Media Recommendations for 2022
To kickoff 2022, our team wanted to share our top media recommendations for the new year. From podcasts to films to books, this list ranges from work-related topics to guilty pleasures — anything that helped us cope or inspired us during the past year was fair game. What are some of your favorite media recommendations that you would add to the list? We’d love to know what helps push you forward! Here’s to a year of inspiration and continued collective growth. Happy 2022.
Principal & Cofounder
I Recommend:
A Work in Progress by René Redzepi
Why I like it:
This set of three beautifully designed volumes written by Noma chef, Rene Redzepi, are a culinary journey into creativity. Redzepi’s candid journals describe how he has been able to push his inventiveness past its limits and to bring people along with him. My favorite volume is the journal that describes the exhilaration and frustration of the (culinary) design process.
Principal & Cofounder
What I like about this artist:
Through her videos, Rottenberg explores mechanization, consumption, waste, female objectification and globalization – all addressed in a very compelling way. Alternating between beautiful and gaudy, the product is equal parts funny, uncomfortable, profound and absurd. “Squeeze,” “What is the Connection” and “Social Surrealism” are some of my thought-provoking favorites.
Project Manager / Designer
What it’s about:
The Morning Show is an American drama streaming series about the cut-throat world of American journalism set against the backdrop of the Me Too movement. The show opens with the firing of Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell), Alex Levy’s (Jennifer Anniston) co-host of 15 years on ‘The Morning Show,’ after he is accused of sexual misconduct. Season 1 follows Alex as she fights to retain her job as top news anchor while sparking a rivalry with Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon).
Bonus Recommendation:
Bad Faith
Why I like it:
Bad Faith is two shows in one: it’s a panel show about politics and pop culture with a rotating cast of performers and politicians, artists and activists, writers and radicals; and it’s a two-way podcast where two people from two very different parts of the left make the case for one less terrible world.
Landscape Architect
Why it’s at the top of my list:
My pandemic obsession has been Iceland and Nordic Noir. Trapped is a great Icelandic Nordic Noir Series. Others I would recommend are Rams, Valhalla Murders, Jar City, and the original Danish/Swedish version of The Bridge. For comic relief, the Norwegian series Norsemen is actually performed by the Norwegian actors in English (no subtitles) and is hilarious. I’m hoping in 2022 to be able to travel IRL and not just virtually!
Associate & Urban Planner
I Recommend:
Economic Policy Institute publications and YouTube channel.
What I like about it:
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank created in 1986 to include the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions. The Economic Policy Institute’s vision is for all workers to share equally in the economic prosperity of our country.
Bonus Recommendation:
Belonging: A Culture of Place by bell hooks
Why it’s great:
This book is written by one of our finest feminist thinkers who just passed away. I have only begun learning about bell hooks recently, but she is introducing me to how feminism functions to support the communion that we sometimes miss in the redevelopment of place. She invites us to critique the power dynamics of our personal, professional, and public action that is paramount in creating resilient communities.
Green Buildings Senior Project Manager
I Recommend:
The Ezra Klein Show
I like this podcast because:
That Anxiety You’re Feeling? It’s a Habit You Can Unlearn – Ezra always has a great topic and this podcast is a definite winner about some of the pandemic mental health issues facing us all.
Urban Designer
How it impacted me:
This film is based on the true story of Christopher McCandless, who abandons his possessions and lives in the wilderness of Alaska. His free spirit and the stunning scenery in the film inspired me to go for a trip to Alaska this September, and it is truly an amazing experience in my life!
Associate & Senior Project Manager
I Recommend:Â
Between Everything and Nothing by Joe Meno
What I find fascinating is:
In the first nonfiction book written by my favorite fiction author, Joe Meno opened my eyes to the chaos of the United States’ failing immigration system through the powerful true story of two young men from Ghana.
Architect
What it’s about:
A podcast that aims to spark civic engagement through in-depth conversations with citizen changemakers.
Green Buildings Project Manager
Because:
Sometimes you need a break from the day to day and nothing pulls me out of a rut than the investigative journalism of smooth-talking Keith Morisson. Dateline is now available on your favorite podcast app for when you want Keith to lul you to sleep with murder stories as well.
Bonus Recommendation:
Building Integrity
Why I like it:
This YouTube series posts educational videos on engineering, building structures, and construction practices. They often investigate building failure through the lens of as-built construction documents and their latest series is on the recent high-rise collapse in Surfside Florida.
Emerging Design Fellow
What I like about it;
This is a refreshing podcast with unique storytelling and topics on people, places, and things that you tend not to think about or notice in the built environment.
Green Buildings Project Manager
I Recommend:
Future Presence by Peter Rubin
What it’s about:
This book provides a basic introduction to how virtual reality is changing human connection and the limits of ordinary life. I found it very fascinating.
Bonus Recommendation:
21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
Why I like it:
The book touches on interesting current world topics including outsourcing of jobs to AI, a new “superhuman” species, the importance of data, globalization, environmentalism, and nationalism. I had wanted to read something by Harari and this seemed like a relevant place to start.
Associate & Senior Project Manager
I Recommend:
Star Trek – Deep Space Nine (DS9) or The Next Generation (TNG) should be streamable via Netflix.
Why I think it’s great:
Star Trek envisions an optimistic post-scarcity future where vocations are tied to personal aspirations and relationships are respectful and trusting. In the midst of the everyday tensions of modern life, it feels good to connect with characters exploring far-off worlds. My favorite series are Deep Space Nine (DS9) and The Next Generation (TNG) because the characters have the greatest depth and the writing is strong.
Office Manager
Why it’s my favorite:
I love this daily podcast for its excellent global coverage — not just the hot spots but a little bit of everywhere. I’m not alone in loving it, as it has won lots of awards.
Senior Communication Designer
How it has impacted me:
This documentary teaches us about indigenous food ways and has inspired me to learn more about foraging and other ways to reconnect with land—it’s a must-watch!
Bonus Recommendation:
Design in Transition Podcast
What I like about it:
A great bilingual (EN/ES) podcast from Ph.D. candidates at the Carnegie Mellon School of Design about designing for systems-level change toward more sustainable and equitable futures.
Community Engagement Specialist
I Recommend:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Why it’s incredible:
Inherent indigenous wisdom from a trained modern botanist will profoundly change your relationship to plants and the living world around you. I listened to this in audiobook format this year and the author’s voice is very soothing to boot!
Bonus Recommendation:
Making Sense Podcast
What I like about it:
Thoughtful, reasoned, calm, refreshing– Sam Harris and his guests tackle both introspective and secular topics that shed deep and nuanced light on a multitude of current events.