a collaborative legislative egnine.
Penn Jilette on The Tim Ferris Show – Penn discusses his live and career, with some dramatic scenes of working a crowd, raw trust in strangers, and his natural ability to de-escalate situations.

Matt Ferrell - Undecided – New tech broken down for the casual audience. Focus on climate tech
Applied Science – This home physics lab makes all the other ones on youtube look like gradeschool science

Shorting the grid – A pragmatic dose of counter-greenwash
Anything by Robert Caro (on LBJ) or David McCullough – two fantastic authors
Churchill (Roberts) – engaging and well written book
Omnivore’s Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind – Good dives in to the world around us
The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition – Hard to find a more amazing tale

Irrational exhuberance – A good antidote to “rational actor” theory they teach you in school
The Story of Silver – A history of the metal, particularly it’s use as currency. A great way to understand the importance and history of our financial system. Also the Crime of 1873 is a crazy story.
The Other Half of Macroeconomics – Most under-rated economics book I know. Short and explains monetary base management and austerity.
Principles For Navigating Big Debt Crises (Dalio) – Single best guide to recessions (and inflation) that I know of.

Getting More (Diamond) – Ostensibly a book on negotation, when read with a good attitude this is a terrific guide on how to work with people collaboratively.
Attached (Heller) – Best guide to relationships that I know of
Mindsight (Siegel) – Our selves are often so much more capable than we typically expect. Siegel documents this inspiringly.
Power of Habit (Duhigg) – A guide on mindlessness which can teach you more about mindfullness than a meditation book. Or, how to build your own internal subroutines which don’t require constant attention.
The Body Keeps the Score – So much of science focuses on what is easily shown, such as the chemical and mechanical. This is a much needed look in to some more complex and dynamic parts of our selfs - the mind-body connections - in a way which shows many roles of our body in everyday life.
Range – A quick and fun read on different ways of thinking.

Farseer Trilogy – The best character development I’ve ever seen in a book. I originally discovered it as someone recommended the way the author handles grief, but the book is so much more than that!
Ivanhoe – The original story of Robin Hood. Refreshing long sentences written with a fountain pen, and a look in to Saxon England.

My Name is Aram – Humorous short stories of an Armenian growing up in Central California back when cars were new.
Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman – When a physiscts studies and experiments with the people around him, the results can be hilarious.
Farmer Takes a Wife – If you wonder what happens when a bull gets on the telephone.

Irma’s Passport – The story of my great-grandmother’s escape on the last plane from Nazi Austria