Happy New Years everyone!

As 2025 winds down, I wanted to share some of my favorite things I read and listened to this year. Had a blast recording 13 podcasts, all listed below, which seems like the right tempo for me. Let me know if you have any favorites from 2025!

What I Read in 2025

I read a ton of novels this year. Below are a few that stuck with me.

  • Great Circle
    Recommended to me by Julian Modiano on the podcast this fall. An epic that stretches across time and geography.

  • Flesh
    Graphic, uncomfortable, narrative style is wild.

  • Wild Dark Shore
    Picked up randomly after my wife Carter returned from yet another small-town bookstore with an armful of novels. I opened this one without expectations and didn’t put it down.

  • Culpability
    A modern, thoughtful take on AI and moral responsibility. Recommended by my mom. Written by a UVA professor.

  • The Life Impossible
    Matt Haig is exceptional at threading fantasy into modern life without breaking believability. I loved How to Stop Time or The Midnight Library, and this one didn’t disappoint.

  • Next to Heaven
    James Frey’s newest novel. Whatever you think of Frey, he can write. Bright Shiny Morning is still one of my favorites.

  • Here Beside the Rising Tide
    There are hundreds of books about the Grateful Dead. This one stands out, tracking the arc of the band (and Jerry Garcia) alongside the cultural and political currents around them. I listened to the audiobook and then didn’t stop listening to the Dead for a month.

The through line seems to be flawed people, big backdrops, and the longest shadow of decisions made once and lived with forever.

Records That Got the Most Play

These are albums that came out this year that I wore out.

  • The Barr Brothers – Let It Hiss
    The follow-up to Queens of the Breakers (a personal top-10 album). Folk, rock, African rhythms—nothing flashy, nothing obvious. Slow burners. Album of the year for me.

  • Sam Fender – People Watching
    Discovered randomly during a layover in March. Listened for the next 8 hours on repeat. Catchy without being cheap. Springsteen-esque voice, melodic guitar lines. Curious to see where he goes next.

  • Antibalas – Hourglass
    I started an afrobeat band in college after seeing Antibalas live. Rooted in Fela Kuti’s legacy but unmistakably Brooklyn, Antibalas has stuck with me for the past 25 years. No vocals on this album, elite “background” music, better than Khruangbin.

  • Piers Faccini & Ballaké Sissoko – Our Calling
    Gentle, melodic, patient. Piers’ Nick Drake–adjacent songwriting paired with Ballaké’s kora (an African harp-like instrument) is so tender and heartbreaking.

And on most mornings at home, the family defaulted to Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift or Man I Need by Olivia Dean to start the day.

Podcasts I Released This Year on The Marketing Factor

Happy New Years!

If you’re new, here’s how you can follow along with my weekly podcast:

→ Weekly episode on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple. Every Wednesday.

→ Short-form content on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

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Until next time,

Austin

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