The Monday Media Diet with Alban de Pury

On trains, the New Yorker, and a fun Wordle spinoff

Alban de Pury (ADP) is a longtime friend of WITI. He’s started the non-alc beer brand Al’s (which is great). I’m happy to have him with us today. -Colin (CJN)

Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in the French speaking part of Switzerland, spent over a decade in London and have been calling NYC home since 2012. After working for record labels, music venues and one large vodka brand, I launched AL’s with my wife Fanny in 2020. We brew a classic American non-alcoholic beer that’s inspired by your favorite dive bar lager. I’ve always enjoyed a few cold beers to help me relax and enjoy the moment. But as I grew older, the alcohol started having the opposite effect. So one day I decided to stop drinking, as I felt a clear head was best for me. However, the desire for a beer, surrounded by friends in a pub or a neighborhood bar did not go away. I strongly feel there should always be a great tasting NA option available even in the most alcohol centric places. To make you feel welcome and comfortable whenever you decide to take a break (whether for a round, evening, month or lifetime) That’s how AL’s came to be and we’re seeing a lot of success in this fast growing category. 

Describe your media diet. 

I enjoy reading the New Yorker with breakfast (the only media I read in print, aside from books) . It’s a tradition that was instilled in me by my partner Fanny. That is followed by the NYT on the phone. Not very original I know. Followed by BBC News and 20Mins.ch to catch up on Swiss news. In the evening, I like listening to podcasts while doing dishes…those can include Le Point J on RTS (to catch up on European / Swiss topics) Huberman Labs (for the hypochondriac / health optimizer in me), How I Made This or Work Life with Adam Grant for work & career hacks, Taste Radio or VinePair podcast for beverage industry news. And Today In Focus by The Guardian or The Daily by NYT for current topics. I do love watching the Swiss or French TV evening news when I go back to visit family.

What’s the last great book you read?

‘Blanc’ by Sylvain Tesson. A French travel writer who writes about his journey skiing/hiking across the Alps from France to Slovenia. He has a way of turning a monotonous trip (all snow white) into a poetic journey full of reflections on life. 

What are you reading now? 

I’m diving in and out of ‘The Creative Act: A way of being’ by Rick Rubin. Aside from being a legendary music producer I admire, he’s been able to write a book that abounds with wisdom on how to approach life in a more meditative way. Advice I will always look for.

What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication? 

The only print edition I read is The New Yorker. I skim through the short news stories, I dive deep into the big ones, read all the cartoons and I always skip the short fiction. I’m actually not a fan of short fiction, which is strange because when it comes to reading books I tend to prefer fiction, as it's more escapist. 

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

“The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas. The most epic journey and one of the most engrossing novels I have ever read. 

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What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone? 

Not sure if it’s the best and a healthy habit… but I’ve been compulsively refreshing through the apps AirVisual and AirNow to monitor air quality in NYC since the Canadian fire smoke…AirVisual actually gives you a ranking of the most polluted cities right now (where you don’t want to be) and a full map. 

Plane or train? 

Definitely train. I’m a nervous flier so I find plane journeys more stressful. Especially those nighttime ocean crossing flights where I feel like I’m stuck in a tight flying metal tube with random people. The flying experience seems to be getting worse. I can truly relax on trains while watching the landscape go by. I have fond memories of Swiss train journeys and InterRail vacations with friends traveling across France and Spain when I was a teenager. I think that as I get older I’d like to travel by plane less and less and I'd be happy to rely on trains entirely. 

What is one place everyone should visit? 

When driving across the US for our honeymoon, we spent a few nights in an earthship, an energy self-sufficient housing structure in the desert near Taos and the Rio Grande in New Mexico. It was a magical place with amazing light and endless horizons that showed the vastness of this country. 

Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into.

I love reading wikipedia pages of towns and countries. Let’s say I recently drove past or stopped by Barstow in California ( I once did) I’ll want to know everything about this town. I love geography and maps. I could spend hours on them. I’m fascinated by the fact that wherever you go there are people who have made their lives there. I play a game called Worldle (a Wordle spinoff)  daily where you have to guess a country based on its shape. Once I find which country it is, I love to wikipedia it. It relaxes me. (ADP)