Podcasts I’ve enjoyed recently
Carnival-inflected jazz, Netflix, optimism, Facebook
Published in
2 min readFeb 24, 2018
- Étienne and His Devils: The new Talk ‘Bout Us podcast caught up with the brilliant Étienne Charles about his exciting Guggenheim-funded project looking at traditional aspects of Trinidad Carnival, the influences on his recent work, the evolution of Carnival, and his absolutely brilliant live show at Queen’s Hall in late January — one of the best I’ve ever been to in Trinidad.
Talk ‘Bout Us is the podcast arm of Trini Good Media, my favourite new publication of 2018. In both audio and hypertext forms, they’re off to a fantastic start. - The Internet of Taste: A great a16z conversation between Marc Andreessen and Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos on the evolution of the company from mailing DVDs to producing original content, the contrast between tech culture and LA culture, its impact on the entertainment industry, and a lot more.
For some interesting Netflix takes from a different angle, check out this episode of The Watch (up until the 20:00 mark). - Face(book) Off: A fair and thoughtful conversation on Om Malik’s show about why the hosts aren’t on Facebook anymore, some of the recent developments and frustrations around the company, and why it isn’t likely to get better any time soon, even though Zuckerberg is one of the smartest and best technology CEOs. A very “culture eats strategy for breakfast” take on things.
- Ezra Klein with Steven Pinker: The contrarian optimism that’s motivated Pinker’s last few books has obviously been a big influence on my thinking recently. What’s also good is that he says a lot of things I disagree with, situating him right in the likeable-but-frequently-disagreeable sweet spot of my interests. Klein is a superb interviewer and he does a great job here, allowing Pinker to make his points but firmly and fairly pushing back throughout.
- Adjusting to Trade… and Innovation: Another a16z episode, this time featuring Noah Smith and Russ Roberts, with great simplified explanations of the different ways that trade and automation impact economies, where Econ 101 helps and hurts in explaining what we observe in these areas, and some fun facts along the way. If I ever start back teaching econ, my students are gonna be listening to this one for certain.
