It may shock you, but I don’t usually have as much time as I’d like to have. As far as I know, many people don’t have as much time as they’d like to have. In fact, when asked to choose between being rich or being young, many people prefer youth (like this middle aged guy and his 18 year old body). The big reason? Time. 

Instead of beating myself up over all the saved articles and emails I haven’t read, I’ve learned to scan a handful of emails with a range of topics that keep me from looking like a total idiot during pre-meeting small talk or dinner hangs. 

Here are some newsletters I generally enjoy – or at least peruse – that keep me capable of holding a conversation with other people in my world, which tends to be tech or entrepreneurial circles. Looking back over my list, I realize these all relate back to my life’s calling – optimization. Maybe this isn’t as well-rounded as I thought…

Chefsteps

A wildly creative, scientific group of food folks in Seattle making products, doing experiments and being clever and interesting. 

Some of my favorite stuff from them includes the Joule Sous Vide, which I own, and their super apple pie that contains 100 apples.

Hustle

I’ve had an on-again, off-again relationship with the Hustle. They’re one of the few (if not the only) newsletters I’ve ever unsubscribed from then revisited. They were bought by Hubspot, which slowed me down, but they’ve really hit their stride. Lots of very weird stuff in here, which is great for sharing memes and getting an edge in conversation, but they also touch on the latest in tech every day. 

Boardroom.tv

We’ve worked with these guys and they’re awesome. Besides being cool people, these topics are super interesting and they email you headlines that keep you straight when it comes to sports, entrepreneurial athletes, sneakers, crypto, etc.

Stronger by Science

This group does a bunch of scientific research around strength building, diet, exercise that can keep you talking to anyone who is working on their physical fitness – from meat heads to influencers. It’s real sciency, but it’s easy to scan and grab concepts that keep you abreast of trends. They’ll keep you on your toes as you optimize your own regimen too. They also have an app I like. 

The Interesting Times

This dude is kind of fringe, but Taylor Pearson puts out a newsletter, The Interesting Times, that is pretty… interesting. As with everything you take in, also take with it a grain of salt and stay critical in your thinking. The stuff I get from this newsletter is a lot of behavioral science (which I love), decision-making frameworks, and organizational / operational ideas that are fun to mentally react to. He also talks a lot about blockchain, investing, and portfolio diversification. And he is really, really, diverse.

Think with Google

Google’s good for behavioral science tidbits as well as the latest on what big brands are doing in the world. The other reason I look at this newsletter is to keep tabs on where Google’s going. They telegraph their worldview and direction pretty clearly. And it’s almost always terrifying. Don’t be evil.

Love and Science

You’ll have to reach out to Ben directly to ask him to put our newsletter sign up back on the website, but let me tell you – if you can figure out how to subscribe you won’t be sorry. 

Maybe not that well rounded after all? 

Okay, so maybe this list won’t keep you well rounded, but it does cover roughly 50% of the topics “most people generally find interesting” (according to ChatGPT) – including:

• Current events
• Pop culture
• Sports
• Tech and innovation
• Food and cooking
• Personal finance
• Health and wellness
• Personal development

What about you? How would you adjust my list? Drop me a line and let me know.