Mainstream?

If you follow FOX News unironically or believe Russia Today is a great news source. Read a book!

There is so much great stuff out there and everything can be curated to you and your taste. This can be a great thing or a horrible thing that leads down to conspiracies, hate, misinformation and just plain old bullshit.

Almost every social media platform gives you the option to clean up what you read, follow and react to. Make use of that. Make it yours, clean your reading life up as Marie Kondo would. Read stuff that makes you happy and then maybe read something that opposes your usual view. Don’t hate people. Think.

Look people change. Opinions change. I have seen that during Covid a lot of people that I looked up to, that somehow raised me to a degree simply drifted. They shared horrible stuff. They questioned everything the Mainstream said and never questioned the bullshit they shared. To me, they are lost. They have probably never learned to look for sources and question what the intent of a person writing something is.

I write for me. Opinions. Stuff that matters to me. I am not a news source. I am not correct all the time nor do I claim to be in any way shape or form. I enjoy great storytelling and want to share that passion with you.

Penn Jillette

Penn the talking part of the Magician Duo “Penn and Teller” has a very distinct voice. Their show “Bullshit!” changed my life. When I was studying I came across that show and even though some of it didn’t hold up and some of it aged badly it got a message across to me that helped me tremendously. Question things that sound great. Read up on something you like and try to understand the opposing side. Try to figure out if there is something wrong with whatever you are handed, may it be information, material stuff, money or anything really.

I am into extreme music. The thing with that extreme music is, that the real brutal parts juxtapose the beautiful parts and elevate them to a level where they can stand out and sweep you away. There is always a bit of darkness in light and light in the darkness. Look for it.

Every book that Penn has written is special. I do read every word in his voice. What a treat!

This man grew as a person and shrunk in size. Can highly recommend his book on weight loss. Still a stern atheist but a person that is looking out for his fellow humans.

There is so much stuff out there with him. He has a podcast, he has books, he has magic shows (if you are into that) and he is in movies and a lot of videos.

Here is a long interview on political stuff and his views.

Louis Theroux

If you do not know who that is, then you are in for a treat. This glorious British man met the “Tiger King” before Netflix hit us with the Documentary during the pandemic. This mega-empathetic person met with Jimmy Savile before it came to light what horrible crimes Jimmy had “hidden” and I certainly see glimpses of that in the videos they talked to each other.

Louis has the talent to talk to people with horrible views. Note: I didn’t write horrible people (however that is sometimes true too). He is so empathetic that he lives with Neonazis and just with the power of questions and his persona lures out the horrible drivel they have to say or they self-expose their lies and misinformation in plain view.

That is great entertainment and just a fantastic and honest way of interviewing people. Live with them!

Here are the internet’s most burning questions to him. A great place to start just like anything from him really.

Andrew Callaghan

Heavily influenced by Louis Theroux and the former host of “All Gas No Brakes” and now headlining “Channel 5” a young dude with talent. White Nationalist rallies, storming Area 51, and all oddballs or weird humans gather in a place Andrew or his friends from Channel 5 are there and delivering what is going on pretty much unfiltered and with fantastic humour.

Recently Andrew has been on Theo Von’s podcast and Theo’s description of one of the videos was “the video with the jizz wizards”. Start there! That video really shows how a topic first might come off as odd and weird and then shows the fascinating people and their views behind all the weirdness.

Idubbbz

Ian is someone who I thought of while writing this. Coming from super juvenile humour and videos with George Kusunoki Miller aka Joji aka Filthy Frank/Pink Guy. to really deep, exposing and funny Content Cop videos to very entertaining Unboxing Videos and Kickstarter Crap to really deep insightful videos.

This one here I highly recommend and you might notice a pattern. Again the people depicted might seem strange at first and most people would be tempted to make fun of them, but Ian treats them like any other empathy- and understanding-worthy humans and that shows. I was impressed by that, the topic and the people depicted. In the best way, this reminded me of my favourite documentary movie of all time: “American Movie”. Heartwarming.

Podcasts

There is a plethora of podcasts out there for any taste and interest. I would like to recommend some with fantastic storytelling, powerful stories and the ones that make you want to dive into a topic that you might have had no interest in prior.

The Moth

This podcast has people tell powerful stories. It made me laugh, think and cry and dig into a topic. The premise is super interesting, as they have you send them your story and they help you polish and tell it effectively and then they record that live. Check it out!

Heavyweight

I hate that this is a Spotify exclusive. I don’t like Spotify at all. But here we go, the single reason I had that App installed. Stories about sometimes mundane things but mostly have a tremendous impact on a person’s life. Told brilliantly. Check it out!

Reply All

There is a meta-story here. As this podcast fell apart with a scandal and unfair treatment of staff among other things. At the best times, this was a podcast that made me laugh (meeting a scammer) or dig deep into a topic I never heard of before (one of the most impressive scam artists the world has ever seen). It was always entertaining and fascinating.

In Closing

Read, listen, and curate what you consume and have a look at topics or views that you wouldn’t agree with at first or don’t think are interesting. I promise you will not get dumber. There is great writing and content out there!