This year, I’ve started a monthly ritual to share the best of what I’ve read, listened, or watched from the month before. I explained last month that this is both to help others curate their information diet, but it also serves as a document for me to recall my favorite pieces and create a “time capsule” of what I was consuming at a given point in time. 

This is similar to my practice that I’ve had since 2013 where I create a monthly playlist of the music I listen to. It began because a month was 1) the natural lifecycle of songs for me to listen to on repeat before wanting new music, and 2) a way for me to save favorites from my Spotify Discovery Weekly. Now it’s become a wonderful way to rewind back to a certain point in life. In an instant, I can return back to quiet evenings when I read in my tiny dorm room at Oxford or revisit the mornings I used to run around the Marina in Singapore. 

Now I’m hoping to do the same based on what I consume and share with others to learn more. 

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1. [Video] – Jacob Collier Improvises the National Symphony Orchestra

Watching how he composes a song live by “hearing” the layers of instruments was witnessing true genius at work. I was humbled to be reminded of the different types of geniuses that can exist and how people can process, see, and hear in ways that are different from my own. Seeing this inspired me to want to reach his level of expertise in my own craft, especially the pure joy in creating something that’s uniquely yours. Prepare to be mesmerized and go down a YouTube rabbit hole, including watching his performance with Coldplay. 

2. [Podcast + Book] Ezra Klein and Jonathan Haidt – NYT Opinion

In March, I shared that my obsession of the month was Chris Sacca. This month, that person is Jonathan Haidt. In this Opinion interview, Haidt argues that 2025 is going to be the tipping point of AI becoming entangled with childhoods and further accelerating the rising anxiety caused by social media and technology. This is a great extension of his book, The Coddling of the American Mind that I just finished and also can’t stop talking about. FYI – I’m also currently reading his latest book – The Anxious Generation. Like I said, I’m obsessed.  

3. [Show] Adolescence – Netflix

A lot of great shows have come out recently (Severance, White Lotus, The Last of Us), but Adolescence was a standout. First – the one-take cinematography, phenomenal acting, and unconventional crime show storytelling. But I was mostly struck by the commentary on young boys and masculinity, incel culture, and the influence of Andrew Tate (who I honestly only learned about in Derek Thompson’s Atlantic article last month on the current age of loneliness).

4. [Podcast] PM is Dead – Claire Vo

A must-listen for anyone working in tech, especially all my PM friends and any student aspiring to work in tech. I loved how she challenges the naysayers who insist that “AI can’t do X” by asking, “Have you tried?” This made me think of the times I, too, have defaulted to that assumption. Claire also brings up great points on the future flattening structure of PM orgs, how the roles of PM, design, and eng are blurring with AI tools that can prototype and code, such as Devon. I especially loved how unapologetic she was that PMing isn’t for everyone. This was refreshing to hear versus the default “inclusion for all” climate of the last 5+ years. 

5. [Podcast] – Critique: Naval Ravikant on Modern Wisdom

A lot of friends shared this since Naval hasn’t done a podcast in awhile, and as a fan of The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, I expected to love this. While I agreed with a lot of what he had to say, I found ~40% of his advice to be out of touch with the everyday person. He doesn’t set an alarm clock or have a calendar because he doesn’t have to wake up for events or meetings. He doesn’t do coffee chats with people or go to weddings or birthday parties because he’s “in control of his time.” While I’m glad that works for him, that’s not normal for most people, including high performers. Also it potentially sets up unhealthy goal posts for aspiring young people to want that, which made me think about the importance of “public intellectuals” to be thoughtful on how they influence their fans (a la Joe Rogan).

Stay tuned for my top recs for next month!