Grokkist Press
Reading Room
Snackables
Things we found elsewhere and pass on: a film, a tool, an essay, a corner of the old internet. A few lines on why, then off you go. New ones join the shelf as we find them, newest first.
25 Feb 2024
A short parable about a small tribe deep in the Guyanese rainforest whose word for 'person' also means 'singer.' They believed all creatures speak in their own languages — even trees — but only people can truly sing. 'I sometimes imagine the moment when they first encountered people who ha
Read the note ↗11 Feb 2024
Three Ravens is an English myth-and-folklore podcast on heritage crafts and forgotten arts. This episode traces the 3,000-year legacy of the handheld fan — from China, Japan and Africa to the European craze — its religious uses, hidden compartments, and secret language. Everyone once carri
Read the note ↗11 Feb 2024
For anyone drawn to solitude, off-grid living, dark retreats or the monastic life — not so much a rejection of society as a reclaiming of silence and self. Beatriz Flamini, a mountain-refuge caretaker who took to living in a camper van but found the outside world wouldn't leave her alone,
Read the note ↗11 Feb 2024
Law — like borders — is completely imaginary but very real. If you find something delicious about self-serious, highly-paid people arguing with great precision over what a potato is, enjoy this VAT case on whether Walkers' 'Sensations Poppadoms' count as snack food (taxed) or not (exempt).
Read the note ↗11 Feb 2024
Exactly what it says: an interactive map for exploring the interesting places near you that are listed on Wikipedia. There are so many more than you'd imagine — a lovely reminder that life is always going on around us, layered with history we walk past every day.
Read the note ↗28 Jan 2024
'Being stuck is the psychological equivalent of standing knee-deep in a fetid bog, bog in every direction, bog as far as the eye can see.' There's power in naming, and Adam Mastroianni has built a hilarious and painfully accurate taxonomy of intellectual stuck-ness — from 'gutterballing' t
Read the note ↗28 Jan 2024
Borders are endlessly fascinating because they're both completely imaginary and painfully real. WonderWhy inventories the most complex borders on Earth — from garden-variety second-order enclaves (a country inside a country inside the original country) to an island that changes nationality
Read the note ↗28 Jan 2024
Maria Popova's beautifully written history of the collective nouns for birds, with vintage illustrations by Brian Wildsmith. 'Language is the birthplace of the imagination and forever its plaything: I remember my unabashed delight when a naturalist friend first introduced me to the terms f
Read the note ↗28 Jan 2024
A gallery of winners and finalists from The Nature Photography Contest, showcasing the beauty and fragility of our world — the kind of images that make you stop scrolling and remember what's out there beyond the screen.
Read the note ↗14 Jan 2024
Swedish Death Cleaning is not a metal band (though it should be), but the practice of clearing out unnecessary belongings so it isn't so overwhelming for your loved ones to eventually deal with. The literal translation of döstädning — dö (death) and städning (cleaning) — really brings the
Read the note ↗14 Jan 2024
If it seems like there are more people being dragged off planes for unruly behaviour than there used to be, you're not the only one who's noticed. The Sawbones Podcast — which discusses the odd, misguided and dangerous ways we've dealt with medical issues through the ages — wondered whethe
Read the note ↗14 Jan 2024
Lawrence Yeo of More to That is one of the wisest voices out there on the practicalities of the creative life and process. In this resonant, relatable essay he explores creativity by emphasising its roots in life experiences rather than the act of creation itself. Through the story of Stan
Read the note ↗