People often ask me what I’m reading, watching, using, and obsessed with. For the first time, I’ve put together a comprehensive list of everything that stayed with me this year. If it’s on this list, it’s because it earned its position here in 2025.
Either it:
- Challenged my thinking
- Improved my performance
- Delivered real, measurable value in my life
Some of these will push you out of your comfort zone. Some will entertain you. All of them made a difference for me this year. I go deeper on many of these picks, including how they actually show up in my day-to-day, in a dedicated podcast episode. Listen here.
- Books & Knowledge
- Entertainment & Media
- Audio Content
- Fitness & Performance
- Nutrition & Wellness
- Productivity & Technology
- Social & Discovery
- Lifestyle & Gifts
Books & Knowledge
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
My favorite business book of all time.
I reread this every few years because most business books preach “best practices.” But in the real world, best practices fall apart the second you introduce human beings.
The issue is simple: Things are never ideal. Things rarely go as planned.
Horowitz lays out the ugly, lonely, high-stakes reality of leadership when everything is on fire and everyone is staring at you for answers. He talks about things like firing friends, making decisions that change people’s lives, accepting that hard problems rarely come with clean solutions, and more.
If you’re running a law firm (or any business), this is the operating manual for a leader. You don’t read it to feel better. You read it to be ready.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
This book got me back into reading great fiction.
I read a ton of fiction this year, and this one was a complete page-turner. I was staying up late (something you know I almost never do if you know me) because I just needed to know what happened next.
It’s about a lone astronaut who wakes up on a ship with no memory and realizes he’s responsible for saving humanity. The science is deep, the stakes are existential, and the whole story is basically a masterclass in problem-solving under extreme constraints, staying calm when everything is unknowable, and building systems from scratch in the middle of chaos.
I think I connected with this book so much because it’s kind of like entrepreneurship in a nutshell: no playbook, no guarantees, no safety net. Figure it out anyway.
I’m also pumped for the movie next year.
Entertainment & Media
F1
Here’s the thing: This isn’t even the best Formula 1 movie out there. The best F1 movie is Rush with Chris Hemsworth. If you’re a die-hard F1 fan like I am, this F1 movie will feel absolutely exaggerated and unrealistic. But sometimes you just want to go to the movies and have a good time, and this movie delivers that.
At the highest levels, it captures some concepts that apply to us as entrepreneurs:
- The margin between winning and losing is milliseconds
- Tiny execution errors have massive consequences
- The team behind the scenes matters as much as the driver up front
The lesson for law firm owners? Your success is decided in small margins. The details you think don’t matter are exactly the ones costing you big time.
Mr. Robot
This one earns a spot in my top five all-time favorite shows. Maybe even top three.
This is up there with Breaking Bad and True Detective in my opinion. It’s got five seasons, Rami Malek as the lead, and some of the best writing I’ve ever encountered.
It’s about cybersecurity, but it’s really about who actually has power, how much control technology has over your life, and where the line is between sanity and self-destruction.
I will say that this one is not exactly light viewing. You can’t turn your brain off after watching an episode. But if you want something sophisticated that punches you in the brain, start here.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
[Available on Steam | Xbox Game Pass]
What a year for gaming.
My runner-up favorite games this year were Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Death Stranding 2, and Ghost of Yotei. But this game? It came out of nowhere.
It’s by a bootstrapped French studio of ~30 developers who found their composer on SoundCloud, went to Reddit for voice actors, built it in Unreal Engine 5…and shipped one of the best games I’ve ever played.
I predicted this would win Game of the Year, and the critics agreed. The studio swept The Game Awards, taking home honors across eight categories.
The premise: A being called the Paintress paints a number each year, and then everyone that age disappears. The number keeps dropping. Your job is to stop her before it hits you.
Why it stands out:
- Strategic depth (no button-mashing)
- Skill-based combat (timing matters)
- Visually stunning (Unreal Engine 5)
- Phenomenal music (the soundtrack alone is worth it)
The game is made with love. It’s got the energy of a spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger (not related, but you’ll get the vibe). Go in completely blind so you don’t run into any spoilers.
In Waves and War
Best documentary I watched this year.
Three Navy SEALs with severe PTSD turn to psychedelic-assisted therapy as a last resort. They explore this therapy in partnership with Stanford so the university can study it scientifically.
More people in the military die by suicide than in combat (by a long shot).
This documentary is raw. It follows elite operators who did everything “right,” came home shattered, watched it destroy their marriages and lives, and fought their way back through a treatment that actually worked.
Not polished. Not political. Just real. Worth watching.
Audio Content
“Don’t Let Me Drown” by Burna Boy
My most-listened-to song on Spotify this year.
This one is the soundtrack to a lot of heavy lifts, both literally and figuratively. It’s also in the F1 movie (surprisingly great soundtrack).
Pairs well with late-night work, long drives, and “figure this out or lose” seasons.
Music runner-up: “To the Wilder” from Death Stranding.
a16z Podcast
(My favorite podcast other than The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, obviously.)
This is where you go to understand what’s coming next: tech, investing, industry shifts, and emergent trends. If you want to lead in the next decade instead of reacting to it, put it in your rotation.
Fitness & Performance
Murph Workout
Want to find out what you’re made of? Do Murph.
I started on Memorial Day and have repeated it almost every Sunday with my wife since.
Breakdown:
- 1-mile run
- 100 pull-ups
- 200 push-ups
- 300 air squats
- 1-mile run
- Optional: 20 lb weighted vest
We do it in rounds (not unbroken). Traditional is 20 rounds of 5/10/15. We do 22 rounds because 22 is my lucky number. (Crisp lore: I got 21 nos before my first yes pitching. So 22 is the breakthrough.)
It’s brutal, humbling, and honest.
There’s nowhere to hide. You can’t fake it. Excuses don’t count. Only reps do.
Do you want to be a high-performance law firm owner? Start by becoming a high-performance human.
Nike x Hyperice Hyperboot
I thought it was a gimmick. It’s not.
These shoes (if you can call them that) combine compression and heat for recovery/warmup, but you can walk in them. People obsess over “the grind,” but almost nobody respects recovery.
Reality:
- If you’re not recovering, you’re not progressing
- Fatigue hides potential
- Burnout isn’t a badge of honor; it’s a tax on your future
If you push your body hard, it’s a performance multiplier.
Yudemon HRV App
Probably my most-used app right now. I even connected with the developer and donated because it’s that good.
One of the biggest habits I picked up this year: breathwork, which sounds a little woo-woo until you do it consistently and realize it changes everything. I do 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night every single day.
But if you’re not tracking your nervous system, you’re guessing.
Tracking your HRV shows how your body is handling stress, when to push vs. back off, and whether your recovery is actually working.
This app helps you find your resonance breathing rate and gives real, scientific data to work with. I check it every morning.
Stop managing energy based on feelings and vibes. Start using actual data.
Nutrition & Wellness
AG1’s AGZ
I used to have a “complicated” sleep stack. Magnesium L-threonate, glycine, L-theanine, ashwagandha…I took all these separately.
Then AGZ comes along and puts it all in one powder. One drink replaced a whole pile of pills.
And the best part? It tastes like hot chocolate.
Simple. Effective. Done.
Last Meal by 5 PM
This might be the single most impactful change I made this year.
Take a page out of Brian Johnson’s playbook: The single best thing you can do to improve your productivity, your health, and your life is to improve your sleep.
And the single best thing you can do to improve your sleep is to have your last meal at least four hours before bed.
Why? Because one of the biggest predictors of sleep quality is your resting heart rate, and one of the simplest ways to reduce it is…not digesting a full meal while your body is trying to recover.
So if you go to bed at 10, your last meal is at 6. If you go to bed at 8, your last meal is at 4.
I picked this up from Dr. Michael Breus and his work on circadian rhythms. I was skeptical. Then I did it consistently.
My results:
- Deeper sleep
- Clearer mornings
- More stable energy throughout the day
If you track your sleep (Oura, Eight Sleep, Garmin, whatever), you’ll notice it fast: eat late and sleep suffers.
Most people say they want better performance, but won’t adjust something as basic as when they eat. This is a low-friction, high-leverage change.
Grape Uncrustables
Not everything needs to be optimized to death.
Here’s a fun one: NFL teams reportedly go through over 80,000 Uncrustables every season.
Why? Because peanut butter and jelly is a near-perfect grab-and-go energy snack, especially pre-workout.
Sometimes you just need something simple, nostalgic, and satisfying.
These hit the spot. No overthinking required.
Dubai Chocolate
This one is pure indulgence.
I didn’t even know it was a “thing.” Then it went viral for a reason.
No justification. No optimization. No biohacking. Just a rich, ridiculously good, worth-the-hype treat.
Not everything that improves your life needs to fit into a spreadsheet. Some things are allowed to just be excellent.
Crisp Apple Olipop or Pineapple Olipop (SpongeBob Edition)
If I’m going to drink something sparkling, it’s usually sparkling water…or an Olipop.
Olipop uses prebiotics, plant fiber, and botanicals rather than a ton of junk. You get the soda experience without wrecking your gut or spiking your blood sugar.
My two favorites:
- Crisp Apple. For the record, Crisp Apple Olipop did not make the list because it has Crisp in the name. That just makes it even better. It tastes like sparkling apple juice.
- Pineapple Paradise (SpongeBob Edition). The can is iconic, and it tastes great.
If you’re cutting back on sugar but still want something fun, this is an easy win.
Productivity & Technology
Opal
In 2025, focus is a competitive advantage.
My screen time this year wasn’t the worst in the world, but it was higher than I wanted.
Opal blocks distracting apps and sites during certain hours so you can protect deep work time in a world engineered to hijack your attention.
It took me from 6-7 hours/day to ~2.5 hours/day.
It’s also well designed. It connects across Apple devices, which matters when your phone and laptop are both pulling you off task.
And if you really want to unlock distractions? You have to earn it through math problems and friction that forces you to ask, “Do I actually want this…or am I just bored?”
Difference-makers:
- Fewer context switches
- Longer focus blocks
- Higher-quality output
Everybody says they’re busy. Few are actually productive. Tools like this expose the gap.
Grok in the Tesla
This is what practical AI looks like.
I use all the major AI tools: ChatGPT, Claude, etc. But Grok integrated into the Tesla feels like a real glimpse of the future.
It’s not “voice dictation.” It’s an actual conversation. Fluid. Fast. No lag.
When you’re driving, that matters. It lets you ask questions, get context, and make decisions faster…without pulling out your phone or breaking flow.
We’re moving toward AI woven into everyday environments, not just isolated apps. If you’re still treating AI like a gimmick instead of infrastructure, you’re already behind.
Social & Discovery
@newyorkturk on Instagram
This is what it looks like when the right people get famous.
Ertan Bek is a cab driver who reviews Michelin-star restaurants in New York. He shows up solo (“table for one”), pays for the meal in full, and then gets back to work driving his cab to fund the next one.
No influencer voice. No overproduced nonsense. Just honest, informed takes from someone who respects the craft.
If you care about food, hospitality, or what “top-tier” really looks like, it’s worth following.
Also: a reminder that authenticity cuts through noise. You don’t have to be everything to everyone. You just need to be relentlessly honest with your audience.
Lifestyle & Gifts
Nex Playground
The best gifts either solve a real problem or create a real memory. This does both.
Everybody remembers the Wii. This is like the Wii upgraded for 2025.
It’s an AI-powered motion gaming console with no controllers; you just plug and play via HDMI, and its camera tracks movement for games, workouts, and activities
I have two young kids and we use this thing constantly, especially on weekends. It gets everyone moving without feeling like “exercise.”
It’s built for families, but it’s also great when you have friends over and want a game night that isn’t just sitting on the couch.
If you’re looking for a gift that gets people off their asses and actually interacting, this is it.
Final Thoughts
These are the things that shaped my 2025, not because they were trendy or because they looked good on a list. Each item made life meaningfully better.
Some will resonate with you. Some probably won’t. But if even one thing on this list improves your life or pushes your thinking, it did its job.
Here’s to finishing 2025 strong and building something even bolder (and less “reasonable”) in 2026.
— Michael Mogill
