What I’m Listening To This Week:
|Cal Fussman on The James Altucher Show
I don’t know how many times I’ve mentioned Fussman in this newsletter but this certainly isn’t the first and it likely won’t be the last. Fussman, a longtime columnist for Esquire who has interviewed hundreds of world leaders, famous athletes, and award-winning musicians—you name it—is reinventing himself at 61 years of age. I’ve mentioned his relatively new podcast a few times now, but on this occasion he’s the guest and provides a good glimpse into his path as a writer and interviewer, while also explaining why learning how to ask good questions can set you apart, regardless of your field.
“Now just about any question you have, you can put it into Google, or Quora, and you’re going to get an answer,” Fussman says. “If you’re looking at the laws of supply and demand, the supply of answers is filled. We got answers up the gazoo, but how many great questions do we have? How many people who ask great questions are left?”
Alex Honnold on The Rich Roll Podcast
Honnold is a badass climber, Roll is an incredible interviewer, and this is just an amazing conversation about risk taking, death, preparation, curiosity, adventure, and a whole lot more. “For me, the hard part was constantly thinking you’re going to die,” Honnold said of a recent expedition to Antarctica.
“While I was there, each day was pretty stressful because you’re making so many little decisions that you think is the right decision, and it’s probably the right call,” Honnold explains. “But there were a lot of times where if Cedar and I just wound up dead at the base of the wall, people would have said ‘well, that’s what happens when you’re repelling big mountains like that that nobody’s ever been on.’ Stuff happens.”
Tristan Harris on The Ezra Klein Show
Important conversation about technology, social media, and why it’s bringing out the worst in us, as well as a discussion on how to take back control of your time.
“This is the thing that needs to change. This is why I was working on this for so long,” explains Harris, a former Googler who who recently co-founded the Center for Humane Technology. “We actually have to change the thing that we are exporting to the world, which is distraction, outrage, slot machine-style rewards, constant stimulation, social validation, making it harder for people to tell what’s true.”
Thievery Corporation and Willie Watson
Total opposite ends of the musical spectrum, but I’ve been bouncing back and forth of late between Thievery Corporation, an electronic/reggae/hip hop/Brazilian mashup of sounds I’ve enjoyed live four or five times, and folksinger Willie Watson, whose rendition of Gallows Pole is quite good. Check ’em both out if your tastes are as eclectic as my own.