An Autumn Roundup (Fall 2023)

A collection of podcast and reading recommendations, cool people or projects I have found online recently, any new tools or tips, and some personal updates.

Howdy! Each month I post a roundup post like this one sharing the best reading, podcasts, projects, and people I’ve discovered from my month. This roundup covers September and October of this year. I’ve been super busy hosting family, traveling, and working on Printernet so I’ve needed to bundle these two months into one. Let’s get going with this super roundup!

Podcasts

1.) Sane New World

This is a podcast I discovered after finding out about the startup Sane who is building “an integrated web for ideas”. One of their founders, Ida, hosts this wonderful podcast chatting with digital innovators about how we can make software more interesting. I’d check out the episode with Paul Rony first! Oh, and they’re hiring if you are a vibey programmer looking for a cool company.

2.) On Margins

I recently recommended Craig Mod’s brilliant podcast, On Margins, in one of my “paid only” Weekender posts. I’ve since binged most of the available episodes and loved every single one to such an extent that I feel required to share On Margins again outside of the paywall. This podcast explores print, graphic design, bookmaking and writing, and building your own career path / life. I recommend starting with the Frank Chimero episode.

3.) Lenny Rachitsky, How I Write

Check this one out to hear how Lenny stumbled into one of the most popular Substacks on the platform. This conversation pairs well with the practical how to guide Lenny put out after reaching 500,000 Substack readers.

4.) Ada Palmer, Conversations with Tyler

On Viking Metaphysics, Contingent Moments, and Censorship. Ada Palmer is the author of an acclaimed four-volume series of science fiction novels, a tenured historian at the University of Chicago in the history department where she studies the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, radical free thought, the history of censorship, and information revolutions.

5.) Stephen Jennings, Conversations with Tyler

Stephen heads up Rendeavour, an urban development company who is inventing a new city in Kenya on an old coffee farm. Meet Tatu City in this wonderful conversation on how to build a city.

Reading

1.) The Fierce Imagination of Haruki Murakami, Sam Anderson

After watching a baseball game at 29, Murakami decided to write a book. His first book. He found himself stuck. So he began writing the first chapter in English and then translating it back into Japanese. The rest is history. This is a fascinating piece about how the world renowned writer is a sort of improvisational fusion of Japanese and Western pop culture, who could have only been created in the tiny sliver of time that was Western occupied post-war Japan.

2.) The Mind of John McPhee, Sam Anderson

If you enjoy writing or reading (which I have to assume you do if you’ve found me here) you’ve got to check out Draft No. 4, John McPhee’s presentation of how he writes. This profile is a good introduction to how John McPhee can make the mundane (oranges, geology, a single tennis match) fascinating. That power is something I’ve been trying to harness in my own writing and life.

3.) My 12 Favorite Problems, The Honest Broker

Ted shared this fantastic list of the 12 problems (or perhaps better put, questions) that have driven his work and thinking over his lifetime. They are all wonderful things to wonder about, but I especially loved number five: How do I avoid becoming a narrow specialist or a superficial generalist? Is there a third way? If so, how do I get there? That question is the driving question behind this blog and its name.

4.) Why Culture Has Come to a Standstill, Jason Farago

There has been a wave of these kinds of essays lately. At least that is how it feels to me. But I always find them worth considering and searching for the counter-evidence to the idea that our culture has stopped progressing creatively. A lot of the work I am doing and the work others are doing that I admire, seems to be an attempt at making this idea untrue. In this piece, Jason does a great job of exploring the idea, mostly through his deep understanding of the history of art and revolutions.

Personal

I’ve been working hard on the new version of Printernet, a web application that will make saving interesting reading and building physical print issues much easier. To read a bit about this work, check out this working notes page I put up.

Also super honored to share this awesome feature Replit did on me / Printernet. It’s a wonderful account of how Replit has vastly improved the processes around Printernet.

So cool seeing the project shared and hearing people get what we are going for! If you are interested in turning your favorite online writing into beautiful print issues, you can join the web app’s waitlist here.

Lastly: I am going to be in San Francisco soon and am on the hunt for some good recommendations. Would be sweet if you shared one or two of your go-to spots in the comments so I can check them out!

Thanks for reading!

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