MEdia: A Palate Cleanser for the Ruthless Executioner 🪓
The signal burning through noise
My Red Flag Warnings series is serious bidness. This is not that. Between the warnings, we need a palate cleanser. MEdia is a curated look at the books, music, and ideas that fuel "Ruthless Execution". I’ll make some business recommendations, but my goal isn't to be an NYT critic or go Pitchfork on anything — and you can find Dale Carnegie books on your own.
I consume a ton of media, and I need a place to vent that pressure so I’m not the person spending every conversation telling you what to read, listen to, or watch. Once or twice a month, I’ll share something here that isn't sky-is-falling doom and gloom.
I’m a voracious listener. I still read the occasional stack of dead trees, but I mostly live on audiobooks and podcasts.
For music, I’ve been on Spotify so long that I still have a username. I hear the arguments that the platform is nasty to artists and the CEO is a warmonger, but it’s not a hill I’m vested enough to plant my flag on, like Simon. The entertainment industry has screwed over artists since it became an industry.
At least I’m not using AI to flood the world with truckloads of fake music and putting it on repeat…yet. Who has time for that? These people, you say. I can only signal so many virtues.
My Tool Stack for Signal vs. Noise:
Audiobooks & Films: I love Libby. I get it through the local library along with Kanopy. I should use Kanopy more, but I have a steady stream of books on Libby.
Podcasts: For podcasts, it’s Overcast. The Smart Speed® and Voice Boost® features have kept me from switching to any other platform. My feed fills up with history, engineering deep dives, the arcane, and the occasional business podcast.
The Support List: I support QAA pod and WTYP (Well There’s Your Problem, an engineering disaster podcast …with slides) on Patreon. Their content is worth the price.
RSS: I am “still uses an RSS feed reader” old. I moved to Feedly as soon as Google Reader died in 2013. It’s the one way I fight the algorithm, even if I still find myself on Reddit more than is healthy. I've heard good things about Current, but not enough to switch yet—though I salute their one-time $10 price.
Video: The only video streaming service I have is Best Friends on RiffTrax. I ditched Amazon Prime and Netflix when they started charging more for fewer commercials. Instead of trudging through their schlock, I watch terrible movies with jokes from professional comedy professionals.
If you want to know what entertains me when I’m driving, walking the dog, or working on a project—stay tuned.
Perfect example of classic RiffTrax and dovetails nicely with WTYP pod who uses the guitar riff before their “Safety Third” segment each episode.
