Summer fun: Best read, watch & listen

At a time we’re searching for deeper understanding and faster action, AICD members have shared their top recommendations for 2022–23.

Summer 2022 is here and we are looking forward to catching up on reading, listening and watching over the holidays. Here’s what AICD members are recommending…

Ann Sherry AO FAICD, chair Queensland Airports, Enero Group, UNICEF Australia

Inquiring Minds

This weekly podcast explores “the space where science, politics, and society collide.” Hosted by neuroscientist and musician Indre Viskontas, it’s committed to using critical thinking and science to help listeners better understand the world around them. They have discussions with lots of different and challenging people. For example, episode 227: Peter Rubin — Virtual Reality is Changing Human Connection opens up conversations and issues we read about, but never really think much about. Mind-opening and interesting.

Noel Pearson Boyer Lectures 2022

A compelling and eloquent assessment of the challenges of reconciliation and recognition. Challenging and masterful in content — a must watch/listen.

Graham Bradley AM FAICD, chair GrainCorp

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Family

By Patrick Radden Keefe

An absorbing and well-written history of the origins of the devastating worldwide opioid epidemic and the role of the Sackler family in harnessing Madison Avenue promotional techniques to push drugs for Big Pharma to the medical profession.

The Brilliant Boy: Doc Evatt and the Great Australian dissent

By Gideon Haigh.

Not just for lawyers, it tells the fascinating story of the 1938 sole dissenting High Court judgement by HV Evatt that was later adopted around the common law world that extended the tort of negligence to people indirectly but foreseeably harmed by wrongful or negligent action beyond those directly harmed. In this case, to the pain and suffering of the mother of a seven-year-old boy drowned in a drain negligently left in a dangerous state by Waverley Council. It was an important legal development for company directors because it expanded the reach of company and even director liability, the perimeters of which are still being explored in cases today such as those alleging foreseeable harm from climate change. Very readable book full of social history of pre-WWII Australia.

Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath

By Bill Browder

A sequel to the unput-downable Red Notice chronicling the legal machinations in the US to freeze assets stolen by Putin’s kleptocrats.

Jacqui McGill AO GAICD, non-executive director Gold Fields, 29 Metals, New Hope Group

Speed and Scale: An Action Plan for Solving our Climate Crisis Now

By John Doerr

A detailed and pragmatic perspective on how to decarbonise the world.

The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict Between the US and Xi Jinping's China

By Kevin Rudd.

Meticulously researched and insightful look at China–US relations

Arlene Tansey FAICD, non-executive director TPG Telecom, WiseTech Global, Aristocrat Leisure

Converge: A Futurist’s Insights into the Potential of our World as Technology and Humanity Collide

By Dr Catherine Ball GAICD

It’s difficult to explain technology and convergence in plain English that non-technology boffins can understand, but Catherine Ball has cracked the code. Converge is a book we all need to read.

Dr Amanda Rischbieth FAICD, chair National Blood Authority Australia, non-executive director Duxton Farms

Purpose and Profit: How Business can Lift up the World

By George Serafeim

An impressive blend of academic rigour and pragmatic business exemplars that builds a strong case of materiality and offers a realistic road map for people at all levels of an organisation to reimagine their roles as purpose-driven business leaders who can deliver profit and have an enormous impact on society.

Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change

By Sir Ronald Cohen

As a pioneering philanthropist, venture capitalist, private equity investor and social innovator, who is driving forward the global Impact Revolution, Sir Ronald Cohen’s vision and insights present a compelling case for rethinking how governments and the private sector direct economic measures and deployment of capital in such a way that it creates the maximum positive social impact.

Melinda Muth FAICD, chair Australian Scholarships Foundation

Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-based Guide to Exceptional Performance

By Felix Oberholzer-Gee

An excellent guide for making better strategic decisions — ones that create value — because when value is created, financial success follows.

After Hours podcasts by the TED Audio Collective

Youngme Moon, Mihir Desai and Felix Oberholzer-Gee discuss current events that sit at the crossroads of business and culture.

Lindley Edwards MAICD, CEO AFG Venture Group

The Prince podcast series by The Economist

Xi Jinping is one of the most powerful people in the world. But the real story of China's leader remains a mystery. The Economist's Sue-Lin Wong explores how he rose to the top, and what it will mean for China — and the rest of the world — when he breaks convention to begin his third term.

Huberman Lab

Dr Andrew Huberman is an American neuroscientist and associate professor at Stanford University School of Medicine who has made contributions to the fields of brain development, brain plasticity, and neural regeneration and repair. This weekly podcast discusses how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, behaviours and health.

The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Art of Disruption

By Sebastian Mallaby

An award-winning financial writer, Mallaby draws on interviews with leading names in global tech and venture capital to reveal how VC works, particularly in backing some of the world’s most successful companies. He uses high-profile stories to underpin his narrative about how venture capitalists have shaped our economy and social lives.

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art

By James Nestor

We’ve forgotten how to breathe properly and it’s affecting our health and mental resilience. Released in 2020, by award-winning science writer Nestor, this book is a historical, scientific and personal examination of breathing that turns the conventional wisdom around our most basic biological function on its head.

Michaela Healey MAICD, non-executive director Free to Feed

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

By Oliver Burkeman

A thought-provoking reminder about how we use our time and invest our lives. Written by a journalist who has authored columns on productivity for many years, it’s an anti-productivity book that will have readers reflecting on the micro and macro choices we make.