Book and podcasts for your next intellectual adventure
If you’re looking for entertainment that challenges your mind, these books and podcasts are perfect for engaging and sharpening your thinking.
The beauty and sciences of content creation
Zainab Khalil
For the first time in a long while, I found myself curious about the details of the media that surrounds us. I wasn’t doomscrolling through social media or consuming content out of habit. Instead, I started thinking about how the social media industry works.
I’ve loved YouTube since I was a kid. It was the first platform I ever used on an electronic device, aside from the television. It is also one of the first platforms that made creativity feel more accessible. Anyone could pick up a camera, share their interests with the world and connect with like-minded people.
But over time, with the rise of short-form content and social media algorithms repeatedly pushing the same creators on our feeds, the content started to feel redundant and dimmed the spark that made YouTube, YouTube.
This changed when I discovered podcasts about YouTube itself. Shows like Colin & Samir, and Waveform by MKBHD reintroduced me to the magic of content creation.
Colin and Samir’s show focuses on learning more about some of the biggest creators on the platform, their backgrounds, and behind the scenes of being a creator. From making thumbnails, writing titles, to building an audience and adhering to the algorithm, they discuss the balance between technicalities, business, passion, and storytelling.
On the other hand, the Waveform podcast, hosted by Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), Andrew Manganelli, and David Imel, is one of the biggest technological channels on the YouTube platform. The speakers explore new technologies, production and thought processes behind their videos. While it dives into the complexities of technology, it is structured in a way that is easy to follow.
The podcast also asks trivia questions throughout each episode to keep the audience guessing. Answers are revealed at the end of the episodes, making their content fun and engaging to watch.
Both shows led me to new creators that I probably wouldn’t have come across otherwise. I find it fascinating how creators can take their passions—whether food, technology, comedy, or fashion—and transform them into communities built through storytelling and editing.
Listening to these podcasts inspired me to appreciate the amount of work and thought process that goes into storytelling and content creation. I would recommend these podcasts if you are interested in content creation.
Which historical figure has daddy issues?
Zainab Hassan
This summer, I found myself on the road more often than not. Wanting to avoid the headaches that accompany my attempts to read in the car, I decided to try listening to podcasts instead. This endeavour resulted in a big déjà vu, as I stumbled across the podcast You’re Dead To Me, hosted by Greg Jenner.
Greg Jenner was one of the historical consultants for Horrible Histories, a British TV series that teaches history through comedy. Having spent most of my school years under the British curriculum, I had Horrible Histories inflicted on me at least twice a day. It was in my history class, English class, and during my lunch break. And now, apparently, it was in my podcast.
Call it nostalgia or Stockholm syndrome, I just couldn’t stop listening to Greg Jenner
sticking to what he does best, Jenner combines comedy and history in You’re Dead To Me. In each episode, he brings on a comedian and a historian to explore a new, fascinating, and funny facet of history. If you want to learn how Alexandre Dumas’ complicated relationship with his father shaped The Three Musketeers, why clay is as foundational to language as it is to architecture, or why Boudicca isn’t the feminist icon she’s often made out to be—this podcast is for you.
This podcast treats history not as an academic subject, but a conversation that everyone should take part in and enjoy, without minimizing the weight or significance of the topic itself. More often than not, people only engage with history from an academic and intellectual standpoint, rather than simply satisfying their curiosity and enjoying the process of learning the topic.
You’re Dead To Me moves away from that. It sees history as something to learn from, irrespective of whether you’re academically knowledgeable in history or you’re simply fascinated by it. This approach not only makes You’re Dead To Me a fun medium to learn from, but it also provides space for the audience to question and challenge normalized narratives that have prevailed throughout history.
All in all, I found this podcast to be funny, engaging, and enjoyable to listen to. At the same time, it has motivated me to question common perspectives on history.
A story about going through the “hell” of higher education
Juhi Kosamia
Katabasis, the latest novel by R. F. Kuang, follows the journey of two Cambridge post-graduates, Alice and Peter, who go to hell to bring their professor back. Alice and Peter’s descent into the underworld is the culmination of Kuang’s knowledge of Aristotle and Dante’s accounts. On the other hand, the story also includes Kuang’s own interpretation of hell through the lens of logic and geometry.
As someone who frequently describes my student experience as “hell on earth,” the plot of students risking their lives for their degree was an instant buy.
Kuang crafted a story that shows the danger in the demand for students from higher education. From physical sacrifice, like having sleepless nights to complete schoolwork, to mental sacrifice, like the extreme lack of work-life balance, the story discusses the price of gaining knowledge in these institutions.
The protagonists’ commitment to bringing their professor back from hell is reminiscent of conversations I’ve had with fellow University of Toronto (U of T) students about how, “we will finish this assignment tonight, no matter what it takes,” after cracking open a third Red Bull of the day.
Prestigious universities often endorse endurance from students by making them feel special for doing so. Kuang argues that these institutions’ ability to make students believe they’re a part of something greater than themselves creates an illusion, where self-flagellation is justified for academic validation.
While Katabasis discusses the issues in academia, it also celebrates the insights of thinkers and theorists. For example, it references the French historian and philosopher Foucault and discusses the impossible staircase (a graphic paradox).
By framing philosophy and problems as tools that can help people navigate the world, Katabasis emphasizes that learning should not be gatekept. And Kuang personally demonstrates this concept through her writing. While the book dives into complex knowledge, Kuang illustrates it in a way that doesn’t make readers feel ignorant. Instead of showing her knowledge off, Kuang opens up space for readers to learn through sharing her knowledge and guiding readers through the depth of it.
Katabasis is a book that forces students to recognize their potential and pushes them to keep learning. Upon my own reading experience, it has inspired me to enrol in a sixth class this semester. Though it might mean that more time will be spent in the library, I am excited to take advantage of the privilege of learning and develop my own thoughts on various topics.
