Curiosity Catch-Up #4
A nerdy issue 🤓 plus my dream book nook that I want to become reality
I’ve been adjusting to new medication so have been couch-bound for a good part of the last two weeks or so. This has been a good time to watch documentaries (and mindless nonsense like Dr Pimple Popper), plus planning some reading for when my brain is functioning again. This week’s Curiosity Catch-Up covers conflicts cold and hot plus my favourite things - books.
📺 Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War
I’m not sure if I ever really studied the Cold War in its entirety so I’ve felt like there has been a major gap in my knowledge on this front. Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War on Netflix picks up where Oppenheimer (the film) left off and provides you with a good history of the Cold War, especially with how it relates to what is happening in Ukraine right now. The reason I think it is timely to watch is because of US-Russia relations at the moment and why Americans who grew up during the Cold War would have such a visceral reaction to Trump cosying up to Putin.
As part of a generation that didn’t grow up during the Cold War, what has struck me is how real (and close) the threat was to these two nuclear superpowers effectively wiping the world out over supposed ideological disagreements. We talk about nuclear weapons and who has access to the nuclear codes nowadays in quite blasé terms but watch this documentary and you might think twice about how we should be thinking about it all.
🎙️The Rest is Politics Leading - Interview with Francesca Albanese
With a lot of attention being given to Trump’s daily (sometimes hourly) flooding of the news, plus a renewed focus on what is going on in Ukraine, I feel like there has been a little bit of lost interest in what is happening in Palestine-Israel. Enter a fantastic interview with Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, on The Rest is Politics (TRIP) Leading. Albanese has been unfairly called an anti-semite and she discussed this as well as defining anti-semitism. It is a powerful interview because she is passionate about what she does and is a wealth of information on international law and Palestine. There is a moment toward the end of the interview in which she raises how we should be looking at this conflict with “wisdom and compassion” and a “people-centred” approach for both the Palestinians and ordinary Israelis. 🍉
📲 Bookist
My friend introduced me to this amazing app, Bookist. I’m owning up to the fact that I have never used an app for books so I’m not sure what else is out there and have nothing to compare it to. I have occasionally been on Good Reads but just found it a pain to use so I never bothered to investigate it further. Bookist is really easy to use. It recommends based on what you have read and allows you to explore different book award lists or bestseller lists worldwide so you aren’t stuck with the same old tired recommendations. If you do use Good Reads then you can transfer all your info from there to the app.
🙋🏻♀️ My dream book nook
I saw this book nook online a few weeks ago. My bookshelves are starting to overflow and with Bookist, it is going to get even worse. Does anyone know someone in the Johannesburg area who could construct something similar for me? I already have the cat 😃
Happy nerding out!
Ax