-John Green is pretty famous in two circles. One is the literary world as a bestselling author of Young Adult fiction (like The Fault in Our Stars), and the other is YouTube with his huge web of educational content that he largely partners with his brother Hank on (Vlogbrothers, Crash Course, Dear Hank and John). I’ve never read his books but I have become a big fan of him as a person, which made me immediately interested in this new solo podcast, Anthropocene Reviewed. He basically chooses two things per episode to review on a five star scale, which takes the form of mini audio essays that so far are well-crafted and funny (with plenty of stuff to learn of course). First up: Canada Geese and Diet Dr Pepper.
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-The Boring Talks is a new BBC podcast produced by the well known Boring Conference, where boring subjects are made not boring by passionate people. It’s kind of like Gimlet’s now defunct Surprisingly Awesome, but much shorter and with British wit. The second episode features a perfect example of boring made cool: book pricing algorithms. You’ll learn how a not quite in demand book ended up listed for well over a million dollars.
-If you like learning about myths and folklore, Spirits is the podcast for you. Two lifelong friends do deep research on wide ranging mythology and teach each other about it. I checked out Deer Woman, and added the show to my subscription list.
-It’s no secret that I love 99 Percent Invisible, but apparently I’m actually a fair weather fan because I never understood the challenge coins that I sometimes hear about. Well this old episode explains the whole thing and it’s pretty cool.
-Two new podcast trailers from smart people I like to follow: Seth Godin’s Akimbo (first episode comes out tomorrow on Valentine’s Day), and a new show from TED: Worklife with Adam Grant (first ep drops Feb 28)
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VIDEOS, ARTICLES, AND OTHER LINKS
-Standard Broadcast is a collection of online creators who have educational podcasts and YouTube channels, and happen to make some of my favorite stuff. The likes of CPG Grey, Vsauce, and Kurzgesagt (In a Nutshell) are in there. Check out the members to find some new stuff.
-I sure hope you spent part of last week marveling at the craziness that was SpaceX’s launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket and the Star Man live feed. There are a million cool videos, but this is one of my favorites. Smarter Every Day recorded the launch and dual booster landing with binaural 3D sound, which is so cool. Wear good headphones and make sure to stay for the sonic booms towards the end.
-I love telling people about Reddit gift exchanges. It’s a whole different part of the website where there is a giant Christmas gift exchange and tons of smaller exchanges throughout the year. Right now there is an exchange for books which I did last year and was not disappointed. I just tell people to send me their favorite book of all time and then have lots of fun picking something great out for a stranger. Here is a full list for the exchanges that need to be signed up for before Feb 20th.
That's all for this week!
Connect with me @erikthejones on twitter and if you've learned anything interesting, please forward this link to any curious natured friends or family so they can subscribe. Many thanks!
Erik
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