This week’s Five Things…

1. I just finished reading Zadie Smith’s short collection of essays, Intimations. It was very good!

2. Alexander The Great’s mum, Olympias, was pretty hardcore. If you’re interested in history and like long podcasts, this is for you!

3. You may remember, in 2017 a painting supposedly by Leonardo Di Vinci sold at auction for a record $450m. It blows my mind that someone would spend so much money on a painting, let alone one in such poor condition and with so much doubt hovering over whether it really is a Di Vinci! The Guardian’s Today In Focus podcast tells the crazy story.

4. Really enjoyed this: Why Every City Feels The Same Now

5. The panel heater gets my vote: Cat v panel heater: Which is better?

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This week’s Five Things…

1. That’s one old shark.

2. Adam Buxton interviews Helen Lewis and Zadie Smith. I really enjoyed both episodes, he's a great interviewer.

3. Roman Emperors like you've never seen them before. I'm glad to see Marcus Aurelius looks as wise as he has always has in my imagination!

4. If you like plants, check out Patch Plants. They have a good selection which they'll deliver straight to your door. There's lots of information on how best to look after the plants too, which will hopefully mean they'll live a little longer than it might have done otherwise!

5. A lot of effort went into making Netflix's "ta-dum" sound. The Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast tells the story. A great episode.

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This week’s Five Things…

1. Food for thought from Derek Sivers.

2. What every museum of transport should look like!

3. Someone has compiled all of Ted Gioia's daily new music recommendations into one handy list. A true hero.

4. The relative rotations of our solar system's planets in 2D. This would have been useful for a quiz a few weeks ago...

5. An interesting article by Tim Harford on memories and the covid-19 pandemic.

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This week’s Five Things…

1. Switched On Pop break down Taylor Swift's new album. This was a great episode.

2. I can barely stand up on a skateboard, Isamu Yamamoto can do this.

3. This is a great ad. I can't imagine how long it took to find the footage that made the final cut.

4. Finally, some good news! "UK coal use has fallen to the lowest level in 250 years. Amazingly, the 8m tonnes used in 2019 was similar to levels last seen in 1769. By wild coincidence, 1769 is the year James Watt got the first patent for his steam engine" Dr Simon Evans

5. Oops... "If you were writing a book and needed to find out how red clothes dye is traditionally made, you’d probably start with a simple Google search. At least, that’s what John Boyne, the author behind The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas says he 'must have' done when it emerged that several fantasy ingredients from The Legend of Zelda have appeared in his most recent book, A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom." I'm still very much looking forward to reading the book!

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ps. There won’t be a Five Things next week, but usual service will resume the following week.

This week’s Five Things…

1. An excellent conversation between Derek Sivers and Shane Parrish on the Farnam Street podcast.

2. I like a Taylor Swift album!

3. This talented brother and sister duo used to attend Rock Schools. Such a great cover.

4. Mrs. America (currently streaming on iPlayer) is a fascinating look at the fight for sex equality in 70s America. Amazing cast.

5. Freaky fish!

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