Recommendations

I regularly ask members of the community for their recommendations, and have collated some of their suggestions below.

Music

Find the G.E.N Spotify playlist here, which features hundreds of songs from every genre (don't forget to stick it on shuffle).

Videos

The G.E.N YouTube playlist is here, showcasing all the weird and wonderful videos we've recently enjoyed.

Books

A list of Fiction and Non-Fiction books that members have loved.

Websites

Five websites members rate highly:

• Marginal Revolution A blog from economist Tyler Cowen that updates every single day - full of interesting posts on every possible topic.

• The Modern House 'You wouldn’t think I would recommend an estate agent’s website, but I consider this one practically pornographic (although much safer to browse in the office). It’s basically very nice, very expensive post-1920 houses & flats for sale, and updates almost daily.'

• Skyscraper City 'Focuses on construction around the world. There are sub-pages dedicated to each individual city, and then within the cities, every single construction project whether it be a skyscraper or a tram extension will have its own page. Members post photo updates of how progress on project X in city Y is going, so if you're interested in a specific tower or project, you can follow it more or less live.'

• WalkHighlands 'A great, detailed resource for walking in Scotland with all different types of routes with handy descriptions and photos. Was regularly referring to this when I did the Arran Coastal Way last year.'

• Letterboxd 'A great site for film lovers, as it lets you log and rate all of the films you've seen and discover new films to watch via other people's lists (including a number of top critics who are on there).'

Apps

Five apps that members recommend:

• Merlin Bird ID free app for birdwatchers (best bit is that you can record the sound of a bird and the app will instantly identify it).

• iReal Pro costs £20 but an amazing resource for anyone who wants to learn/play jazz. Has every chord chart you could possibly need, and you can play along to these songs via the solid backing tracks.

• Seatfrog Lets you bid on train upgrades and you can usually manage to secure a first class upgrade for about £15, which makes a longer train journey much more enjoyable.

• Airalo Helps you buy an e-sim for the country you're going to (e-sims work for newer phones: roughly iPhone 11 and later) and you will have a data package ready to go when you land, all for local prices.

• Perplexity Free AI search engine that's better than Google - pop in any question and it gives you a concise answer alongside its sources.

Podcasts

Five podcasts that members love:

• The Lex Fridman Podcast My go-to podcast for anything science and tech related - especially AI. Lex interviews the top minds of our time.

• The Blindboy Podcast - 'Take your pick on episodes - it’s the best, and the way his mind works is simply mesmerising. High art.'

• In Moscow's Shadows 'This is a podcast by Mark Galeotti who really knows his Russia stuff and has written several books about Russia ranging from the Chechen wars to the Russian Mafia. The podcast is great for really intricate detail on the Russian political system, political figures and just generally what’s going on in Russia.'

• Men In Blazers 'A great podcast for all football lovers.'

• Heavyweight 'Anyone familiar with This American Life will recognise the style of these podcasts. Not a coincidence as the host, Jonathan Goldstein, was a TAL regular. I love this podcast and I recommend it to anyone who will listen.'

Products

And some of our members' favourite products:

• Nuby Rapid Cool 'Game changer for making any formula feeds on the go, or indeed at home, when your gremlin child decides they're hungry at an inadvertent moment. Uses magic science in a crazy way so your boiling hot formula goes to room temp in two minutes.'

• Chemical free insect bite itch relief thing 'I get bitten by insects a lot whenever I'm on holiday. No amount of repellant works. I heard about these electric heat zappers and figured it was nonsense. But it works. I have used the Beurer BR60 to relieve the itch and it works instantly. So good. Have recently bought a Heat.It and haven’t been bitten since, but have heard rave reviews again.'

• Zoflora multipurpose disinfectant spray 'Not just great cleaning but a variety of scents like Mountain Air, Midnight Bloom, and Sunshine Escape that all smell divine. A few sprays and the whole house smells like you have spent the day cleaning.'

• Grenson boots 'Unisex, hard wearing, super comfortable, classic design but can be tarted up with new laces. Tip for women - buy the men's version in a size down which are exactly the same but often sold cheaper (incl 2nd hand).'

• Hultafors Talmeter tape measure (3m) 'Good quality, all metric, accurate tape measure. Lots of handy features (internal lengths, measure diameters from the circumference, marking feature, mark out arcs). Has a bit of a cult following, key features in the (marketing) video.'

• Monty Bags 'Recycled plastic tote bags - nb the colours fade significantly but hard-wearing and comfy on the shoulder.'

• Doddl Cutlery 'Had my baby using utensils pretty much instantly, so cool!'

• Whetstone - 'I have a 1000/6000 grit by Shan Zu (£30) but there are many out there. Total game changer. And if you're thinking 'oh I have a knife sharpener' and it's one of those spinny things you run the knife through - or even worse, one of those rubbish metal sticks - this is different gravy my friend. Different, mind-bendingly sharp gravy.'

• Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil 'Trendy condiments are deeply annoying. They are often severely underwhelming (see: granola butter), impossible to get and yet fantastic (see: Kerridge’s Bar and Grill's pickle ketchup) or, worst of all, American. Lao Gan Ma, however, is none of these things: an iconic Chinese chilli oil available in an endless slew of flavours, about £3 a jar - £7 for a litre at Loon Fung in Chinatown! - and the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. The MSG is palpable, sure, but it's also just a perfect bite of ma la numbness, chilli heat, and perfect on everything from porridge to a smashed cucumber salad. It is truly the one branded sauce that never leaves our weekly shopping list (and my partner doesn't even touch it.)'

• The Elderflower Lager shandy from Shandy Shack 'It's like summer in a can and only 2.5% so guilt free.'

• Manilife Cocoa Dusted Peanuts 'Genuinely disgustingly expensive, but the first time I ate them, they cured my depression (temporarily). Harder to justify now they’re not on offer, but when they are, you can bet I’ll be stocking up again.'

Places

A selection of pubs, restaurants, museums, days out and holiday accommodation that members have recommended.