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Creative Currents: What's in Our Ears and On Our Shelves
A peek into the books and podcasts sparking ideas, fueling creativity, and keeping our team curious.
I’ll admit it, I’m not the best at finishing a book or podcast. But our team is a constant source of curiosity and inspiration. During our daily discussions, they’re always mentioning something they’re reading or listening to, which I find pretty inspiring. So it’s no surprise that their reading lists and queued-up playlists are full of unexpected gems, always sparking fresh and exciting ideas. Take a look at what’s been fueling their creativity lately, you might just discover your next favorite too.
-Charles Parr / CINQ CEO
I’ve been listening to Roman Mars' 99% Invisible since high school, after discovering his TED Talk on poorly designed city flags. It was my first glimpse into how thoughtful design shapes our world—and how deeply we connect to it. If you love sharp storytelling and hidden meaning in the everyday, this podcast is a must.
Susanna Clarke's Piranesi is a dizzying glimpse into infinity. Set in a vast, otherworldly House, it unravels a mystery that challenges faith and memory. Tightly paced and cinematic, I could hardly put it down—even to eat. Once you're in Piranesi’s world, it’s nearly impossible to leave.
Hosted by Nate DiMeo, each episode is a beautifully crafted, often poetic window into forgotten corners of history. It’s soft-spoken, emotionally rich, and sneaky in its brilliance. If you like storytelling that lingers long after the final note fades, this one’s a must.
Patrick Bringley trades his high-powered desk job for a security guard uniform at the Met and discovers how art can quietly save your life. It's a memoir about grief, stillness, and finding meaning in the overlooked.
This is neurologist Alice W. Flaherty's' fascinating dive into the neuroscience of writing and creativity. Prompted by her own bout of hypergraphia following deep personal loss, Flaherty explores what compels us to write, what blocks us, and how brain disorders like epilepsy or bipolar disorder affect literary output. Drawing from writers like Kafka and Plath, she blends medical insight with literary history.
Here’s what intrigues me: Hypergraphia is often seen as a pathology, but what if it’s actually a form of intellectual leverage? In marketing, we call it R&D—rapid ideation. Maybe compulsive writing isn’t just output, but a way the brain tests and refines models at scale. Quantity could be the engine behind quality—and creativity is a compounding asset.
The Economics of Everyday Things dives into the strange, fascinating systems behind ordinary industries: vending machines, mobile home parks, car colors, fonts, airplane food, and more. Host Zachary Crockett unpacks it all through quick, fact-filled episodes with wild interviews and dollar stats. If you love weird markets and hidden economics, this show is an addictive, insightful listen.
Penguin
The World for Sale reads like a Bond film penned by an economist. Farchy and Blas unveil the shadowy puppeteers of global trade, commodity traders moving empires with a phone call. It’s slick, sobering, and irresistibly revelatory. Makes you realize: the world ain’t run on politics or morals. It’s oil, metals, and deals made in whispers.
I don’t always make it through a whole book or podcast, but Design Matters is my cheat code for quick inspiration. Just a few minutes in, and Debbie Millman’s got me seeing the world differently. She’s thoughtful, creative, and somehow always says exactly what I didn’t know I needed to hear.
