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Podcast & Audiobook Recommendations - June 2017

6/19/2017

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In a recent episode of The Twenty Minute VC, Benchmark General Partner Peter Fenton said "the most interesting area for intellectual enrichment today is not books, although there are great books, but rather podcasts."

I completely agree podcasts are an amazing source of intellectual enrichment (and entertainment). I would also suggest supplementing podcasts with audiobooks. Why just choose one or the other when you can have both? The greatest advantage of the audio method of content delivery is exactly what Peter Fenton talks about in that interview - you can jump in and out of podcasts (and audiobooks) during short bursts of time when you don't have the ability to open a book and read.

My number one listening opportunity is while driving. I commute 2+ hours a day and I can knock out an audiobook a week in addition to keeping up with at least 10-15 of my favorite podcast episodes. I also listen when I'm doing dishes, rocking my baby to sleep, at the gym, and whenever I'm waiting in line for something.

Here are some of my favorites from the past few months:

Podcasts

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The 20 Minute VC: Peter Fenton
Great episode with Benchmark GP Peter Fenton. Goes into how Peter Fenton got into venture capital and his thoughts on several aspects of the business. Big fan of both Peter Fenton and the host Harry Stebbings.
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The Quiet Master of Cryptocurrency Nick Szabo
A great breakdown and history of cryptocurrency, co-hosted by Naval Ravikant (founder, CEO AngelList). Highly relevant given the recent volatility in Bitcoin and Ether.
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Noah Kagan Presents
Great new podcast by Noah Kagan, who is probably best know for being an early Facebook employee as well as being the founder of Sumo.com. Focused on productivity and entrepreneurship through a series of great interviews.
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NPR's How I Built This
Such a great podcast that interviews the founders of very successful businesses. I highly recommend the Melissa & Doug episode from Dec 2016 and how they built their massive toy company. Their story is a great example of how the path of entrepreneurship is never a straight line and can take some funny twists and turns.
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Congratulations with Chris D'elia
Super funny podcast with stand up comedian Chris D'elia. Not really about any topic in particular, but his ramblings are hilarious and I keep catching myself saying his signature phrases to people who have no idea what I'm talking about.

Audiobooks

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American Assassin - Mitch Rapp Series (Book 1, sort of)
I saw the trailer for a movie based on this book and immediately went to go read the book before the movie came out because I knew the movie version could not be anywhere close to as good as the book probably is. And I was right. I may not even watch the movie when it comes out because the trailer now makes me cringe at how many things they are screwing up. Despite this, I will link the video below.

​There are 16 books in this series and this is the first book in the plot's chronological order. However, this is not the first book the original author Vince Flynn wrote. That is my next pick.
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Transfer of Power - Mitch Rapp Series (Book 3, sort of)
While this is technically book 3 in the chronology of the plot, this was actually the first book Vince Flynn wrote back in 1999. Such a great story, as were both books 1 and 2. HOWEVER - WARNING - the audiobook author is not the same as in American Assassin, George Guidall. George is great. But this narrator is terrible. The reviews on Audible.com really go after him and his mispronunciations of military terms such as 50 cal Barrett sniper rifle. Despite the terrible narration, I think this one is still worth a listen. I'm currently trying to push my way through book 4, but its really really tough. What's even worse is that book 5 apparently has an even worse narrator, as if that's even possible. I may just skip to book 6 when George Guidall begins narrating again.
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Expeditionary Force - Columbus Day (Book 1)
A sci-fi series narrated by the best narrator in the biz, R.C. Bray. I will listen to pretty much anything this guy reads out loud, and I'm definitely not the only one. R.C. Bray has a huge cult following in the audiobook world. It took me a bit longer to really get into this story, but once I finished it, I was quick to get the second book in the series. Great sci-fi story about interplanetary relations between humans and the far superior aliens, with a wise-cracking funny artificial intelligence for good humor.
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Expeditionary Force - SpecOps (Book 2)
Second book in the series, once again narrated by R.C. Bray. I enjoyed this one far more than the first due to the familiarity with the characters and story. I'm currently listening to Book 3, which was recently released. Thankfully R.C. Bray is narrating it too.
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Contagious - Why Things Catch On
I read this to supplement my current personal endeavor to create viral videos. It builds on a previous book I mentioned, Made to Stick. I didn't enjoy this one as much, but I thought it was still quite helpful to frame the concepts of online virality.
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Audiobook Recommendations - Feb 2017

2/16/2017

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Happy Year of the Rooster! This year I am embarking on many new endeavors and starting a variety of projects. I'm making more online videos - in particular, learning how to create viral videos, starting a podcast, getting back in shape, and angel investing in more startups. I'm loosely considering weekly vlogging or starting a video series related to investing and startups, but haven't sharpened the idea enough to execute on just yet. If anyone has suggestions or recommendations, I'm all ears.

One thing that hasn't and won't change is my love for audio entertainment. I'm already on the highest plan on Audible that's available but I still end up buying several credits every few weeks. I wish Audible had a better content discovery engine so that I can spend less time browsing and searching for new books to listen to.

Here are some of my top listens for this month:

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Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
​Wow. This is going to win LOTS of awards. It's one of those books that can only be narrated by the author because no one else can pull off what he can do. Story is amazing. Performance is amazing. Strong contender for book of the year and we're barely 2 months into 2017.

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Buy A Bullet by Gregg Hurwitz
An in-between-a-sode for the Orphan X series. Not bad but the over dramatization of Silicon Valley tech startup billionaire made me cringe at several points. Despite this, it was good enough to hold me over until the sequel came out shortly after.

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Nowhere Man by Gregg Hurwitz
This is book 2 of the Orphan X series. Solid read and I am definitely hooked on this series. Cannot wait for the next one to come out. I can easily see Hollywood making this into a movie franchise.

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Lunar Discovery by Salvador Mercer
This is more in the vein of The Martian and other more science-driven plots. Not a lot of action, but it was still very suspenseful and interesting. This is the first book of a new series so I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

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The Wrong Unit by Rob Dircks
Funny and surprisingly heartwarming story about a robot that helps future humans defeat their robot overlords. Best book among all the books written by this author in my opinion. I hope he writes more books like this.

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Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
I read the dead tree version of this years ago but wanted to revisit it in audio form. Did not disappoint. Great lessons about marketing and leadership. Very relevant to my recent endeavors in creating viral videos.​

What I'm Currently Listening To...

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Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Audible is flooded with glowing reviews for this author. This is the first time I'm reading one of his books and I am purposely starting with this one because I'm very interested in Norse mythology. It goes deeper into the world of Thor and Odin and I'm enjoying it so far.
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Audiobook Recommendations - November 2016

11/29/2016

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Continuing to crush one audiobook after another this month. I've been lucky to hit a string of really great listens. I'm trying to push beyond my prior run of sci-fi books with ones like Orphan X, which was my favorite book this month. I've fallen behind on my podcast listens recently and I've only really been keeping up with Hello Internet and Cortex.

In other news, my favorite YouTuber Casey Neistat has quit daily vlogging. He also sold his startup Beme to CNN for $25M. I couldn't be happier for him but no more vlogs means a big disruption to my daily morning routine. Bittersweet. I wish him all the best.

Audiobook Recommendations:

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Stories of Your Life and Others
This is a collection of short stories, mostly great ones. The movie Arrival (trailer below) is based on one of these short stories. I haven't seen the movie yet but judging by the trailer there are some key differences in the direction of the story. Regardless, I recommend reading or listening to this before watching the movie, as always.

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The Fold
Ok. This is pretty much a sequel to Peter Clines' 14 that I reviewed in October. Not as good as 14, but certainly worth a read if you enjoyed it. It brings up some very interesting concepts of parallel dimensions and its a quick and easy listen.

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We Are Legion (We are Bob)
This is the first book of a new series, which is great news. Great concept around artificial intelligence based on human intelligence - literally. Looking forward to book 2 sometime soon.

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Orphan X
Jason Bourne meets the Boondock Saints. Also the first of a new series. I'm surprised how great the action scenes were depicted and it almost felt like I was watching a movie in my mind while listening to it. Narrated by Scott Brick, who is awesome. I had a few qualms with some minor details that didn't really make sense but it didn't detract from the plot so they were forgivable. For example, there's a boy who sends messages to his upstairs neighbor by flying a balloon up to his window. Does the boy have a canister of helium in his room? Regardless, this is probably my favorite book of this month.

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The Junkie Quatrain
I read this purely based on how much I enjoyed 14 and The Fold, but I frankly did not enjoy it nearly as much. It's a clever take on the zombie apocalypse scenario in a collection of connected short stories from various perspectives. However, I think my love for the book The Girl With All The Gifts really detracted from my potential to enjoy this book.

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Audiobook Recommendations - October 2016

10/6/2016

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Now that my commute is 1+ hour each way every day, I have been cruising through audiobooks faster than I ever have before.

The most frustrating part of listening to audiobooks and podcasts is that there is no effective way of discovering new content. While this is also somewhat the case for other forms of media such as video, at least YouTube has a somewhat decent discovery engine/algorithm that suggests other videos you may want to watch. In podcast and audiobook land, you're all on your own. Audible sort of tries to recommend some, but it's not as robust as I'd like. In podcast world, there's absolutely nothing. Someone should fix this...

Here are my top pics for this month:

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How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
The book is addressed to you, the reader. A unique perspective that is executed well without being too gimmicky. I enjoyed it overall, but there were a few moments that were unexpectedly R-rated. It's written in a parody form of a self help book by telling the story of the life a man from birth to death and how he (or rather, you) rise to becoming wealthy. Narrated by the author, which is nice, since he is able to tell it with the nuances intended when written. Can't say it was my favorite book, but it's worth checking out. Recommended by Chris Sacca on the Tim Ferriss podcast.

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14 by Peter Clines
Wow. This was an unexpectedly great book, certainly one of my favorites that I've listened to this year. This is one of those books where it may be better just to listen to cold, without knowing what it's about. Narration was done so well I am now reading another one of the author's books by the same narrator. It's a bit science fictiony (especially towards the end) if you're into that sort of thing but this was one audiobook I could not stop listening to. Very highly recommend.​

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Where The Hell Is Tesla? by Rob Dircks
​Quick, fun read. Humor is a bit sophomoric at times but it was enjoyable overall. Narrated by the author and he does a great job, which is not always the case. This would be a great audiobook to listen to when you don't want to or have to really pay attention too closely. Worth a listen.

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The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey
Hands down my favorite audiobook of the month, probably the year. This is also being made into a movie (see trailer below) which is why I rushed to read this - books are ALWAYS better than the movie versions. Narrator does a great job and I was a bit disappointed to find out that she hasn't narrated that many other books that I am interested in listening to. Yes, this is another zombie story but I promise it has a unique twist on it with a great ending. They call them "hungries" in this book and they're the type that run really fast and are freakishly strong. Listen to it before the movie comes out!

What I'm Reading/Listening to Next...

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The Fold by Peter Clines
After enjoying 14 so much, I decided to give another one of Peter Clines' books a try, especially since it's read by the same narrator Ray Porter. He's up there with my other favorite narrator R.C.Bray.

Please let me know what audiobooks I should listen to next!
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Podcast and Audiobook Recommendations - August 2016

8/10/2016

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I apologize for the long hiatus in the podcast recommendations posts. Two primary factors (aka excuses) have contributed to this - 1) baby (see video here), and 2) audiobooks.

In the past few months, I've listened the following books, all of which I highly recommend:
  • Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
  • Fear the Sky by Stephen Moss (book 1)
  • Fear the Survivors by Stephen Moss (book 2)
  • Fear the Future by Stephen Moss (book 3)

Seveneves is amazing. I first heard about it on the Adam Savage podcast and immediately downloaded the audiobook. It did not disappoint. Seveneves is also being turned into a movie so make sure to read the book first because there's no way a movie can cover the entire book in 2-3 hours. Once you read the book, you'll see what I mean.

I came across about The Fear Saga (3 books) as I was looking through other audiobooks narrated by R.C. Bray, the narrator of my favorite audiobook, The Martian (my review here). Once again R.C. Bray delivers an amazing performance and the books are great. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to turn this into a movie at some point.

I just downloaded How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, as it was recommended on an episode of the Tim Ferriss podcast recently. I haven't started it yet, but what really intrigued me is that the story is told in the second person perspective - meaning, the story is told addressed to "you." Not sure if that is gimmicky or genius, but I'm certainly looking forward to giving it a try.

My podcast recommendation for this month is:
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The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
I've been a long, long time fan of Mike Rowe. From all his great narration work on the Discovery Channel to Dirty Work to his Ted Talk, Mike Rowe is an amazing storyteller. Each episode of this podcast is in bite sized 5-10 mins, which always leaves you wanting more. I recommend starting with Episode 2: He Had It All.
What you may not know about Mike Rowe is that he has become the torch bearer of skilled workers across America over the years. He has founded the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, which "promotes hard work and supports the skilled trades in a variety of areas."  This YouTube video may not have the best video quality, but its worth the watch:
Here are some other videos that show how amazing of a storyteller Mike Rowe truly is. The left video is my absolute favorite Mike Rowe story, and the right video is the Ted Talk he refers to in his story.
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Introducing... Hailey Yena Nam

6/27/2016

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Dadchelor Party 2016

4/15/2016

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Podcast Recommendations - February 2016

2/18/2016

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I've been quite preoccupied with an audiobook this month - Seveneves by Neal Stephenson - which I will finish by the end of this week. I found it through the Still Untitled Podcast with Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame. Overall, I am really enjoying the book, though I have some qualms with the first narrator and some of her accents and voices. There are also stretches of the book where it is just way too drawn out in unnecessary detail. But the story itself is very interesting and thought provoking. Depending on how it ends, I may consider picking up another one of Neal Stephenson's books called Snow Crash, which was recommended by CGP Grey on the most recent Hello Internet podcast's Audible ad. Anyway, here are my recommendations for podcast episodes this month:

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The Twenty Minute VC #65: Brad Feld
I had the pleasure of meeting Harry Stebbings this week, who is the creator and host of 20 Minute VC. A great guy and a great podcast series interviewing top venture capital investors all over the world. This one with Brad Feld is great, and I also highly recommend checking out Harry's list of his top 10 episodes.

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The Grey Nato #2: Origin Stories
New podcast about watches and adventure. I love watches and I love adventures, so this was an easy one to like. I'm curious how nuanced and deep they will get into the world of watches, which may make this a podcast more for watch enthusiasts than the general public. Either way, I'm a fan already.

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Sampler #2: Denzelishness
The latest and greatest from Gimlet Media. When I heard the premise of this podcast, which is sharing samples of their favorite podcasts (a podcast about podcasts), I actually said OH MY GOD out loud because this is an idea I was kicking around for a podcast I'd like to start myself. If it were my podcast, I would have named it Podcastception (Podcast+Inception).

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The Tim Ferriss Show: Scorpion
I've never seen the TV show Scorpion, but apparently it's about a real guy. This guy Walter O'Brien with an IQ of 197. He basically is a genius for hire and has a staff of 2,000 other geniuses around the world that provide "Intelligence-on-demand" (uber for genius?) with a tagline "for any funded need." I listened to this with my mouth open in shock the entire time. Craziness.
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Podcast Recommendations - January 2016

1/11/2016

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​Happy new year! Here are some of my favorite episodes through the end of 2015. Given my love for podcasts, my new year's resolution for 2016 is to start my own podcast. In 2016, I hope to see more innovation in podcast apps. I currently use Overcast, which I LOVE, but there's still many features I'd like to see in the future such as interactive/improved show notes and better podcast discovery.

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The Tim Ferriss Podcast: Jamie Foxx
This was an amazing episode, mostly because Jamie Foxx was given free reign to tell story after story without interruption. On one hand, Tim really doesn't say anything and that's kind of odd since most of his episodes are driven by his line of questioning, but I think it takes a good interviewer to know when to shut up and just let the guest talk, especially when it's one as multi-talented as Jamie Foxx. I think this is as one of the best podcasts episodes in all of 2015.

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Serial: Season 2
Yes, it's back. This time, Sarah Koenig and her team look into the return of Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. soldier held prisoner by the Taliban for 5 years. To be honest, I am not enjoying this season as much as the first one, but I was pretty impressed when Koenig busted out interviews with actual Taliban members involved in this story.

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99% Invisible #181: Milk Carton Kids
​Interesting backstory of how missing children pictures were posted on milk cartons in the U.S. I personally have never seen any, but it turns out it's also because it was only in practice for a few years.

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Planet Money #672: Bagging a Birkin
Apparently the world is divided into those who have a Birkin bag from Hermes (~$60k) and the rest of us peasants. Some parts of this story are obvious - why is it always "out of stock" - but other parts like the backstory of the origins of the bag are quite interesting. Certainly worth a listen.

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Hello Internet #54: Star Wars Christmas Special
Spoiler episode discussing the latest Star Wars movie. I agree with a lot of what they say about the movie, except their views on Kylo Ren. I found Kylo Ren to be really whiney and too emo-teenager for my tastes.

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Get This, Not That - Lifeline

11/24/2015

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Lifeline and The Martian Official Game are both available on iOS and Android and are text-based games. It's the type of narrative where you end up down different decision tree paths depending on your responses. At least, that's the theory. These two games, while seemingly very similar, are vastly divergent in quality.
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​Lifeline gives you the sense that your decisions actually affect the outcome of the story. The plot is unique, engaging, and the gameplay through notifications via your iPhone or Apple Watch is quite interesting. After the game is over, you can play it in fast mode which accelerates the response time, which is a thoughtful feature. Not only did I not even get close to the end of The Martian Official Game, but the experience was the polar opposite. Maybe it was because I read the book and watched the movie already, but even the answer options and canned responses seemed extremely linear and boring. Both games are $0.99 but it's clear Lifeline is a better game. Just look at the 9,000+ ratings on iTunes or 47,000+ ratings in Google Play.

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Price $0.99
Availability: iOS & Android
iTunes Ratings: 4.5 Stars (9,074 reviews)
Google Play Ratings: 4.5 Stars (47,612 reviews)
Developer: 3 Minute Games
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​Don't let this review of the "official" game to mislead you to think I am not a fan of the book. If you want to enjoy The Martian, I highly recommend the audiobook. It's one of my favorite books this year and a great way to get into the world of audiobooks.

See my prior post about it HERE.

This is NOT ​a paid endorsement.

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    Bo Nam

    Tech VC.
    Endlessly curious.

    Probably the only YouTube Red subscriber in the world.

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