I read 22 books this year, of which three were works of fiction. Now I have kept stats of what I have read over the past two decades; I average 23 books a year, about a quarter of which are fiction. Two goals I have set for myself a few years back is to read more fiction, and read older books. On both counts I failed this year. Far too …
Miscellany
My fave podcast episodes of 2024
Podcasts are having their moment today, given the outsized role they had in the US 2024 Presidential election. It is impressive how some of the larger ones, such as the Joe Rogan Experience, have emerged as counterweights to mainstream media. While podcasts have hit the cultural zeitgeist and have broken into the mainstream, they …
My fave articles of 2024
Long-time readers would know that I have been deliberately reducing consumption of articles in favour of podcasts. It is a journey that I began a few years ago, and I have stuck to that path since. 2024 was no different.
The few articles that I read this year were either from newsletters I subscribe to (Generalist, Lenny, Newcomer etc), or recommended by a few trusted curators (Diff’s Long Reads, or …
Smart productivity vs wisdom productivity
[A rather reflective post, this Diwali week!]
Beyond the usual time management tips and hacks, of instilling atomic habits, and of getting things done – the world of James Clear, Tiago Forte and David Allen and similar purveyors of ‘smart productivity’ advice – lies the more rarified world of ‘wisdom productivity’. This is the world of Oliver Burkeman and ‘Four Thousand Weeks’, of Celeste Hadlee and ‘Do Nothing’. …
What I enjoyed reading, listening, and watching in 2023
There are 3 parts to this essay, a longer one on what I enjoyed reading (across books and podcast transcripts) this year, as well two shorter ones on what I enjoyed listening (music) and watching (web series).
Reading
Book reading is a competitive sport for some. Some want to read 52 books, one for every week. Some are more ambitious, going for 100 books. There was a time when I …
Podcast Notes & Excerpts: Peter Attia on Colossus w Patrick O’Shaugnessy
Link to podcast + transcript.
Sajith: Peter Attia is a well-known longevity and wellness guru; has a popular podcast The Drive, covering these topics. Recently, he published Outlive, a how to book giving advice on living to 100+ years. The podcast gives you a quick overview of his thinking and perspectives on this topic. Some excellent advice here that can be readily implemented including 1) the importance of primary …
Transcript of my Interview on ‘The Story Rules Podcast’
I appeared on Ravishankar Iyer’s Story Rules Podcast in June ’22. Typically, The Story Rules Podcast doesn’t publish transcripts. I requested Ravi for the transcript as I thought it would make it accessible to a wider audience. Ravi shared it promptly but I got busy, and this sat in my ‘To Do’ folder for proofreading and review, for a long long while. I finally got down to it earlier today, …
Unbundling Religion
“There are two ways to make money in business: You can unbundle, or you can bundle.” – Jim Barksdale, cofounder of Netscape
Unbundling / (re)bundling is a powerful framework to rethink any topic or entity from first principles. It also helps us visualize what opportunities could be unlocked.
I have explored bundling / unbundling of human creation previously suggesting possible opportunities. In this essay, I will explore how unbundling / …
Unbundling Humans, or, Unbundling Human Creation
“There are two ways to make money in business: You can unbundle, or you can bundle.” – Jim Barksdale, cofounder of Netscape
As frameworks for identifying opportunities in startupland go, unbundling / (re)bundling is amongst the most seminal ones out there. Here is an example of how it works.
Visualize a product that helps you read (for a fee) any magazine / newspaper story – effectively you have unbundled or …
Network States and Nation SPACs, or Westphalia Redux
The title of this piece is of course a play on The Peace of Westphalia, the name for the two treaties signed in 1648 between various delegations representing the micronations and provinces of Europe. The Peace of Westphalia brought into being the concept of the sovereign nation state. One that has a monopoly on state violence and …