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.
9 Dec 2022
The Ungoogleable Michaelangelo's podcast explores where the limits of language meet the fringes of reality. This episode artfully introduces Julian Jaynes' influential work The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind — one of those ideas that will change the way you
Read the note ↗9 Dec 2022
Human Fountains are a comedy troupe who describe themselves as the world's only human fountain show — spouting arcs of water at one another to perform, among other things, 'My Heart Will Go On.' Plenty more silly and soggy videos where that came from.
Read the note ↗25 Nov 2022
Short, simple and relatable. From Level 1 ('my schedule is wide open, zero commitments, I sleep like a baby') up to the frazzled heights, I've lived all of these at one time or another — and I'm in no rush to revisit the top ones. My favourite place to be is around Level 3.5.
Read the note ↗25 Nov 2022
A well-tempered exchange of views on the work of popular writer Malcolm Gladwell, which tends to polarise. The most interesting takes come from those who read and enjoy him but point out possible critiques — lots to chew on about storytelling versus completeness, and accessibility versus a
Read the note ↗25 Nov 2022
Shout-out to my neurodivergent readers. This came across my desk as a recommendation for an ADHD-friendly to-do and reminder app, built around persistent, hard-to-ignore nudges. I know a lot of grokkists who might find it useful — if you try it, let me know how it goes.
Read the note ↗25 Nov 2022
Have you ever wanted to hear Bach's 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring' performed by what looks like fifty metres of a Rube-Goldberg-ish wooden marimba contraption winding through a shopping mall? Then you're in luck. Impressive stuff — now do 'Classical Gas.'
Read the note ↗25 Nov 2022
YouTube musicologist Adam Neely's video essay is a fun and fascinating journey into the history of music copyright, sure to delight music-lovers, philosophers and legal enthusiasts alike. It scales the heights of absurdity when discussing the way 'Schenkerian analysis' gets used in courtro
Read the note ↗11 Nov 2022
Creative Elements is a podcast where Jay Clouse talks to people who make their living as creators about their journeys and the nuts and bolts of their day-to-day operations. This episode is my favourite so far — guest Derek Sivers exudes grokkist energy and has a wonderful take on how to f
Read the note ↗11 Nov 2022
An article about how a prisoner-run radio station on Death Row is breaking down isolation, creating community, and making meaning. It's difficult reading, but deeply human. (🙏 David Thomas)
Read the note ↗11 Nov 2022
Even I know the McDonald's ice cream machine is always broken. The internet has done its thing and built a live interactive map of every McDonald's in the US, so you can always know before you go. (For my Australian and New Zealand readers: yes, we call it Maccas.)
Read the note ↗11 Nov 2022
Harry Styles' original X Factor audition from way back when. Moments like this are fun to watch because, in a few minutes, you can see both the incredible growth to come and how much was already there the whole time.
Read the note ↗11 Nov 2022
A lively, wide-ranging analysis of what makes an Agatha Christie — the novels, the genre, and the writer herself — and how to make sense of their enduring popularity. Her small, well-to-do communities are 'rife with suspicion, infidelity, unease, and a sort of indefinable evil that permeat
Read the note ↗