My 2023 Favorites: Podcasts, Books and more!

And just like that, 2023 is behind us. I wanted to have some fun and share my picks across media and art this year.

Podcasts

The golden age of podcasts continue with so many wonderful minds sharing their thoughts.

I will teach you to be rich

This podcast has become a must listen for me this year. The cliche title does no justice to the contents of the podcast. The premise is that Ramit Sethi invites couples who apply to have their financial lives diagnosed live. However, this podcast is so much more than finances. Through the lens of couple finance, Ramit leads us through a fascinating live couples therapy session with empathy and candor.

This has become the single greatest podcast for me about relationships.

There’s also the Netflix show that Ramit made, but in my opinion, the podcast is vastly superior to the Netflix show.

Odd lots

Macroeconomics has been on the mind heavily for anyone dabbling in the markets in the last few years. Odd lots is a podcast from Bloomberg where Joe and Tracy cover everything from corn futures to semiconductors to the Suez Canal saga. What sets this podcast apart from a being dull is the true beginners mind that the podcasters bring to dense and often arcane topics. The hosts also do a great job at driving an open conversation with the expert guests, and putting their own biases out in the open.

All in

I started listening to all in as a way of learning more about the latest in startups and venture world. This podcast has taken a noticeable right wing bent this year, and frankly is the most palatable right wing news source at the moment. What keeps this podcast interesting is the friendship and camaraderie of the four hosts.

Honorable mentions: Ezra Klein Show, Tim Ferriss Show and Portfolio Career by my friend David Nebinski.

Books

Truth be told, I haven’t read as much this year as I would have liked to. My attention span has been quite fragmented, and I have been drifting away from reading. To course correct, I realized I need to introduce more urgency and introduce a social element to my reading.

Nevertheless, I’ve read some great books this year.

When Things Fall Apart

Pema Chodron’s classic has been on my list for a long time. Finally, I made my way through the book this year, and this is a book I see myself coming back to again and again. Life often doesn’t care much about our grand plans, and brings forth challenges and setbacks. In those moments, we can grasp for something, anything that would make us feel grounded. Even meditation could be just a device for us to find any ground. But we can certainly do worse than meditation and reach for our vices. With kindness, Pema explains that the truth of our being is finding peace with the foundational groundlessness instead of seeking for that solid ground.

I have not made my piece with groundlessness yet. Which is why I must return to this book in the future.

Four thousand weeks: Time management for mortals

Time management is seemingly an exhausted theme for books. Oliver Burkeman offers something fresh with 4000 weeks. The core of the book is that instead of trying to find that perfect morning routine to save five minutes, our time management should be rooted in our mortality. Embracing finitude shows how many of the unhelpful ways we’ve come to think about time aren’t inescapable, unchanging truths, but choices we’ve made as individuals and as a society—and that we could do things differently.

Music

I continued listening to a lot of Bollywood/Sufi, Bengali and Trance music this year. Besides that, here’s a couple that ranked high on my listening.

Succession soundtrack

The HBO show Succession ended this year to my great chagrin. While the show is gone, Nicholas Brittel’s outstanding soundtrack is here to relive the masterful show.

Hozho

I heard the Portuguese DJ in CDMX, and the melodark minimal style of EDM appealed a lot to me. I generally detest much of what house music has become, but thankfully artists are making EDM that doesn’t lust for 100% of your available attention span. My partner Vinamrata Singal found me an opportunity to watch Hozho live this year on a sunset cruise which lists high on the list of peak experiences for me this year.

Gatherings

2023 felt finally the year when people were out and about in NYC without much fear over Covid. The pandemic was a destructive force for the fabric of NYC’s social gatherings, with people, community and spaces disrupted. This year, I was grateful to be a part of the following gatherings.

Wake up NY

Wake up NY is a young meditators group practicing under the Plum Village tradition in NYC. Thích Nhất Hạnh was an empathetic and worldly teacher, and there’s a real wholesome feel to the meditation group. After mostly being a participant in H1, in H2 I have started to support the group as a meditation facilitator! This has given me another view into my meditation practice, the way in which it is so different leading vs participating. I’m planning to write more about this in another post.

Reading rhythms

A reading party with bringing your own book! This Williamsburg based group has really struck the craving for social gatherings that aren’t about drinking and partying. Deep reading has effects that are similar to mindfulness. Given that, it makes sense to have your reading sangha! The hosts of reading rhythms do a wonderful job at creating a warm, intentional environment. They are also excellent at organizing and marketing, and deserve fully the Tiktok and NYTimes fame that resulted.

Funnies improv

Funnies is a improv comedy gym. Anyone who wants to perform improv in a supporting group can come in, perform and get feedback. I have been to many improv jams in NYC, and often you get too little stage time and no feedback whatsoever. The structure and supportive environment that funnies provided made it my regular Monday evening activity this year. What also helped that it ends in a reasonable hour, as NYC comedy is often suited for night owls.

I would love to know about your picks in the comments section, or if any of my picks resonated with you. Wishing you a rewarding 2024!