2021 in review – the list

Singles

Sometimes, I just needed a single track 🔂 to get hyped physically, mentally, or spiritually:

1. Happy Endings by Mike Shinoda (Spotify)
2. This Land is Your Land by the Avett Brothers (Spotify)
3. Wax Poetic by Capstan (Spotify)
4. Usted by Toledo (Spotify)
5. 96,000 from In the Heights (Spotify)

Podcasts

This year, podcasts gave life to many a boring activity (e.g. cleaning the kitchen):

1. Unlocking Us by Brené Brown (Spotify) – get in touch with yourself
2. Dare to Lead by Brené Brown (Spotify) – be an influential and effective leader
3. Armchair Expert by Monica Padman & Dax Shepherd (Spotify) – get cozy w/ Hollywood celebs
4. Joe Rogan Experience by Joe Rogan (Spotify) – hear crazy ideas and stupid jokes
5. Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar (Spotify) – understand WTF is going on in Washington

Honorable mention to This American Life w/ Ira Glass (Spotify), Renegades w/ Bruce Springsteen & Barack Obama (Spotify), and The Problem w/ Jon Stewart (Spotify).

Podcast Episodes

Holy shit. I listened to a lot of podcasts in 2021. I broke down my favorites by category:

Politics

1. First Episode– Breaking Points w/ Krystal and Saagar (Spotify) – 100% the best political podcast ever
2. Saagar Enjeti on Politics, History, and Power – Lex Fridman Podcast (Spotify) – cogent analysis of why America is being held captive by Wall Street
3. Elon Musk – Joe Rogan Experience (Part 1, Part 2) – ramblings from our generation’s greatest mind
4. Jocko Willink – Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify) – kind but no-nonsense perspectives on America
5. Lex Friedman – Joe Rogan Experience (Part 1, Part 2) – casual debate with an open-minded academic
6. Tulsi Gabbard – Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify) – honest discussions on what’s wrong with America
7. Cashing Out on my Trump & IDW Positions– The Portal by Eric Weinstein (Spotify) – excellent explanation of what happened

Culture

1. Neill Blomkamp – Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify) – crazy ideas from a brilliant sci-fi movie director
2. Esther Perel Returns – Armchair Expert (Spotify) – listen whether your marriage survived 2021 or not
3. David Sedaris Returns – Armchair Expert (Spotify) – ascerbic gay man tells hilarious stories
4. Day 7 – Armchair Expert (Spotify) – addiction destroys relationships at every strata of society
5. Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce D. Perry on Trauma, Resilience, an Healing – Unlocking Us (Spotify). – don’t ask “what’s wrong with you”, ask “what happened to you”
6. Eric Mosely on Making Work Human – Dare to Lead (Spotify) – cool ideas about the future of work
7. Dr. Susan David on the Dangers of Toxic Positivity – Dare to Lead (Spotify) – dealing with adversity in the context of relationships

Martial Arts

1. Valentina Shevchenko – Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify) – she eats cake everyday and lives in Peru
2. Max Holloway – Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify) – nice guy, family man, Hawaiian, trained killer (UFC)
3. Gordon Ryan – Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify) – fascinating, not so nice, also trained killer (BJJ)
4. Justin Wren – Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify) – extremely nice guy, adopted by Pygmies of Congo

Comedy

1. Duncan Trussel – Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify) – the funniest/weirdest dude I’ve ever heard speak
2. Tim Dillon – Joe Rogan Experience (Part 1, Part 2) – would get along great with David Sedaris?
3. Dave Chapelle – Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify) – not as funny, but has interesting perspectives

Streamers

Twitch is still new to me, but I’ve really enjoyed the following personalities:

1. Datsunn (Twitch, YouTube) – chill dude makes funky-ass beats while also being super nice
2. Gotham Chess (Twitch, YouTube)- Ultra-dorks/cool-guys/Grandmasters play live and simplify chess
3. Botez Live (Twitch, YouTube) – Shit-talking sisters hustle chess in parks, challenge old guard, make it fun