February 1, 2026 · updated March 14, 2026

Here are a list of my media feeds. These are mostly youtube channels that I monitor/process via my Media Handler. Podcasts get updated via Overcast for iOS. Several of the blogs actually have good Askwho Casts AI versions I subscribe to so I can listen while driving.

In general I think that most news and social media aren’t good for mental health. I try to avoid algorithmic feeds, and use subscriptions instead… which I’m quick to delete if needed.

If something really important happens, it either bleeds through into my subscriptions or someone will otherwise mention it to me.

News-ish / culture signals

A very small set that tracks what people are talking about, rather than a traditional newsroom feed.

  • 📖 Hacker News

  • 📺 Saturday Night Live

  • 📖 Don’t Worry About the Vase - Zvi’s weekly AI roundups are the most useful thing I consume for tracking what’s actually happening in AI and why it matters. If not for this blog (and the AI generated podcast) I’d probably have a bunch of other blogs to follow…. but Zvi does such a good job pointing out and filtering for the releases that actually matter.

  • 🎙️ The Mind Killer - Rationalists talking about politics and the news. Only every two weeks, and they do a good job of filtering out what doesn’t matter. Ends 2026-03-31… I need a replacement

  • I need to find a long term news replacement for ‘The Mind Killers’ podcast which ends 2026-03-31 📅 2026-04-01

Blogs

📖 Less Wrong - An online community that promotes clear thinking and systematic approaches to reasoning. I read the Sequences (https://www.lesswrong.com/w/original-sequences) around 2009 and it had a large impact on how I think and what I think is worth doing. This community has been ahead of the curve on many topics:

  • AI alignment (I think it is still ahead of the curve) - Many members of this community are at AI ’labs’ now.
  • COVID-19 - I was prepped for this a few weeks before other people even knew it was a thing.
  • Benefits of Forecasting

📖 Astral Codex Ten - A blog exploring the intersection of rationality, science, medicine, economics, AI, and ethics through thoughtful, in-depth analysis and commentary. It originally grew from Slate Star Codex, aiming to uncover deeper truths underlying various aspects of human experience and thought.

📖 Wait But Why - Tim Urban humorously navigates complex topics with engaging explanations, humorous self-reflection, and uniquely expressive stick-figure illustrations. His work covers everything from procrastination to artificial intelligence, exploring profound subjects through accessible storytelling.

Podcasts

🎙️ Cortex - Two creators talking about how they manage their work and lives, which is basically productivity porn for people who spend too much time thinking about systems.

🎙️ The Bayesian Conspiracy - Rationalist-adjacent discussion podcast that’s good for keeping up with the community’s thinking, but I frequently skip episodes I’m not interested in.

Engineering, applied science, and safety

Mechanisms, experiments, engineering explanations, and safety/failure analysis. This cluster is strong on “how it works” and real-world constraints.

Math, logic, and visual explanation

Math and structured thinking, often taught with strong visual intuition and minimal fluff.

Maker builds, fabrication, and shop projects

Hands-on building: contraptions, robotics, tools, fabrication, and “I built it myself” projects.

Chemistry and materials

Chemistry-focused experimentation and materials curiosity (often practical, sometimes spectacular).

Computing, electronics, and software

Software/hardware, homelab, smart-home, dev, and tech product coverage.

AI and machine learning

ML news/analysis, paper coverage, capability discussion, and adjacent commentary.

Space, aerospace, and futurism

Spaceflight, astrophysics, and future-facing speculation (often grounded in engineering constraints and plausible scenarios).

Documentaries, history, and big-picture systems

Long-form “how we got here” channels: institutions, disasters, business/tech arcs, and macro-scale explanations.

Media analysis, film, and pop culture

Film/TV and cultural critique, commentary formats, and “why this works” breakdowns.

Internet mysteries and investigations

Investigation-style storytelling: internet oddities, obscure events, and “what really happened” threads.

Horror, SCP, and analog/ARG

Analog horror, SCP readings, creep narration, and ARG-adjacent content.

Gaming, game lore, and critique

Games as play, critique, and lore: analysis, reviews, playthroughs, and community-adjacent commentary.

Comedy, sketches, edits, and variety entertainment

Sketch comedy, parody edits, remix formats, and variety channels.

Art, animation, and creative craft

Drawing, animation, and creative process channels.

Outdoors, travel, and exploration

Travel/exploration channels (including urban exploration and “on the road” formats).

Health, longevity, and personal development

Longevity, training, and improvement-focused channels.

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