The Saturday List - November 15, 2025

What I'm Watching, Reading, Listening to, and Rediscovering

Watching: Two Shows With Buzz, The Chair Company and Pluribus

In this case, I haven’t started either yet. No spoilers, please. And part of the mystery behind both shows is…the mystery behind both shows. In other words, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT EITHER ONE IS ABOUT.

Here’s the trailer for Pluribus.

Here’s the trailer for The Chair Company.

Both have 100% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. Subscriptions required (AppleTV for Pluribus, HBO for The Chair Company).

Reading: Ten Global Trends, by Ronald Bailey and Marian L. Tupy

Sometimes, it’s just a matter of perspective. Sure, things may appear bad “out there” on a few different levels, but Messrs Bailey and Tupy decided to take a contrarian view of things, and the result doesn’t just look good on your coffee table; this is a really positive book.

The authors scour research reports and study what is really happening with the world, its people, its economy, and its resources.

Take the environment as just one example: between 1982 and 2016, the global tree canopy increased by an amount that’s greater than the land area of Alaska and Montana combined (865,000 square miles). And, interestingly, thanks to higher temperatures in mountainous regions, trees can, in some cases, grow in higher altitudes.

Maybe things aren’t all that bad, eh? Grab the book at this Amazon Link.

Listening To: Geese, The Band That’s Having A Moment

“Geese” is the name of a band from Brooklyn. I’d try to define their sound but would run out of hyphens after the first “Post-Punk-Meets-Indie” suggestion and just send you a couple YouTube links.

Like this one, the song “Taxes” that the band performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live. (Certain to end up on Dave’s Top Songs of 2025 post, coming next month.)

Or this one, “I See Myself,” from a couple years back.

And this one, “Crusades.”

Here’s their Wikipedia entry and the band’s website, if you’re looking for more info.

Rediscovering: An Unconventional Ad From Burger King

One of the most interesting advertising experiments ever was called “Whopper Virgins.” The Burger King chain worked with ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky 16 years ago to find people that were…so “off the grid”…that they had never had a hamburger, let alone a Burger King Whopper.

Seven minutes or so of joy. Worth a watch.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to subscribe if you haven’t yet. Cheers, and see you next week.