I’m often asked what I read for insight & inspo so I put together a collection of my favorite books, podcasts, and newsletters. The books have greatly inspired my view on food while the newsletters and podcasts provide ongoing insights and new perspectives around what’s unfolding in the industry.
Books
Wizard and the Prophet: The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World: probably the most important and influential book I’ve read. If your seeking to understand how we'll feed 10 billion people, this book provides an amazing overview tracing history and science from the perspectives of “Wizards” who think we will invent our way out of the food and climate crisis and “Prophets” who see us fitting within the biological limits.
Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming: This book was groundbreaking. It details the 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming based on meticulous research by leading scientists and policymakers around the world. All of the solutions already exist, are economically viable, and communities throughout the world are currently enacting them with skill and determination. It provides a roadmap for not only slowing earth’s warming, but also how we can reach drawdown, that point in time when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline.
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals: a classic from Michael Pollen that looks at our relationship to food. I also loved his book This Is Your Mind on Plants.
The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food - Chef Dan Barber runs the famous restaurant Blue Hill Stone Barns outside of NYC, which pioneered the farm to table concept. In this book, he shares his vision for the future of food.
Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations: If you spend enough time hanging around the food space, you quickly understand that soil is everything. This books traces our relationship to soil and how that has impacted the rise and fall of civilizations. It’s a bit dense, but it blew my mind!
Everything by Magnus Nilsson. He was the chef behind the renowned restaurants Faaviken in Northern Sweden. He published two bad ass cookbooks The Nordic Cookbook and The Nordic Baking Book that are an anthology for the history and heritage behind Nordic food.
Newsletters
All of the following newsletters are weekly digests that aggregate industry news, deals, and other tidbits to shed a light on what’s happening in the FoodTech space. They also post job opps and are good to follow if you are looking to enter the food space.
Nordic 9: covers startup investment deals happening across Europe. The data is amazing! I get the Sunday CET.
Essays:
New Worlder: I learn so much from this newsletter, which focuses on the food scene in Latin America, how it’s unfolding, and why we should pay attention
From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy: beautiful, thoughtful writing on some of the thorniest issues facing us when it comes to food
Podcasts
Surprisingly, I’m not a dedicated listener of a lot of food podcasts. When I get an idea for someone I want to interview, I always Google to see if they have done other podcasts and listen to those on a one-off basis. Otherwise, I listen to a lot of content by great interviewers whose style I really admire. I’m sharing those with you too.
Whetstone: this media group focuses on telling diverse, lesser heard stories about the food system. Everything they do is good and focuses on food origins and cultures. They also have a magazine.
RegenNarration: I love tuning in to hear what’s happening in another part of the world. This podcast primarily focuses on Australia’s regenerative movement, which is pretty spectacular. It also boasts an impressive list of global guests.
Decoder: interviews with executives from the startup and corporate worlds on how they’re thinking about innovation, their org structure, and the future
On Being: Krista Tippet is a master interviewer. She talks to a wide array of guests on what it means to be a human. Every episode is a revelation. I especially love the unedited cuts that let you hear how the interview unfolded before it went through production.
Where Do We Begin?: Esther Perel is a world-renowned sex therapist. In this series, she brings you into the room as she conducts live couples counseling. The conversations are raw and honest. For me, hearing how Esther navigates the thickest and thorniest of conversations is great inspiration for how to be a better interviewer in the midst of a difficult, emotional conversation.
Movies
TV Shows
Let me know if there is anything you think I should add to my reading / listening list. I would love to hear what has influenced your perspective!
This is a terrific resource Annalisa- thank you for posting and sharing! I will now lose many hours going down these rabbit holes of enlightenment!