Here are some books and podcasts I discovered (or still actively listening to) that I highly recommend:
Books
(Goodreads links)
Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track: I highly recommend all of Will Larson's books, and this one is no exception, a huge collection of learnings and guidance for anyone looking to become an effective technical leader
The cold start problem: Really interesting read and insights on how many successful companies have built network effects from 0 (the cold start)
Chip War: An incredible insight into how semiconductors permeate every piece of technology (and modern life) and have come to define and shape the geopolitical landscape of the modern era, and how a tiny handful of companies control modern technology
Careless People: A fascinating and shocking, if occasionally a bit sensationalist, account of Sarah Wynn-Williams experience at Facebook and the callousness, lack of ethics and accountability of the leaders the world often pedestals and the unseen and terrible impact these people can have on the world
Dungeon Crawler Carl Series: I accidentally found out about this books and the existence of "LitRPG" genre this year. It feels like a chaotic mix of Douglas Adams universe and The Hunger Games made for for D&D fans - peak holiday reading.
Neuromancer: I've had Neuromancer on my list for a very very long time, finally got around to read it, and this book for me aged like fine wine, it's genre defying fame is well deserved and you can almost pinpoint exactly where everyone else borrowed from it over the last 40 years (!) for its portrayal of retro-futuristic 'cyberpunk' corporate dystopias.
Podcasts
(Spotify links)
Making Money and Many Happy Returns are two of - if not the most popular two - 'personal finance' podcasts in the UK. The content is interesting while being educational for anyone who wants to improve their financial literacy, it's hard to find content like this that is not trying to sell you something or trick you with cheap schemes. Genuinely interesting and educational.
Lenny's Product Podcast: I'm generally highly skeptical of these type of technical interview podcasts because they often and very obviously portray a narrative that is very "rose tinted glasses", however while not every episode is great, Lenny's interview style is one of the best ones out there and he manages to pull some real interesting stories and practical insights out of his guests
Peterman Pod: I discovered this podcast this year and liked it more than I expected - if you can get past the cringy "President of the world by age 12" clickbait style titles - the actual content of the interviews are interesting, there are many stories of real engineers career progression and experiences including successes, failures and lessons that feel genuine
Syntax: Syntax is a podcast focused on the Web, it's my main way to get up to speed on web lately and it's just a really fun listen, there is no agenda, nothing is being sold to you, just a few guys having fun. Great easy listen if you're interested in what's happening in the web space.