Enthusiastic Recommendations — August 15, 2025

If you’ve listened to any of my podcasts this week, you’ll know my back pain is still continuing. It’s been a pretty frustrating week in that regard. I’ve been doing my best to take it easy, follow expert advice, and I think things are starting to improve — but it’s been a challenge. I’m especially thankful to Adina for picking up so much of the load at home and with the baby, as I’ve been mostly useless in that department. I have tried to make the resting time productive though, and I’m excited for you to hear the next State of the Workflow episode next week — edited from the bed over the past few days.

We were supposed to be on a mini-vacation this weekend, but had to cancel. It’s a bummer, but I guess this is life with a baby anyway — plans can change at any moment, and we have to adapt. I’m going to focus on getting in some quality family time this weekend where I can, as a bit of a make-up.

🎙️🎂 I need your help! Next week Relay turns 11, and Stephen and I will be hosting our annual Q&A — which will be released for all listeners. But we need your Q’s to A! If you have any questions about what it’s like to run a podcast company in 2025, please send them our way.

This week’s recommendations:

• We spoke about this on Connected — and you’ve probably seen it recommended elsewhere — but Cassette by Devin Davies is a truly wonderful iOS app. It helps you resurface old videos from your Photo library in a delightful way, emulating the look and feel of VHS home movies. I’ve spent so much time this week watching clips from Sophia’s first six months, and it’s incredible to see how much she’s grown. This is one of those rare apps that actively creates moments of joy. I love it.
• I’m about halfway through season 4 of The Bear. I’ve always loved this show. I know seasons 3 and 4 have had more mixed reviews after such a strong start, but my appreciation hasn’t changed. At its core, it’s about people relentlessly striving for perfection in their craft — and the personal sacrifices that come with it. I find that endlessly fascinating, and I’m really enjoying this season so far.
• One of my favourite creators over the past couple of years is Brendon Bigley. I first came across him with NPC, then became a listener of his video game podcast ‘Into the Aether’ (which just posted a six-hour PSP retrospective that I’ve just started). Recently Brendon relaunched his own podcast and Patreon, Wavelengths. I didn’t think I had room for another show in my already-overloaded queue, but here we are. If you care about video game culture, I highly recommend it.

Have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you out there on the information superhighway.