Curated recommendations
The Vault
Things I've found genuinely good and would recommend to anyone. Videos, books, music, films, places, and the occasional mental exercise. No filler. Only things that stuck with me.
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A song, a film, a book, a weird YouTube clip, a place worth crossing a city for. If it actually hits, it may end up in here.
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YouTube
Film yourself at your worst.
Shared by Rutvik
Raw and uncomfortable in the best way. The kind of honesty most people avoid because it actually works.
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YouTube
The Curse of Being Ambitious
Shared by Rutvik
The video that puts words to that restless feeling you can't shake. If you've ever felt like wanting more is both a gift and a burden, this one's for you.
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YouTube
nothing, except everything.
Shared by Rutvik
Bookmarked, rewatched, sent to friends. The kind of video you think about days later.
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YouTube
Dave and Ally's Song (Extended Version w/ Speech)
From the show Dave
Hard to explain why this hit so hard. Just watch it. You'll either get it immediately or you won't.
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YouTube
Carmy's 7-Minute Monologue
The Bear · FX
Seven unbroken minutes of a man unraveling about what excellence costs. If you've ever been obsessed with being great at something, this will feel like a mirror.
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YouTube
Manchester by the Sea — "You Can't Just Die"
Manchester by the Sea
Casey Affleck delivering the most gutting scene in modern cinema. No music, no tricks. Just grief that doesn't know where to go. I wasn't ready.
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YouTube
Robin Williams' Speech — Good Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting · Miramax
The park bench scene. "You're just a kid." Robin Williams at his most quiet and devastating. This is the scene that made me understand what acting can be.
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YouTube
David Foster Wallace and the Problem of Loneliness
Video Essay
A video essay that articulates something you've felt but couldn't name. About connection, isolation, and why being truly seen by another person is the hardest thing there is.
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YouTube
After Life — Grief
After Life · Netflix
Ricky Gervais sitting on a bench talking about his dead wife. No punchline. Just the rawest two minutes about loss you'll ever see. Keep tissues nearby.
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YouTube
Moving into My Dream NYC Studio
Vlog
Something about watching someone build their first space in New York. The excitement, the small details, the way a city apartment becomes a home. Cozy and aspirational.
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YouTube
Good Will Hunting — "Do You Like Apples?"
Good Will Hunting · Miramax
The most satisfying comeback in movie history. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck wrote this when they were nobodies. The confidence is infectious. How do you like them apples.
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YouTube
The Beginning of Everything.
Shared by Rutvik
A video about origins. Where things start. The kind of existential wonder that makes you stare at the ceiling for a while after. Beautiful and unsettling.
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YouTube
Whiplash — Let It Happen
Whiplash
The final scene set to music. Pure catharsis. Everything the movie builds toward, released in one explosive drumming sequence. You'll want to go practice something immediately after.
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Book
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Donald Miller
The book that coined the idea of living a better story. Miller literally restructures his life using narrative principles. This is the origin of storymaxxing, if we're being honest.
Book
Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir
A lone astronaut wakes up with no memory on a mission to save humanity. The friendship that develops is the most human thing I've ever read in sci-fi. Go in blind.
Book
Rendezvous with Rama
Arthur C. Clarke
Hard sci-fi that respects your intelligence. A mysterious alien ship enters the solar system and we just... go look at it. The restraint is the brilliance.
Book
When Breath Becomes Air
Paul Kalanithi
A neurosurgeon diagnosed with terminal cancer writes about what makes life worth living. Read it in one sitting. Had to put it down and stare at the ceiling for twenty minutes after.
Book
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor Frankl
Frankl survived the Holocaust and came out with a framework for finding purpose in suffering. The first half is devastating. The second half gives you tools to carry forward.
Book
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Eric Jorgenson
Distilled wisdom on wealth and happiness. I re-read sections of this constantly. The mental models are sticky.
Book
Psycho-Cybernetics
Maxwell Maltz
The original self-image psychology book. Written by a plastic surgeon who realized changing people's faces didn't always change how they saw themselves. Foundational.
Music
Boiler Room Set
Fred Again..
The set that broke the internet. Watch the crowd lose their minds. This is what it looks like when electronic music becomes a spiritual experience.
Music
I Will Follow You into the Dark
Death Cab for Cutie
Acoustic guitar, one voice, and a promise about the afterlife. The kind of love song that doesn't need production. Just truth.
Music
Kind of Blue
Miles Davis
The album that made me fall in love with jazz. Put it on when you're cooking, working, or just existing. All of Miles, really. Start here, then never stop.
Music
SICKO MODE
Travis Scott
Three songs stitched into one. The beat switches are violent in the best way. This was the soundtrack to an entire era.
Music
Sweet Caroline
Neil Diamond
BUM BUM BUM. You know the words. Everyone knows the words. The greatest singalong song ever written and I will not be taking questions.
Music
Pink Pony Club
Chappell Roan
Pop perfection. The hook buries itself in your brain and lives there. The kind of song that makes you want to drive somewhere with the windows down.
Music
Come Home the Kids Miss You
Jack Harlow
The whole album. Honestly, all of Jack. He raps like he's having a conversation and somehow that makes it better. First Class is the highlight but every track holds.
Music
Everything by Jigitz
Jigitz
An artist I can't stop recommending. Every track has this texture that's hard to describe. Just start from the top and let it play.
Music
Everything by Samsa
Samsa
Spoken word meets lo-fi meets poetry. Samsa disappeared from the internet but the music lives on. "Anthropocene" is the one that got me.
Music
Brazil
Declan McKenna
Indie rock that sounds like a summer you haven't had yet. The chorus is massive. Put this on any playlist and it immediately makes it better.
Music
Everything by Zach Bryan
Zach Bryan
Country-folk that hits whether you grew up on a farm or in a city. "Something in the Orange" is the gateway. Then you're in for all of it.
Music
Everything by Lauv
Lauv
Pop with feelings. "I Like Me Better" is the obvious one but the deep cuts are where he really shines. Great for late-night drives.
Music
I Ain't Worried
OneRepublic
From the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack. Pure confidence energy. The kind of song that makes you feel like everything's going to work out.
Music
Can't Take a Joke / Pain 1993
Drake
Two different vibes, same energy. Drake at his most effortless. These rotate in and out of every playlist I make.
Music
Motion Sickness
Phoebe Bridgers
The kind of songwriting where every line lands. If you've ever been angry at someone you still care about, this is the song.
Movie
Movie
Interstellar
Christopher Nolan
The docking scene. The time dilation scene. The bookshelf. A film about space that's really about what we'd sacrifice for the people we love.
Arrival
Denis Villeneuve
The best sci-fi film of the last decade. It's about language, time, and grief disguised as an alien movie. The ending destroyed me in the best way.
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Movie
Good Will Hunting
Gus Van Sant
Robin Williams in the park bench scene. That's it. That's the recommendation. Watch it and then watch it again.
Movie
Whiplash
Damien Chazelle
Is greatness worth the cost? The final scene is the most intense five minutes in cinema. J.K. Simmons is terrifying. You'll think about this for weeks.
Movie
Top Gun: Maverick
Joseph Kosinski
A legacy sequel that had no business being this good. Real jets. Real G-forces. Tom Cruise proving that movie stars still matter. The beach football scene alone.
Movie
Cars
Pixar
Comfort-watch perfection. Lightning McQueen learning that speed is not the same thing as a life well-lived, Radiator Springs nostalgia, and a soundtrack that makes the whole thing feel like a summer road trip with a heart.
Movie
The Banshees of Inisherin
Martin McDonagh
Funny, lonely, petty, devastating. It somehow turns a tiny falling-out into a full existential crisis about friendship, purpose, and what kind of mark you're leaving behind.
Movie
The Founder
John Lee Hancock
One of the sharpest business movies around. Ruthless, instructive, and weirdly energizing if you care about ambition, leverage, franchising, and how empires actually get built.
Movie Series
Kung Fu Panda movies
DreamWorks
Way better than they needed to be. Funny, warm, surprisingly wise, and genuinely moving about identity, discipline, and growing into the version of yourself you keep doubting.
Movie Series
The Incredibles movies
Pixar
Still the coolest superhero world anyone has built on screen. Family dynamics, style, pacing, and just enough melancholy under the surface to keep it from feeling disposable.
Movie
Marty Supreme
Josh Safdie
Timothee Chalamet as a table tennis hustler. The Safdie brothers' energy meets ping pong. Unhinged in the best way.
Movie
Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan
Three hours that feel like ninety minutes. The Trinity test sequence is the best thing Nolan's ever shot. Cillian Murphy disappears into the role completely.
Movie
The Martian
Ridley Scott
The most optimistic survival movie ever made. Matt Damon sciences his way off Mars and somehow it's funny. Proof that problem-solving is its own kind of heroism.
Movie
Tamasha
Imtiaz Ali
A film about performing a version of yourself until you forget who you actually are. The Corsica scenes are gorgeous. Ranbir's breakdown is painfully real. This one hits different if you've ever felt stuck in a life that looks fine on paper.
Movie
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Zoya Akhtar
Three friends. Spain. Skydiving, deep-sea diving, bull running. The ultimate "life is short, go do the thing" film. I've watched it a hundred times and the ending still gets me.
Movie
Barfi!
Anurag Basu
A mostly dialogue-free love story carried entirely by Ranbir Kapoor's physicality and heart. It's tender, funny, and completely original. Bollywood doesn't make them like this anymore.
Movie
Love Aaj Kal
Imtiaz Ali
The original, not the remake. Two timelines exploring how love works across generations. The ending is bittersweet in a way that feels honest.
Movie
Fukrey
Mrigdeep Singh Lamba
Pure chaos comedy. Four guys, a dream lottery ticket, and Bholi Punjaban. This is the movie you watch with your friends at 1am and can't stop quoting for weeks.
Movie
Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan
War told through time, sea, and air. Almost no dialogue. The tension is suffocating in the best way. Hans Zimmer's ticking clock score is relentless.
Movie
Inception
Christopher Nolan
The hallway fight. The spinning top. Dreams within dreams. Still the best original blockbuster of the century. I've had conversations about this movie that lasted longer than the movie itself.
Movie
Is This Thing On?
Bradley Cooper
Quietly wrecking in the best way. A stand-up comedy movie that is really about divorce, reinvention, and trying to become a person you can still respect halfway through your life.
Movie
Pirates of the Caribbean
Disney
Adventure movies are supposed to feel like this: swagger, myth, cursed gold, ocean fog, and Johnny Depp doing something so specific it turned the whole franchise into its own weather system.
Movie
A Complete Unknown
James Mangold
A music biopic with actual electricity. It works because it feels less like a museum piece and more like watching someone become dangerous enough to change the culture around him.
Movie
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Ayan Mukerji
The Manali trip that launched a thousand group travel plans. Bunny's arc from restless wanderer to someone who learns to stay is basically my biography.
Movie
Manchester by the Sea
Kenneth Lonergan
Grief that doesn't get resolved neatly. Casey Affleck carries the weight of a man who can't forgive himself. The most honest portrait of loss I've seen on screen.
Movie
Dune
Denis Villeneuve
Villeneuve turned the "unfilmable" novel into a visual masterpiece. The sandworm scenes alone are worth seeing on the biggest screen you can find. Part Two is even better.
Show
Suits
USA Network
Harvey Specter is the blueprint. The first four seasons are peak legal drama with more swagger per scene than should be legal. You'll start wearing suits to the grocery store.
Show
Ted Lasso
Apple TV+
A comedy about a football coach that's actually about kindness, belief, and being the kind of person you'd want in your corner. Season 1 is perfect. "Be curious, not judgmental."
Show
Kim's Convenience
CBC / Netflix
Lighthearted, quietly funny, and way better on character development than people give it credit for. The family chemistry carries everything. You watch it for the humor, then stay for the warmth, the immigrant-family dynamics, the small emotional turns, and how easy it is to spend time with these people. Pure comfort TV.
Show
The Bear
FX / Hulu
A fine dining chef runs his dead brother's sandwich shop in Chicago. Shot like an anxiety attack. The single-take Christmas episode is one of the best hours of TV ever made.
Show
Industry
HBO
If Succession and Euphoria had a baby that worked in finance. Absolutely unhinged pace, great writing, and somehow gets better every season.
Show
For All Mankind
Apple TV+
What if the Soviets reached the moon first? Alt-history that spans decades and gets more ambitious with every season. This is the space show I've been waiting for.
Show
Counterpart
Starz
J.K. Simmons plays two versions of himself across parallel dimensions. Slow-burn spy thriller that's smarter than it has any right to be. Criminally underrated.
Show
Succession
HBO
A family of billionaires destroying each other for a media empire. Every character is terrible and you can't look away. The dialogue is Shakespearean in the most unhinged way.
Show
Silo
Apple TV+
Ten thousand people live in an underground silo and nobody knows why. The mystery unravels beautifully. Rebecca Ferguson carries this with such quiet intensity.
Show
Money Heist
Netflix
The Professor's plans are absurd in the best way. Spanish heist drama with characters you'll actually care about. "Bella Ciao" will be stuck in your head for months.
Show
Billions
Showtime
Hedge fund power games. Damian Lewis vs. Paul Giamatti trading verbal punches. The early seasons are addictive if you're into power dynamics and finance.
Show
Friday Night Lights
NBC
Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose. Ostensibly about high school football in Texas but really about community, marriage, and growing up. Coach Taylor is the father figure TV needed.
Show
After Life
Netflix
Ricky Gervais as a man who lost his wife and decides to say whatever he wants. Brutal and tender in equal measure. The bench scenes will break you.
Show
Dave
FX / Hulu
Lil Dicky's semi-autobiographical comedy about trying to make it as a rapper. Way funnier and more emotionally honest than it has any right to be.
Show
Masters of the Air
Apple TV+
The spiritual sequel to Band of Brothers, set in the skies over Europe. The bombing run sequences are visceral. Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan are incredible.
Show
Reacher
Prime Video
A giant man solves crimes and breaks things. Alan Ritchson is the perfect casting. Turn your brain off and enjoy the ride. Peak comfort TV.
Place
Austin, Texas
Favorite city in the US
Live music around every corner, tacos that change your life, and a vibe that's equal parts weird and warm. This city just gets it. If I ever leave Chicago, it's for here.
Place
Pacific Beach
San Diego, CA
My happy place. Walk the boardwalk, grab a coffee, watch the sunset. PB has this effortless California energy that makes every problem feel smaller.
Place
Blue Bottle Bench, Wolf Point
Chicago, IL
A bench by the river near the Blue Bottle in Wolf Point tower. Summer mornings with a flat white, watching the city move. My version of meditation.
Place
La Jolla Cove
San Diego, CA
The most beautiful stretch of coastline in Southern California. Crystal clear water, sea lions everywhere, and cliffs that make you feel tiny in the best way.
Place
Petco Park
San Diego, CA
The best ballpark in America. Perfect weather, downtown views, and a craft beer garden behind the outfield. I've been here for a clinch game. Electric.
Place
Paycor Stadium
Cincinnati, OH
Home of the Bengals. Who Dey. The riverfront setting is underrated and the energy on game days is primal. This is church on Sundays.
Place
Elephant Room
Austin, TX
A basement jazz bar on Congress Ave. Tiny, dark, live jazz every night. Walk down the stairs and the city disappears. This is where Miles Davis would hang out if he lived in Austin.
Place
Little Italy Farmers Market
San Diego, CA
Saturday mornings. Fresh produce, street food, live music, ocean breeze. The most San Diego thing you can do and it's free to walk around.
Place
Balboa Park
San Diego, CA
Go on a Tuesday afternoon when it's empty. The architecture, the gardens, the free museums. The best urban park in America and it's not close.
Place
The Chicago Lakefront Trail
Chicago, IL
18 miles along Lake Michigan. Run it, bike it, walk it. Do it in October when the leaves are turning and the wind hasn't gotten angry yet.
Place
Comedy Cellar
New York, NY
The holy ground of standup comedy. Tiny room, legendary performers dropping in unannounced. You might see someone famous testing new material on a random Tuesday.
Place
Bungalow
New York, NY
Chelsea's best kept secret for a night out. Good crowd, great music, and the kind of energy that makes you stay way later than you planned.
Place
PingPod / Acebounce
Chicago, IL
Table tennis is the great equalizer. Walk in alone, leave with new friends. Acebounce has the cocktail bar vibe, PingPod is pure competition. Both are perfect.
Place
Celtic Crossings
Chicago, IL
The best Irish pub in the city. Proper pints, live trad music some nights, and bartenders who remember your order. The kind of bar where you end up staying five hours.
Place
Gies College of Business
Champaign, IL
Where it all clicked. Late nights in the study rooms, group projects that taught me more about people than business, and the building where I figured out what I wanted to do.
Place
St. Xavier's Loyola Hall TT Academy
Ahmedabad, India
Where I learned to play table tennis. The sound of balls echoing off concrete walls, coaches yelling corrections, and the first time I won a match I had no business winning.
Restaurant
Veracruz All Natural
Austin, TX
The migas taco is a religious experience. Austin's taco scene is absurdly competitive and this place still stands above. Go early — the line is worth it.
Restaurant
Home Slice Pizza
Austin, TX
New York-style slices in the heart of Texas. The line wraps around the block for a reason. Grab a slice and eat it on the patio on South Congress.
Restaurant
L'industrie Pizzeria
New York, NY
The burrata slice changed my understanding of what pizza could be. Williamsburg institution. Every New Yorker has an opinion on the best slice — this is mine.
Restaurant
Leon's Bagels
New York, NY
Hand-rolled, kettle-boiled, perfection. The everything bagel with scallion cream cheese is the platonic ideal. I've driven across boroughs for this.
Restaurant
Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!
Chicago, IL · Lincoln Park
Spanish tapas done right. The patatas bravas, the sangria, the energy. Perfect for a group dinner where you order everything on the menu and split it all.
Restaurant
Ciccio Mio
Chicago, IL
Italian that makes you forget you're in the Midwest. The pasta is handmade, the ambiance is perfect for a date, and the tiramisu is non-negotiable.
Comedy Club
Zanies Comedy Club
Chicago, IL
Chicago's comedy institution. Two-drink minimum, tiny tables, and comedians close enough to roast you. The best weeknight activity in the city.
Restaurant
Oud Coffee
Chicago, IL
Turkish coffee in the West Loop. The atmosphere, the slow pour, the way they make you sit and actually be present. My favorite coffee shop in the city by a mile.
Restaurant
Merry Ann's Diner
Champaign, IL
The UIUC late-night institution. 2am pancakes after a night out on Green Street. Every Illini alum has a Merry Ann's story. Mine involves waffles and questionable decisions.
Restaurant
Shree Mehfil
Ahmedabad, India
The restaurant that set the standard for Gujarati thali. Unlimited refills, every dish hitting differently, and the kind of meal that makes you grateful to be from where you're from.
Restaurant
Carvel Ice Cream
Williston Park, Long Island, NY
Soft serve and Fudgie the Whale cakes. This specific location on Long Island is childhood in a cone. Some things don't need to be elevated — they just need to exist.
Restaurant
Pizzeria Uno
Chicago, IL
The original deep dish. Yes, it's touristy. No, I don't care. The spinach deep dish is transcendent. Go once and you'll understand why Chicago fights about pizza.
Restaurant
Jai Ho Indian Kitchen
San Diego, CA
The kind of Indian food that makes you miss home in the best way. The paneer tikka masala here is what I benchmark everything against.
Exercise
The 10-10-10 Rule
Suzy Welch
Before making a decision: how will I feel about it in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years? Kills anxiety on the spot. I use this weekly.
Exercise
The Observing Self
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
Close your eyes. Notice your thoughts without engaging with them. You are not your thoughts, you are the thing watching them. Three minutes of this changes your entire day.
Exercise
Pre-Mortem Analysis
Gary Klein
Before starting a project, assume it failed. Now work backward: why did it fail? Surfaces blind spots that optimism hides. I use this at work constantly.
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