Like the podcast 99% Invisible, the newsletter/blog Inconspicuous Consumption pays obsessive attention to minor details that most people don’t even see. For instance: long essays on whether the final button holes on shirts should be vertical or horizontal, or Where Should the Apostrophe Go on a Vertically Lettered Sign?. More on ashtray designs, the colors of butter, security envelope patterns. The less significant the details are, the more attention they get. Entire worlds can be glimpsed at the end of an office stapler. The tagline for the site is Big Enthusiasm for Small Details. Few who descend down these rabbit holes return the same. — KK
The hosts of a great podcast we have featured on Recomendo before, Acquired, conclude each of their 3-hour episodes about legendary companies with several personal recommendations each. These could be any apps, books, destinations, shows, apparel, or devices they have personally enjoyed in the last month. They have good taste, lots of variety and a wide range, over their 10-year run. This sounds familiar! They call these reviews, “carve outs” (not connected to the show’s topic) but they are really Acquired’s version of Recomendo. I’ve found some good stuff this way. — KK
Two of my favorite new podcasts are produced by co-authors of one of the most notable books of last year, Abundance. The book argues for dynamic governance and a liberalism that builds stuff. Each author now has their own podcast. The Ezra Klein Show is in your standard interview format, but with an unexpected range of subjects, all cast through Klein’s sharp mind and extensive background. The conversations are reliably good. Derek Thompson’s Plain English show is a scripted narrative that researches interesting questions. His episodes are more like an audible magazine with more than one interviewee. I rate my podcasts on how often they surprise me, and Plain English is usually surprising. — KK
One of my go-to podcasts these days is the non-fiction scripted show Articles of Interest, which investigates articles of clothing and other things that we wear. It is a spin-off from the legendary podcast 99% Invisible, and carries that program’s intelligence and the nerdy appeal of deep research. Now in its second season, each episode tackles the origin, history, and meaning of an article such as blue jeans, suits, wedding dresses, and even pockets! Illuminating worlds within small details is what this show is so good at. Recommended. — KK