What's In My Bubble

Adam Neely is a bassist, composer, and music educator. I've gotten a lot out of his YouTube channel and remain a Patreon supporter. He covers all sorts of music topics. His music sociology and institutional critiques are quite good and I'm mostly aligned with his takes. But where I've really felt informed and enlightened is in the deep dives into specific composers and pieces. Two examples: his breakdown of The Girl from Ipanema unpacks decades of harmonic assumptions, traces why the American Real Book version drifted from Jobim's original intent, and explains the shimmering modulations in the bridge in a way that gave me a better sense of them. Similarly, his analysis of Wayne Shorter's harmonic language was revelatory, how Shorter moved away from functional chord progressions toward using chords as color rather than direction.

Cocaine & Rhinestones is nominally about the history of twentieth century country music, but it ranges far wider than that. It's a one-man operation, researched, written, and narrated by Tyler Mahan Coe, and the research is intense. Exhaustive would not be hyperbole. Many episodes pull in history from wildly unexpected places, which at times left me fascinated and utterly baffled as to how it connected to the topic at hand. Worth mentioning that Tyler is the son of David Allan Coe, a brilliant and deeply polarizing pioneer of 1970s Outlaw Country whose immense songwriting talent was permanently overshadowed by a genuine criminal past and volatile persona. Tyler seems to have inherited some of his father's cock-suredness, but given the depth and quality of the work, I don't find it much of a detraction.

I knew David Benedict when he was living in Boston and playing with Mile Twelve. Not well, and I wish I had had more interactions with him. His YouTube channel covers mandolin technique, music theory, and his own playing, and I've been a consistent follower and Patreon subscriber. In him I feel a kinship in how he pursues music and the mandolin in particular. He studied with Matt Flinner, one of my favorite mandolin players, and I envy him that. The aesthetic is more about subtlety than flash, tone and taste rather than pyrotechnics, and a deep respect for tradition that informs without stifling originality. I take no small comfort in feeling that we're on the same good track.

Andrew Hickey is a strange bird, and I say that with affection and respect. His History of Rock in 500 Songs is a huge hit with me and with so many of my musical brethren. He covers the cultural, social, technological, and personal histories of musicians and bands, a song at a time more or less, starting way back, which is a good thing. He unearths some great details and the research is solid. It's quirky, and his accent is at times hard not to giggle at. The way he says "boogie woogie," for instance. His British accent doesn't quite explain it. Highly informative nonetheless, and I give thanks to the great Harvey Bag for turning me onto it.

Jens Larsen doesn't just sound well informed (with his oh-so-euro Danish accent), he really knows jazz harmony and improvisation. His YouTube channel has clear graphics and he comes at the material from various useful angles that demystify what could be opaque for many. I've been following him for a few years. Useful stuff, for jazz and music playing in general.

Cosmology is another topic I can't get enough of, but it's hard to avoid the sensationalistic. Astrum, hosted by Alex McColgan, sidesteps that nicely while keeping plenty of the awe factor intact. What I particularly appreciate is the emphasis on epistemics — how we know what we know, and equally where the limits of that knowledge are. McColgan has an interesting accent that doesn't hurt either.

Just Have A Think is Dave Borlace's YouTube channel focused on climate change and, crucially, on solutions rather than the debate. He's not arguing about whether human-induced climate change is real... that's settled. What he talks about is what would help: energy generation and storage, transportation, etc. He's done the homework, and the channel is well researched and accessibly presented.

Undecided with Matt Ferrell is about sustainability, covering real world use and reviews of energy tech. He built his new house with much of it, so it's quite technical but also grounded by his honest assessments of how well it all actually works. He's a geek, and I say that as a compliment. He covers a lot of battery tech, which I think is super critical in terms of how we deal with climate change.

Professor Hannah Fry is a mathematician, author, and science broadcaster. She has a lovely upbeat energy that is infectious, which helps considerably when the topic is math. She makes fairly complex material engaging without dumbing it down. I've not read any of her books yet but would like to, and I'd bet she reads her own audiobooks, which is often a plus. And I like her accent.

If you're squeamish about cadavers you might want to skip Institute of Human Anatomy. But the hosts are extremely ethical and respectful as they explain what various foods and drugs do inside and to the human body. It's not at all sensationalistic, just straight up informative. They avoid moralizing but don't pull punches about stuff like alcohol, weed, LSD, and sugar. So don't be squeamish. It's worth a look.

Is Joe Scott funny? Yeah, he is, in a way that just barely avoids being cute. But his Answers with Joe and some other side projects remain a favorite go-to and I rarely skip an episode. I say "cute" but the content is robust and he makes a lot of information highly digestible. A real force for good against the prevailing tides of ignorance and foolishness, and yet he is not didactic or condescending, just a good Joe talking sense. Hope more folks pay attention.

I wish I had the animation chops on display with Kurzgesagt. Great stuff and great content. Science and more science, top quality. And they, in a nutshell, keep it real.

Rachel Barr's channel Rachel the Neuroscientist is top notch science — more her explaining stuff than worked out essays, but it's real good. She's focused on being kind to oneself while still presenting some real hard science. Her content is serious stuff and I'm a sucker for anything related to the brain.

I got to know Rebecca Watson through her own channel Skepchick, after her earlier involvement with Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. She is very rigorous with her research and links extensively to her sources. She reads through stuff I don't have the cycles for and is very good at debunking, especially the excesses of sensationalistic science journalism. She can take the sarcasm a little too far on occasion. I tend to side with her on her condemnation of systemic problems like capitalism, tech-bro culture, and sexism.

Somehow I managed to compile this entire list without including Robert Wright, which is embarrassing. One of his books — I'm not saying which — has been my answer to "what's your favorite book" more than once, including as a password challenge question, so that tells you something. I strongly recommend The Moral Animal, Nonzero, and The Evolution of God. Why Buddhism is True is overdue on my list. Wright occupies a rare and valuable space: non-deistic but spiritually sensitive, and deeply grounded in evolutionary psychology and philosophy. He's a gifted writer and a genuine pleasure to read.

When I need a physics fix, Sean Carroll is my go to. He specializes in quantum mechanics and cosmology. I can almost wrap my head around the quantum stuff with him, keeping in mind that Feynman caveat... if you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't. Carroll is also a philosopher of science. I like what he says about emergence. I like his poetic naturalism, the idea that reality is physical all the way down but that higher-level descriptions like meaning, beauty, and choice are still real and valid. Same with his compatibilist take on free will, a middle ground that sidesteps both the hard determinism that makes everything feel pointless and the magical thinking that pretends we're somehow outside causality.

Steven Pinker's book The Blank Slate opened my eyes... though they were already opening up beforehand. In my youth I underestimated how pre-wired we all are. I've come to understand how much of what I am is not entirely up to me. I also appreciate his optimism and the case he makes that there really has been human progress. It's human nature to dwell on the horrid and shocking... if it bleeds it leads, and it's easy to feel like things have never been worse. But in many important ways they've never been better.

⚠ I just found out: Pinker has been confirmed as an affiliate of Dialog, a secretive invite-only forum co-founded by Peter Thiel. It intentionally recruits high-profile figures across the political spectrum for off-the-record debate, which is exactly the kind of closed-door, non-transparent network that should give any honest thinker pause. His work stands on its own empirical merits, but it sure leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I like tech. I spent a fair amount of my life in software development and have always been drawn to the latest gadgets and technologies. These days I follow anything to do with energy — ways to make it and create it (solar, wind, fusion) and ways to store it (various battery tech). Two Bit Da Vinci, a.k.a. Ricky Roy, gets to a good depth on these topics. By that I mean it's not so technical as to be hard to follow, but it's not lightweight either.

Veritasium is a top notch science channel. Derek covers interesting math, some hardcore physics, and some real good myth busting. Some of his episodes involve real world tests. He does an excellent job at showing as well as telling.

I list this as Vlogbrothers because I like both Hank and John Green's work. John gets special mention for his Crash Course history series, both the American and World versions. But lately I've been consuming more of Hank's output, and he deserves very high praise. SciShow alone would be enough — he's a great presence, a great explainer of how complex things actually are, and a much needed debunker. I also loved his side project Journey to the Microcosmos. He's a real force for, well, good.

I could list my favorite comedians here but in this context I'm trying to stay with information, so I'm sticking with stuff that isn't merely funny. But I'm going to let Ze Frank slide in because his True Facts series is genuinely informative. It is also funny as hell, always good for a handful of explosive guffaws and some real side splitting moments. A great mix of smart and silly.

American History Hit is a podcast covering American history in an accessible, interview-driven format. I've been listening for a while and find it consistently solid and reliable. I'm an avid reader of American history and this is a good fix for that habit.

I don't have heroes, but if I did Hitchens might be one. My appetite for debunking religion is practically boundless, and Hitchens remains a standard bearer. I find him charming, extremely erudite, and always a great wit. Over the years I've toned my own commentary down a shade, caring more about what people do than what they believe. But when it comes to my feelings about faith and religion, Hitchens remains a good take on where I stand. O'Connor has some interesting rebuttals that are worth sitting with, but I tend to stay with Hitchens. I should note that his support for the 2003 Iraq War was him at his weakest. Yeah, well, no heroes for me thanks.

I came across Heather Cox Richardson right around the time I started wondering whether these are the worst times with the worst president in our long and often troubled history. This is an angle she pursues frequently, especially with her co-host on Then and Now, which is good but a tad too chatty for my tastes. I often read her daily briefs and she knows what she's talking about. Her book How the South Won the Civil War has been sitting on my wish list for a while. I'm confident I agree with its premise. I'm well aligned with much of her take on our current situation and how it fits into the longer narrative of American history.

The more insistent the voice and demeanor, the more suspicious I tend to be. This is no less true when I feel highly aligned with the viewpoint being expressed. But Johnny Harris does seem bona fide. He's got good credentials, and if one keeps in mind the constraints of the medium he's working in, he is well worth the listen if only to be challenged by his passion. Also interesting takes on his Mormon past. So yeah, overall a good contribution.

⚠ Worth watching but apply an extra grain of salt.

I came across Nate DiMeo's The Memory Palace one night looking for something to fall asleep to. It fit the bill with his mellow voice and understated delivery. But I had to stay awake and listen, and it has always been well worth it. He tells stories of lesser known, if not completely unknown, people that speak to huge issues about humanity and society. And he pulls music from interesting and unexpected places that really support the narrative gestalt. Beautiful work.

Do I need to sell Jon Stewart? I first saw him way back in 1999 when he took over The Daily Show and I was a bit bummed, because I'd loved that first year with Craig Kilborn. But he took the show to a much more important place. He is seriously funny while being funnily serious, and he became and remains an important voice. Glad to see him back in the fray.

This one is a guilty pleasure. I have a lot of respect for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and wish more leaders had his sensibilities, not to mention his guts, bravery, and commitment to serving his people. I have no respect for Putin, who I'm sure the world, including Russia, would be so much better off without. The Military Show is unabashedly anti-Putin and pro-Ukraine, so I constantly ignore the hyperbole and fact check it. But it's still reasonably informative, and it gives me a buzz to watch Ukraine gain the upper hand against the invaders. Maybe this is not even a recommendation so much as a confession.

At some point I had to back off even the best satire and humor about the current mob of imbeciles running, or more correctly, ruining our country. I just need to have those pathetic charlatans out of my head. But back when I could stomach it Randy Rainbow was an excellent source of fun. Spoof interviews and show tune parodies done really well, all in flaming and hilarious gayety.

What to say about Robert Reich? The prevailing message is that the system is rigged, and yes, that can sound like the kind of conspiracy mongering that clogs the airwaves these days. But that's not what this is. Reich is pointing out very real systemic flaws that are begging for radical redress, and I don't mean radical in the pejorative sense, just in the urgent and far reaching sense. I think he is spot on.

As with Jon Stewart, it would seem unnecessary to sing the praises of Stephen Colbert. He's extremely funny and a great satirist. He also seems to be an incredibly decent human being, and I'm happy to give him a pass on his being somewhat outspoken about his Catholic faith. In any case he's always been a welcome commentator and antidote to the crazy and insane.

Alex O'Connor is a young British philosopher and YouTuber working primarily in the atheism, religion, and philosophy space. I'm a foxhole atheist who followed the Four Horsemen closely, but aside from Hitchens, who remains a touchstone, the others grew tiresome. O'Connor is a different animal. He brings genuine epistemic humility to these conversations, engaging with opposing views without the combativeness that made Dawkins and company exhausting after a while. He's rigorous without being a bludgeon about it, and that makes for much better dialogues. His interview with Peter Hitchens is a good example. O'Connor was civil and precise throughout, and Hitchens simply couldn't handle being challenged politely, which told me everything I needed to know about Peter Hitchens.

Pursuit of Wonder is Robert Pantano getting all deep and philosophical. I followed him more closely when I first came across him and it made a deep impression for a while. The animation and tone are really good and effective. But it can wax heavy and at times feel like it's reaching too hard for the profound. Still, I'll be checking back in now and then and might even read one of his books, like The Art of Living a Meaningless Existence, the title of which is a fair indication of what his channel is on about.

Fade to Black is a YouTube channel that does deep dives on actors, with something of a "whatever happened to" format but with considerably more feeling and respect for its subjects. It does a lot to place actors in the context of their times, accounting for the expectations of both the industry and the public. It feels well researched and yet personal. The narrator's voice has a warm and empathetic quality, though he never reveals who he is. What's clear is that it's a real human writing and narrating it, possibly with some support, which distinguishes it from similar formats that are... well, less human.