Listening Chronicles #12
Listening Chronicles #12
A series documenting some thoughts on the podcasts I've been listening to and those I would recommend
Hi,
This is my first post of 2021. So, happy new year? Better late than never, I guess.
I want to say that there's been a lot of work and as a result I wasn't able to continue with my writing. But, I would be lying.
The truth is, the beginning of this year I had a rocky start. An unexpected way of beginning a new year you could say. As a result, I also withdrew myself from the activities I would normally do - stuff like listening to podcasts, reading up on random things that interest me, writing etc.
And while I did want to get back to these things, I was struggling to decide where to start. Do I start writing first? Which podcasts should I listen to on my backlog? What about the books I haven't read? Why did I not read that manga? Do I even have anything worth writing about? Should I just stop?
I am sure you would recognise at this point that this kind of overthinking is pointless. Took me quite some time to stop thinking so much and just act.
So, here I am.
Starting this the first post of the year with something I've always had fun doing - telling people about the different podcasts they can listen to and sharing my thoughts about them.
There are some ideas that I have in the pipeline, I'll try to keep this newsletter as frequent as I can. But unlike the previous posts, I won't be making any promises this time. I've observed that I'm rather terrible at keeping promises about creating content. I'll do that once I'm in a better place.
Let's get started.
Podcast Episodes I've Listened To (changing the heading, since it's been more than a week)
1) Physics Experiments | End Of The World with Joshe Clarke [Approx. 1 hr 20 minutes]
I may have described this podcast before. Let me just do it again. This podcast delves into all the ways our world can go extinct and the future of humanity. For example, Biological Research, Artificial Intelligence, Natural Disasters, Fermi Paradox and yes, in this episode Physics Experiments.
In this particular episode, Josh Clark explains the way physics experiments have developed and reached the current state of particle physics. You also learn about the fascinating history of quantum physics, understand the kind of work theoretical and experimental physicists are doing at the moment and are introduced to the existential risk of particle colliders producing a particle that could possibly consume our entire universe, not just earth.
It may seem like I'm exaggerating, but I would urge you to listen to this episode. It's brilliant, scary and so much to learn about our universe. I hope in some parallel universe, I am a physicist searching for the truths about our universe.
2) Mr. Beast's Journey to 50M Subscribers, His Current Content Strategy, & Critiques of the MKBHD Channel | Waveform Podcast [Approx. 50 minutes]
If you are a regular YouTuber, you may have at some point come across the Mr. Beast channel. Honestly, the kind of videos he makes is outright crazy. Even if you haven't heard about him, you should know that he's probably one of the most popular YouTubers in the world right now. The content he creates is unique, and regularly has 20-30M people watching them. They have clickbait titles, but the moment you get into the channel, you may end up binging for hours. I'm to blame.
This is from MKBHD's podcast (among the best tech YouTubers), and he interviews Mr. Beast on his journey, his philosophy of making YouTube content, the kind of extremities he goes to create videos. It's a fascinating conversation, and if you're interested in learning more about the YouTube algorithm or just want to know what drives' a creator's passion, listen to this episode.
3) 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 | The Memory Palace [Approx. 10 minutes]
Nate Dimeo narrates a story about time. I've listened to this short episode multiple times. Just dive into this episode and be amazed. If there's one episode in this post that you have to listen, let it be this.
4) Asaram Parts 1 & 2 | The Khooni Podcast [Approx. 50 minutes/episode]
I've written about the Khooni podcast earlier and have recommended some of their episodes. This 2 parter about Asaram is a deeply researched, terrifying and an extremely interesting episode to anyone who's a crime buff. So many things are covered in these episodes and the hosts Aditi and Sneha never bore you. I still don't know how they do it, but they're able to balance the astonishing details about Asaram's story with humour intertwined throughout the episodes.
Definitely check it out !
5) On Media Pt. 1 & Pt. 2 | Philosophize This [Approx. 25 minutes/episode]
This 2 parter from Phisophize This is about media. If you're confused about the state of media in our country right now? Listen to this.
It'll help you make sense of how the things have reached this point. Why are the business models structured the way they are? Why does it seem as though we're constantly distracted from paying attention to more important issues? Why is it difficult for media organisations to report accurately?
All of these questions and more are answered in this episode or at the very least, the episode helps you think about our media ecosystem in a more clear manner.
6) The Show of Delights | This American Life [Approx. 1 hour]
If you want to smile today, listen to this episode. A set of stories about delight and the way we might find more delight around us. Small and big. It's brilliant.
I think before listening to this episode, I never paid attention to the word - delight. And after listening to this episode, I'm paying more and more attention to the things that make me feel delight.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/692/the-show-of-delights
7) The End of Democracy in Myanmar | The Daily [Approx. 25 minutes]
Myanmar's military launched a coup. There's a lot to unpack. I am sure many of you are interested to know what the hell is happening there. I think this episode is a good starting point to understand what's been going on in Myanmar and why it seems like history is repeating again.
8) Arab Spring 10 Years Later | Today Explained [Approx. 30 minutes]
This story starts with a street vendor in Tunisia and becomes a revolution that spread across countries in that Arab world. The region is still embroiled in conflict and this episode tries to look at the legacy of that revolution. Was it a success? If it's a failure, what else needs to be done? What happened to the people who were protesting on those days, where are they now?
Readers' Cast
Here are two episode recommendations from my friend and regular reader of this newsletter, Sandesh Atyam.
State of Play: Gamestop | The Prof. G Show [Approx. 40 minutes]
Unless you were on a long term meditation retreat, you wouldn't have missed what happened to Gamestop. A retail gaming company's stock prices became the attention of the entire financial world for quite some time (still is). This episode is a conversation between Scott Galloway and Prof. Aswath Damodaran about why this happened and what it means for the future. Prof. Damodaran is extremely clear and explains this unique situation really well.
Bitcoin | Acquired [Approx. 3 hours]
Before the Gamestop short event. You may have noticed that Bitcoin was soaring in prices. This is a 3 hour breakdown of everything related to bitcoin. The business, the story, the fundamental technology underlying it, the different trends etc. If you're even remotely curious about what the hell is happening in the bitcoin and cryptocurrency world, listen to this.
What have you been listening to since the beginning of 2021? What do you want to read/listen to more of on Curiousect?
Feel free to write !
That's it for this edition. Phew. One down for the year, more to follow.
Have fun listening,
Nirmal Bhansali