Dear Reader, It's been a delightful week without travel for me and lots of stories and catching up as I prep for next Tuesday's big announcement of the winners of the Non-Obvious Book Awards. To start, Australia's ban on social media for kids under 16 went into effect this week to mixed reactions. I share three reasons why I think it's definitely not "pointless," as some are suggesting. On driverless cars, the data shows roads are much safer when humans are NOT driving ... but there are a few...
25 days ago • 8 min read
Dear Reader, I'm in Indonesia this week for an event and sorting through more stories than usual, given the gift guide from last week and plenty of travel time on my 30-hour journey over here. The big news this week that many of you probably already saw was the announcement of our Longlist Selections for the Non-Obvious Book Awards. Those were the Top 100 Non-Fiction books of the year selected from well over 1200 entries that our team received in the past months. I'm the crazy traveler who...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Dear Reader, Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers in America - and those who celebrate around the world. I'll be hosting my family here and the day after is Black Friday - when everything goes on sale. So this week you'll see my annual Non-Obvious Holiday Gift Guide with a few products that caught my eye throughout the past year. As I share in the full presentation, it's tempting this time of year to focus on all the stuff (and deals) that you can find. Remember the best gift you'll ever be...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Dear Reader, All the entries are in and we're just two weeks away from making the first big announcement of the 2025 Non-Obvious Book Awards! We will share the top 100 non-fiction books of the year on December 2nd, followed by the announcement of the final winners on the 16th. Next week, we'll have a special Non-Obvious 2025 Gift Guide edition of the newsletter where I share some of my picks for the best deals of the season for the most non-obvious people in your life. Lots of special...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Dear Reader, I spent the early part of this week joining a fascinating event called The Gathering of the Ghosts. Far from a metaphysical meetup, this was the second annual conference designed solely for ghostwriters—an often- misunderstood profession. Through two days of sessions and networking, these "ghosts" talked about how they collaborate, what it takes to write in the voice of someone else, and the role AI is likely to play in the future of their profession. See my article below about...
about 2 months ago • 7 min read
Dear Reader, I'm here in Chicago this week for the world's largest gathering of women working in technology. Thanks to an invitation from the team at Anitab.org, I have the chance to share some ideas for how to become a non-obvious thinker and the art of better connecting with people. It's part of a track called "long-term career strategy" which I really love. Given how popular and useful it has already been with all the other speakers and programming, it's clear more events should create...
2 months ago • 6 min read
Dear Reader, This week’s Non-Obvious Insights dives into what’s real, what’s fake, and what’s next. From the revelation that much online outrage might actually be driven by bots to Nike’s futuristic “bionic” sneaker, we explore how technology and perception are reshaping reality. Jeff Bridges sparks a debate on how long we should give creative work before calling it a flop, and Bill Gates challenges conventional climate metrics by suggesting innovation—not just emissions cuts—may hold the key...
2 months ago • 8 min read
Dear Reader, Last week was the first announcement for SXSW 2026 Keynotes and Featured Sessions and many of you already saw that I'll be debuting another new talk - and this one will be different from anything I've done before: 5 Non-Obvious Secrets of Human Connection (For Love & Profit). I was thinking about it earlier this week, as I was in Austin for another event and looking at the hole in the ground where the Convention Center used to be. It's a time of reinvention for the city and if...
2 months ago • 8 min read
Dear Reader, Welcome to all the new connections and readers I met this week! It's been a whirlwind of gatherings starting Tuesday morning when I spoke at the NVAR Annual Convention for local realtors in the Northern Virginia area, then joined RedThreadX in DC to imagine the future of military operations as part of the AUSA Annual Army Show. Later that evening and yesterday, I was in Loudoun County with a community of tech founders, operators and investors participating in a $1 million dollar...
3 months ago • 6 min read