The Monday Media Diet with Reggie James

On Kierkegaard, SYSTEM Magazine, and Byung-Chul Han

Reggie James (RJ) has been a super sharp voice on product, tech, and culture I came across long ago. Check his Substack here. I’m happy to have his recommendations this week. -Colin (CJN)

Tell us about yourself.

I'm Reggie James. My wife and I live in Brooklyn and attend Redeemer Presbyterian. I'm the oldest of 3, raised in the Poconos in Pennsylvania, and graduated from Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania in 20217. I am a writer and designer and sometimes investor. I previously co-founded and served as CEO of Eternal, an AI media and gaming platform that was recently acquired. Recently, I co-created a book called "Hardware 2024". Touring that around has been one of my main activities during this time of relative rest. And I try to (as consistently as possible) write about technology, culture, and faith on my Substack.

Describe your media diet.

I start nearly every day in devotion with my wife.

Then I spend about a 3rd of my day in theology, specifically a lot of talks on youtube and usually in the morning.

The rest of my day is a mix of tech podcasts and trying to find deep cut design talks from creatives I really respect.

Once my wife comes home from work, we might watch something silly like Seinfeld.

On the weekends we love going to the movies.

When I bike around the city, it is the main time I listen to music.

I will say, because I'm enjoying post-founder life, I'm consuming significantly more media than I typically do.

What’s the last great book you read?

The Present Age by Søren Kierkegaard

What are you reading now?

I recently joined the Gotham Fellowship. Which is a 9-month intensive fellowship that interrogates our relationship with faith and work. I'm starting this book "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer as part of the pre-reading. He's a deeply compelling guy. Basically this German Lutheran pastor who was an anti-Nazi dissident and later gets executed by the Nazi's in 1945. Simply fearless.

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

Reading strategy is such a funny way to put it. Funny enough, beyond books, my favorite publication is probably SYSTEM Magazine. But I really just crate dig for some key interview that I want to read. I love love love, character studies. I love interviews. I love films and movies that are truly about character development. My favorite show is Mad Men and my favorite film is There Will Be Blood. Just for context.

So my "reading strategy" tends to create rabbit holes. I'll just sit and read the interview, but I'll take notes on all the references they make. And then start going all over Arena, YouTube, and digging for other interviews / places they may have written thoughts down.

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

Byung-Chul Han - particularly "Psychopolitics", it'll rock your world. No other thoughts there.

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

MIST by Nao Enomoto

It reminds me how creative software can truly be.

Plane or train?

When I can train, I love it and always do it. About to take the train down to DC tomorrow. Whenever I'm in Europe, I always train to at least one other city. Same with my most recent trip to Japan, we took the train a bunch.

But there's an undeniable magic of flying and realizing you can see so much of the world. That feeling of zapping into a completely foreign culture, nothing beats that.

What is one place everyone should visit?

Sub-Saharan Africa. I spent a good chunk of time in Zambia doing mission work with my family. Going out into nature there, going on safari... it is truly otherworldly. And then you get to appreciate how absolutely wonderful this Earth is.

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

I feel like everything I'm into is the result of one massive, branching, intersecting rabbit hole. I'll read something like "On The Road" and then start to wonder, what comes after the beatniks and why was that even happening in the first place. Which will simultaneously send me down a World War 2 documentary and reading Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Then the documentary will make me think about the art and style of documentaries and I'll remember that time my friend showed me "Century of the Self" -- and that will kick off me watching 12 hours of Adam Curtis films. Meanwhile Tom Wolfe leads me to a gonzo-journalism spliff and I'm watching interviews on writing with Hunter S Thompson.

I'm about 9 years into a rabbit hole since I started un-educating and re-educating myself after college. And I don't intend to ever come out of it. (RJ)