Hate Mondays? This podcast and 3 more recommendations can help
A podcast to hear if you hate returning to work on Monday, a Netflix series, and a few books that you ought to consider now
‘Find Joy In Any Job’ from the HBR IdeaCast, on all major audio streaming platforms
Office politics, unclear paths to advancement, boring assignments, stress, burnout...it can make you want to quit,” says Alison Beard of the Harvard Business Review (HBR), on one of the episodes in Find Joy In Any Job, a special four-part podcast on HBR’s IdeaCast. It is a hook done well as she speaks to Marcus Buckingham, author of Love+Work, to help us “figure out what energises us” in our current roles. Because quitting—and who hasn’t had that briefly liberating thought, especially in the last few years—isn’t always the right, or even feasible, option. Beard’s questions speak for anyone who feels helpless and hemmed in. But what if that’s not possible, she keeps asking Buckingham, puncturing the extra-optimistic advice characteristic of most self-help gurus. His metaphors of looking at work through the lens of love are great but they often distract from the more actionable takeaways. As we go to print, the last episode is yet to release. —Vangmayi Parakala
‘Love, Death & Robots’, volume 3, releases on Netflix on 20 May
The Netflix series Love, Death & Robots has amassed a cult following since its first season was released in March 2019. This adult animated anthology—a re-imagining of the 1981 science fiction film Heavy Metal—features short stories that span genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror and comedy. Think of it as Black Mirror, but for viewers who thrive on animation, video games and cyberpunk themes. If you haven’t watched this award-winning series so far, now might be a good time to revisit volumes 1 and 2. Earlier this month, Netflix released a no-holds barred trailer for Love, Death & Robots, volume 3. In typical NSFW fashion—some previous episodes in the series are high on gore, nudity and sexuality—Netflix described volume 3 as “the threesome” that viewers have been waiting for. Looking for recommendations within the first two volumes? Try Zima Blue and Beyond the Aquila Rift. —Nitin Sreedhar
Books on Musk
The world’s richest man now owns the world’s most talked-about microblogging website. Earlier this week, billionaire Elon Musk and Twitter agreed on a $44 billion (around ₹3 trillion) buyout. But who exactly is Musk, the person behind Tesla, SpaceX and The Boring Company? If you are curious about Musk’s journey, you can pick up Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, And The Quest For A Fantastic Future, written by American business writer Ashlee Vance in 2015 and published by HarperCollins. The book looks at Musk’s journey from South Africa to the US, his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance’s book is not the only biographical account of Musk. Walter Isaacson, who previously wrote about the life and work of Apple’s Steve Jobs, is working on a new biography of Musk. Another book that documents what Musk pulled off with Tesla—which many considered a gamble—is Tim Higgins’ Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, And The Bet Of The Century (2021). —Nitin Sreedhar
Open House With Piyush Pandey, Penguin Random House India, 224 Pages, Rs. 699
Six years after his first book chronicling his career in advertising, Piyush Pandey has co-authored another, Open House With Piyush Pandey, also with Anant Rangaswami. For this one, published by Penguin India, he has crowdsourced questions from students, colleagues and fans, who ask about everything from getting started in advertising and managing bosses, to his politics and his somewhat patronising views on diversity and inclusion. He even dedicates a chapter to his famous moustache. The book is, as he says in the introduction, a khichdi—each chapter covers topics that often have little in common and the answers are at once meandering, informative, practical and self-indulgent. Since he’s playing both life coach and advertising mentor, there are homilies like: “Fame is not for you to acquire; it is to be earned”. An easy, conversational style, his 39 years in advertising and his varied interests make for an immensely readable book—but it’s not really clear what its ultimate aim is. Out on 9 May. —Shalini Umachandran
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First Published:1 May 2022, 03:00 PM IST
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