What I’ve Been Reading (And Why It Broke My Brain)
Spotify conspiracies, Mexico City myths, and a New Zealand legend or two.
I want to keep things fresh, as fresh as possible. So this week, here’s a round-up of things I’ve been reading, watching, and thinking about lately. I hope you enjoy this stuff as much as I did!
I recently took out a paid subscription to two Substacks; The Honest Broker by
and Uncharted Territories by .Ted Gioia’s work speaks for itself. I was especially impressed by this post about Spotify (I swear it’s not clickbait):
Just a hint about Substack. When I share my posts on social media, I always get people telling me it’s paywalled when it’s not. Just click the ‘x’, or there should be a button that says something like ‘not now’ and you’re good to go.
So many people I know listen to Spotify, but I never have. I had the precursor to YouTube Music, Google Play or whatever it was, because there was a hack where you could just upload your own music and listen to it for free, and I think that’s when everyone started listening to Spotify (suckers :P).
Of course that wasn’t the only article of Ted’s that I like, in fact you may have already come across this one:
If not, give it a read and thank me later. And while you’re at it, here’s a great conversation featuring Ted.
And of course, there’s always this too:
Uncharted Territories
I came across Uncharted Territories because
(who has a blog and YouTube I have been following religiously for a few years now) linked to it way back when. The article I think was specifically this one about Seaflooding:
Basically, it broke my brain.
Since then, I binge-read a lot of Uncharted Territories’ free stuff. It was my most read Substack by far in 2024, so signing up for the paid stuff was a no-brainer. I especially enjoy any of Tomas’ stuff to do with geography (? Topography? What do you call it?), like this one on how Mexico City came to be:
It wouldn’t be a Kiwi Yamabushi post without at least some Japan stuff:
And of course, Tomas does very timely things like this:
And the follow up:
Shonai Overview
wrote an impressive overview of the Shonai region where I live. Cameron lives in Sagae on the other side of Mt. Gassan, home to one of my favourite peaks and former Dewa Sanzan; Murayama Hayama.
Jimi Jackson Podcast
This might be out of left field, but I found this interview with New Zealand comedian Jimi Jackson particularly inspirational. To hear first-hand the sort of upbringing both Jimi and the host Dave Letele had, and then to compare that with where both are now is just… watch it and find out! (It’s also unabashedly New Zealand)
Things Become Other Things Become Other Things
Finally, my copy of Things Become Other Things finally made it to me. I first heard about this book from John McBride (yes, the actual “Book of John”) during yamabushi training last year. John had me hook line and sinker, and I gotta say, it’s really living up to the hype.
P.S.
Last week’s post was my most viewed… ever, I think. I have no idea why, must be the catchy title or something. Email alone more than 1,700 people read it, which is strange because I don’t have 1,700 people on my mailing list (yet). It probably means one person read it 1,700 times or something.
The Japanese 'Tradition' That Refuses to Die
Japan is somehow both hyper-efficient and completely inefficient at the same time.
P.P.S. My YouTube Channel Reached 1,500 Subscribers
Yay! This in spite of me not posting anything there for a while, which will soon change, I promise! Something for you to look forward to :)
Daily Yamabushi for The Week
Daily Yamabushi posts for the week of June 14 to 20, 2025.
Read Daily Yamabushi at timbunting.com/blog. Everything I make is free of charge if you know where to find it. I’d start here.
Thanks for the mention!
Great reads there Tim! On the economics of music and creative industries I’d highly recommend the work of Cory Doctorow, particularly his book Chokepoint Capitaism.