Friday Finds (Netflix, Marx, Writing, Astrophysics)

Hi friends,

Greetings from Austin!
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Ok, I changed my mind on something. For years, I thought I’d never put a TV in my home, but I’m getting one installed in my living room as I write this. So what changed my mind? Movies. I now believe that the best movies have as much to teach me as the best books, and I’m itching to explore the canon of great films.

Here's what I want to share this week:

1. ​The Microwave Economy: The triad of utilitarianism, quantifiability, and cheap materialism has infused every part of American life — from language, to music, to architecture. This essay explains why it's happening and hopefully provides a map for a more beautiful life.
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2. ​How to Write Online Workshop: ​Next Tuesday, I'll be hosting the How to Write Online workshop. This is the free public workshop we hold before each Write of Passage cohort. It’s the most distilled version of everything I teach in the course. You’ll walk away with a fresh way to think about how to crush it on the Internet. Sign up for the workshop here.​
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3. ​How to Build an Online Audience: A few weeks ago, I flew to London to record this video with Ali Abdaal, who runs one of the largest productivity-focused YouTube accounts in the world, to create this guide to building an online audience. In this video, we debated the benefits of video vs. writing and outlined the roadmap we used to build our followings.

Today's Finds

​David Foster Wallace, on Consumerism: Few people understood modern American culture like David Foster Wallace. In particular, he saw how young people in the upper-middle class lived sad and empty internal lives even though their external ones were defined by tremendous comfort. One of his more interesting observations is the decline of quiet in modern life. We listen to music when we're on our computers, move through our homes with TV in the background, and insist on playing pop music at our restaurants. What's going on there? Beyond the ideas, this interview is a revealing window into Wallace's psyche: his fears, his insecurities, and the trepidation he feels about telling the truth.

​David Harvey: This is the best introduction to Karl Marx I’ve found. I binge-listened to the Reading Capital podcast series and bought Harvey’s book, A Companion to Capital. They are both fantastic. The problem with studying Marx is most modern scholars twist his ideas into a political agenda. But Harvey does none of that. He focuses on the text instead. If you want to read Marx, you can visit Marxists.org instead of buying his books.

​Webster’s 1913 Dictionary: Write with a better dictionary. Modern dictionaries have lazy definitions that focus too much on simplicity at the cost of precision. Instead of using the default one on your computer, bookmark this site, and start using Webster’s 1913 dictionary. Alternatively, you can download it for your Kindle or computer with this link.

​Just Watch: Gone are the days where it feels like "everything's on Netflix." Video is now scattered across streaming platforms, and I've spent way too long looking for a simple video in the past. The fix is here though. If you ever want to watch something but don't know where you can, this app will guide you to the best place.

Brian Keating: I became friends with Brian after he hosted me on his podcast, Into the Impossible and he's fast become one of my favorite dinner partners and astrophysicists. He speaks so clearly about the universe that, even though you're talking about mind-bending distances and time scales, you feel like you're talking to a friend at the bar. If you want to dive into his work, I recommend his explanation of the origins of the universe on Lex Fridman's podcast or this explainer about time on his YouTube channel. If you're looking to explore the universe, let Brian be your guide.