March 18, 2020

Books, Podcasts, and Movies to Entertain You During a Shutdown

All across the nation we’re being asked to practice social distancing to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Schools and restaurants are closed. Events have been cancelled and hopefully, you have the ability to work from home. But after your work is finished, what will you do with all this free-time indoors?

Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Now is the time to catch up on all that reading, listen to those podcasts while running outside (keeping at least six feet from anyone else), or watch all those youtube videos.

Let’s start with books, shall we?

Books

In high school and college I hated reading. It wasn’t until after school when I started reading personal finance books that I really started to enjoy reading. I know, it seems like a dry subject but having been broke for so long, I was ready to start running towards financial freedom. Reading all those books about money and business led to books about a plethora of other subjects.

Then, in 2018, I made a goal to read a book a week. Being an overachieving Type-A Asian, I read 68 books that year. So, needless to say (but I’ll say it anyways), I read a lot of books. So, here are some of my favorite picks.

Ocean or Plastic Related:

I had the pleasure of hearing Shaun Tomson speak a few times at different ocean-related conferences. He talks about how his friend had ask him helps save a local beach in California. Shaun was given $120 dollars to give something memorable to a group of kids they were speaking too. Given he was a professional surfer with ties to industry he could have easily called up some companies to get free swag. Instead he went home and wrote down 12 points that he called the Surfer’s Code. He printed 120 of these cards (for exactly $120) and handed them out at the event.

This surfer’s code caught on and soon enough everyone wanted one. He eventually turned this code into an exercise for people to envision their goals. His book is a tells captivating stories that align with his code.

With all this free-time, maybe it’s a good time to reflect on your life and see where you want to take it. Let The Code help you gather your thoughts.

Kathryn Kellogg’s book is a great resource for ideas on eliminating your waste. The biggest takeaway for me was that I learned that making your own laundry soap can actually be harmful to your washing machine and that soap basically seals the grime into your closet. You need detergent to wash your clothes and you can’t make detergent at home.

This book goes into the nitty gritty of why plastic is bad for your health. It’s a little alarming but a great reminder of why we want to live plastic-free.

Business or Personal Finance:

In 2009, my first boss in medical devices assigned this book to all his employees—awesome, right? I’ve been hooked on Tim Ferriss’s books ever since. He’s all about dissecting complicated concepts into simple processes. This book makes you realize that your dream-life is easily affordable and within reach. (I know I sound like an infomercial but I seriously love his books.)

This was one of the first personal finance books I read. Suze does a great job of laying out a plan for you to get your finances on track.

People are oftentimes overwhelmed by personal finance but it can be really simple. Like fit the entire concept on an index card simple. That’s the basis of the book, they write everything you need to know on a postcard and elaborate in the rest of the book.

Life Lessons:

This book is based off a graduation speech Admiral McRaven gave at the University of Texas. He transforms his lessons learned as a Navy Seal into life lessons that can apply to anyone.

I’ve mentioned a few times before that moving across the country twice made me a minimalist. If you want to read about minimalism, Joshua and Ryan write the most thoughtful content on minimalism.

Literature:

I’m sure you’ve heard of this book. It’s about a boy’s fantastic journey to find treasure. It’s heartwarming, gives you life lessons, and tells a beautiful story.

This is one of Tim Ferriss’ favorite books. It’s about a boy who grows up in a cemetery and sees spirits. It’s a beautifully imaginative book.

Podcast

I used to have a really long commute. Like an hour each way long. So, podcasts were my favorite way to kill the time.

The protect and enjoy podcast tells you all about what the Surfrider Foundation is doing to protect our coast in California. I was a guest on Episode 10, where I talk about the plastic reduction ordinance I’m working on in San Francisco and in Episode 35, where I talk about plastic-free makeup.

Seriously, I love Tim Ferriss. He talks about so many different topics and interviews such interesting people. His podcast with Jamie Foxx in 2015 was the #1 podcast that year! Here are his top ten podcasts.

Freakonomics looks at how a variety of different subjects through an economic lens. What I love is that it looks at how humans interact with money which to me is fascinating.

Youtube Videos

It’s so easy to get lost down the rabbit-hole of YouTube. There’s so much great content and the short videos are a lot less commitment than a full movie. Here are some of my favorite channels. Some are related to plastic and others are just great content.

I’ve been a fan of The Story of Stuff Project since I first watched their original video. They explain complicated environment issues with basic videos. So, I was stoked when I got the opportunity to be in one of them:

This was a fun experience and gave me a new appreciation for actors and directors.

In 2016, Nuseir Yassin quit his job to travel the world. He wanted to make a one-minute video for 1,000 days. He explored countries all over the world and busted misconceptions about those countries in his video. After that project was over he started posting longer weekly videos about various subjects. He’s videos are straightforward and make you reconsider ideas you’ve previously held.

Shelbi is a zero waste YouTuber who simplifies zero waste living in short 15 – 20 minute videos.

If you’ve ever been interested in attending an ocean conference, Rising Tide Summit brings together scientists, non-profits, and industry leaders to solve some of our biggest ocean issues. What’s different about this conference is that it focuses on what industry can do, whereas most other conference are more focused on science and policy.

Movies

I’m not going to run down a list of all my favorite movies, but I am going to suggest a few related to plastics and the ocean. (By the way, the Thomas Crown Affair is one of my favorite movies of all time.)

From people at The Story of Stuff, The Story of Plastic takes you through the journey of plastic pollution. The Discovery Channel will air Story of Plastic just before Earth Day, so mark your calendars!

The Broken mini-series talks about counterfeit makeup, vaping, unsafe IKEA furniture and our recycling system. If you only want to watch one, watch the recycling one and you’ll see why I say “Recycling is Not the Answer“.

Plastic pollution is not the only threat our oceans face. Increasing temperatures and an increase in carbon dioxide is causing ocean acidification which is killing our reefs. This movie shows the dramatic changes of our reefs over time and gives a glimmer of hope for the future.

What do you think? Got enough content to keep you preoccupied for a while? What are your suggestions for books, podcasts, YouTube channels or movies to watch?

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