Are you in need of some new material? Now that we have a new decade upon us, before you hit play again on a series you’ve seen three times, the team at Kernel have some summer suggestions. We’ve got you covered with what we’ve been reading, watching and listening to!
Cat:
Listening to
I am an absolute podcast junkie and my all-time favourite is the Tim Ferriss Show. Also love ReWork, Business Wars(the Netflix vs Blockbuster series is epic), Masters of Scale (love the Spanx episode, Sara Blakely is the ultimate boss lady).
Reading
Blogs! This summer (well always really) I love looking up house renovation ideas and my all-time go-to is Three Birds Renovations. Diving into their blog and IG – I can be there for hours. I also love the Ellevest Magazine– they are so good at telling it how it is.
Watching
Diving into Season 2 of Sex Education (it’s such fun easy watching!) and my ‘summer suggestions’ weekend movies are…the whole Harry Potter series. Once a fan, always a fan.
Dean
Reading
https://www.tempofit.org/ – in particular the Rotorua Marathon Blog series as I prepare to run my first marathon later this year.
Tales from a financial hot mess – the new book by Frances Cook, which we gave away to one of our followers over summer.
Watching
Netflix docos – Sour Grapes and FYRE, two fascinating documentaries on deception and excess..
Nehaal:
Listening to
We Study Billionaires* – The Investor’s Podcast – this is the catalyst behind why I started getting more interested in investing and finance (and ultimately a part of why I’m studying finance), it’s great to learn more about investing through concepts and articles, but it’s even better to hear the stories of how billionaires originally created their own wealth.
Economist Radio– great accumulator of heavy macro-economic news and topics.
Reading
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell – examining factors that contribute to high success.
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyou – a tale of how far you can push your own agenda when people servicing you are greedy
Atomic Habits by James Clear – building tiny habits to compound to remarkable results
Watching
The Hummingbird Project* – starring Jesse Eissenberg, this movie is based off Michael Lewis’ Flash Boys and covers the lengths people go to get another millisecond of speed in High Frequency Trading.
Knives Out – who doesn’t like a good old-fashioned Agatha Christie inspired movie!
Stephen:
Listening to
For podcasts, I’m a fan of HBR Ideacast (there’s a great one published NYE on habit formation) and Freakonomics Radio, and I am fascinated by the BBC’s Missing Crypto Queen series. What a story!
Reading
Becoming more of a podcast listener while exercising than a reader, but I am slowly reading two books when time permits. “Parkinson Law” – a 1959 version of a collection of essays mocking bureaucracy, ego and fallibility. Looking past the pompous acerbic wit, there are many kernels of social behaviour and life hacks, which seem timeless.
I’m also reading “The man who solved the market” the story Jim Simons an award-winning mathematician who found information asymmetries in the emotions and irrationality of market traders and market infrastructure inefficiencies. While there was a lot of luck involved, there is something both dark and heroic about taking advantage of legacy participants.
Caitlin:
Listening to
There goes the neighbourhood. This podcast is about all things political / social / economic to do with gentrification. New York, LA and Miami have been discussed across three seasons so far. Gentrification affects everything from culture to climate change! An in-depth and interesting listen.
Watching
Cleaning Up (2019) – It’s a show about a cleaning lady that picks up stock tips from London offices! It’s fun and keeps you on the edge of your seat as the protagonist makes and gambles her money. Though it’s a bit of a ‘what not to do’ and should never be attempted / wouldn’t work in real life, the protagonist is lovable and kept me interested through her ups and downs.
The Price We Pay (2014) – This is a documentary on the reality of large corporations using tax havens and comes at a time where a move towards international agreement and updated laws is gaining traction.
Chris
Reading
Why I left Goldman Sachs’ – Greg Smith. This outlines Greg’s journey into arguably the top investment banking firm in the world. I like this book as it gave me a glimpse into how things are inside GS and it also offers an internal perspective on how the global financial crisis influenced the firm. The one part which I found most interesting learning about the discrepancy in culture and operations between the NY and London firm. I would recommend it to people who want to know more about the culture (although extremely biased) of GS and investment banking in general.
Rich Enough – A laid-back guide for every kiwi (Mary Holm). This book offers simple gems and is a must-read for all kiwis. It provides a simple approach to investing in a New Zealand context, including how to choose the right kiwi saver, the function of debt, mortgages and many more core topics. Through this book, I learned that Kiwisaver is an absolute MUST for all working New Zealanders and the importance of a low-cost fund.
Watching
Jumanji 2: The next level – SPOILER ALERT
Great movie, 10/10. Can bring the kids, but there are some scary parts. For example when the hippopotamus tries to eat the character. My favourite scene was when Bethany showed up as a Horse. The most memorable scene was near the end when Milo Walker changes to the Horse and decides to oversee Jumanji.
