I started this monthly recommendations thing thinking it’d be easy. Turns out, it comes around faster than you’d expect, especially as we’re hurtling toward the end of the year. But here’s what I want to change: I’m tired of this being a one-way street. If something’s caught your attention and feels worth sharing, send it my way. Let’s make this a conversation.
Media
Ask most people who runs the biggest streaming company and they’ll say Netflix. They’re wrong. It’s YouTube. And YouTube just announced it’s broadcasting the Oscars in 2029 when ABC’s deal wraps up. If you want to understand how YouTube is quietly dismantling traditional TV’s business model, this Axios piece is essential reading.
Then there’s the 60 Minutes debacle. CBS editor Bari Weiss spiked a story (reasons hotly debated), it leaked in Canada, and suddenly it’s everywhere on social media. Classic legacy media move: try to control the narrative, fail spectacularly, watch it spread anyway.
The old gatekeepers are losing their grip, and 2026 will prove it.
Meanwhile, the Warner Bros deal saga continues. Paramount? Netflix? Your guess is genuinely as good as mine. What’s clear: 2026 is shaping up to be another year of media chaos.
Podcasts
I’ve been following Ryan Holiday and Jesse Itzler for ages. Ryan’s the Stoicism evangelist and author everyone knows. Jesse’s a force of nature in business and productivity, living his best life with actual tips to back it up. Their podcast together, where they dig into Jesse’s rules for the good life, is exactly what you need heading into the new year. Check it out here.
And yes, I’m tooting my own horn: my podcast with Emma Keeling is worth your time. Emma talks about her journey from journalist to filmmaker, and it’s a proper conversation about reinvention. Watch it here or listen here.
Try this
What’s one person you’ve been meaning to have a real conversation with? Reach out this week. You don’t need a podcast to make it count.
Books
History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes. That’s why 1929: Inside the Crash by Andrew Ross Sorkin matters. It sounds nerdy, but it’s a brilliantly told story backed by serious research. You get a real feel for the characters and the social forces that shaped an era. Useful when you’re trying to understand what’s happening now.
If you know British comedy, you know Kathy Burke. But she’s far more than a comedy actor. She’s a storyteller, and her autobiography is a sharp, self-aware portrait of an Islington working-class girl who decided to live by her own rules. A Mind of My Own works brilliantly as an audiobook, especially since Burke reads it herself.
Tools
I ditched my ChatGPT subscription for Google’s Gemini. Google’s finally linking up all its various AI options into something genuinely useful. The integration actually works now, which changes the game.
Try this
If you’re still paying for a tool you’re not fully using, audit your subscriptions this week. One small switch might save you money and headaches.
Music
I’m not a Christmas music person, but Tim Miller from The Bulwark came through with the perfect recommendation: Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses. It’s the only one that doesn’t make me want to scream.
Wrap Up
Writing this newsletter weekly has been fun and challenging. I’ve learned a lot, and I hope you have too. The hardest part? Keeping the commitment to myself, especially when I didn’t want to. Pushing through doubt, particularly with interviews, and worrying what people might think. But here’s what I’ve discovered: by creating something useful for me, I’ve started building something useful for others.
Consistency beats perfection every single time.
See you in the new year for more of the same and some different stuff.
That 1929 book sounds great