Roger Bikes

Sunrise over San Juan Mountains

Recent Reading/Listening Aug 2021

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by

Roger
in

Books

Some coworkers started a company book club a few months ago and we just finished our 4th book. I have wanted to be part of a book club for a while and this has been a lot of fun. I am listening to all of them as Audio Books as I don’t have much space in our current living situation and I can listen while I ride my bike.

So far we have read:

  • The Lost City of Z – About the life of Percy Fawcett, a British explorer from the early 20th century, and his pursuit of a mythical city of gold in South America. The author combines Fawcett’s story with his own expedition to South America in 2005 to find the city. Overall the book is entertaining and enlightening about mans pursuit of the unknown.
  • The Death of Vivek Oji – This book is an emotional roller coaster and handles the subject of personal relationships and sexual identity. It starts with the main characters death and then reads like a murder mystery unraveling the complicated lives. I really enjoyed this and highly recommend it.
  • Project Hail Mary – I recommended a science fiction book and this was proposed. Andy Weir, the author, wrote The Martian and this is a fun science adventure story about saving the planet and alien first contact. It is a fun read and a nice distraction from all the craziness happening in the world.
  • From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way – A memoir of and by Jesse Thistle about his life. This book is very intense and covers child abuse, addiction, homelessness, indigenous people abuse, racism, and redemption. It is based in Canada but could just as easily be set in most areas of the USA. I reminded me of a lot of people I grew up with in Colorado and makes me angry with our inability to take care of each other.

Podcasts

My podcast consumption has gone backup in the last month or so. I had taken a break due to the addition of the book club but recently I have been listening to less music while working.

The Rich Roll Podcast

My goto podcast has been the Rich Roll podcast. He is a really good conversationalist/interviewer and his subjects are interesting to me: veganism, endurance exercise, environmentalism, and inner discovery. Here are some episodes that hit me hard recently:

  • Impossible Foods founder & CEO Pat Brown – This is from last year but is as relevant as ever. The goal of Impossible Foods, maker of the Impossible Burger, is to replace all animal meat production by 2035. The purpose is to reduce global warming by meeting meat eaters where they eat instead of thinking we are going to change their habits. Pat is really intelligent and conveys his companies message very well.
  • ANNA LEMBKE, MD – THE NEUROSCIENCE OF ADDICTION – Eye opening discussion about addiction. They discuss what we commonly thing of about addiction, alcohol and drugs, but go further all the way to social media. This is a great conversation regardless of if you have issues with addiction because it talks about how addiction is just part of being human.
  • BRUCE FRIEDRICH – THE MOONSHOT FOR MEATLESS MEAT – Along the lines of the Impossible Foods podcast. Bruce is the Founder of the Good Food Institute which is focused on enabling more companies like Impossible Foods. Another fascinating discussion about the future of food and how capitalism is going to be key for making the changes we need.
  • HELLAH SIDIBE – RAN ACROSS AMERICA (ON PLANTS) AND KEPT GOING – I don’t run anymore cause I am missing my miniscus in my left knee, but I love reading and hearing about running feats like running across the USA. This conversation is even better because Hellah is hella awesome and his enthusiasm is infectious.

How I built this podcast

I have a love hate relationship with this podcast. A lot of the time I love the episodes and learning about how people started their businesses. However sometimes I am not a fan of the company being interviewed or of the person. Those ones tend to turn me off of the podcast all together for some time. Some recent episodes I enjoyed:

Reverse Engineered podcast

The company I work for, Kinsta.com, has been publishing a podcast since early this year. All of the episodes have been great listens and here are some of my favorites so far:

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