1) The Pragmatic Programmer (Andrew Hunt & David Thomas) - A classic. It covers best practices, communication, problem-solving, and continuous learning. What I really like about this is that it prioritizes how to continuously adapt and learn in a very changeable industry.

2) Microserfs (Douglas Coupland) - 1990's throwback fiction short novel that was terrific about fictitious life working at Microsoft and early riffs about computers' subconscious that I prefer to any William Gibson cyberpunk.

3) How to Write Unmaintainable Code (Ruud van der Graaf) - A fun "anti-guide" that shows you how to write the worst, most confusing code possible. You're going to notice some schadenfreude recommendation from me that focuses on "fails." This is a good one.

4) Clean Code (Robert C. Martin) - Another staple for programmers. It stresses writing readable, maintainable, and professional-grade code. There's lots on the basics like naming conventions, functions, classes, and refactoring with practical examples. Ideal both for new developers who want to learn quality and craftsmanship and for lifers who need a tuneup.

5) Peopleware (Tom DeMarco & Timothy Lister) - A less technical book about the human side of software development. It explores team dynamics, workplace culture, productivity, and what truly enables high-performing engineering teams. It might seem generic but you're going to recognize some artchetypes you work with in here.

1) Cold Fusion (YouTube) - Well-produced videos from a guy named Dagogo Altraide. Good stuff about the industry, AI, trends and some practical stuff. Good mix of humor and insight.

2) @sergiocilli (Instagram) - A recent series now from a film/tv director, Sergio Cilli. Brilliant and hilarious demonstrations of poor AI acting. Go there right now on Instagram.

3) Fireship (YouTube) - Centers on web development, cloud, tools, and frameworks. Fast-paced, informative videos that explain complex topics (like Docker, Firebase, React, AI tools) in 5-10 minutes. Perfect for developers who want to stay current without long tutorials.

4) Coding Horror (Mastodon) - Why follow: One of the co-founders of Stack Overflow, Jeff Atwood shares practical insights and silly takes on programming.

5) CommitStrip (Instagram) - Good old fashioned comic strip centering on software development. Think Dilbert but with better art and better ideas.

1) Fake Steve Jobs https://www.fakesteve.net/ - A terrific late 2000's blog from Daniel Lyons that absolutely spot-on nailed the pomposity and ridiculousness of real Steve Jobs. Was eventually expanded to a great book if you want to get your hands on that. Book: here on Amazon

2) Paul Graham - https://www.paulgraham.com - Co-founder of Y Combinator, writes long-form essays that have influenced modern startup and tech culture. His posts dig into entrepreneurship and societal observation. Not frequent, but sometimes that’s a really good thing for bloggers to wait until they have something to say.

3) Joel Spolsky - https://www.joelonsoftware.com - Joel Spolsky (co-founder of Stack Overflow and Trello) writes practical essays about building software and managing developers. Though the blog is older, the archives are for anyone in tech-especially his more known posts like "The Joel Test" and "Things You Should Never Do." Pretty funny.

4) The Daily WTF - https://www.thedailywtf.com - A fairely well-known blog showcasing real-world software horror stories, coding disasters, and absurd IT decisions. Satisfies your schadenfreude at how bad real code can get. Great for developers who enjoy "so-bad-it's-hilarious" content.

5) Coding Horror - https://www.blog.codinghorror.com - Jeff Atwood (co-founder of Stack Overflow) is pretty damn funny about the struggles of coding, user experience, and tech culture. Some posts are more serious or functional, but his tone, analogies, and storytelling style make even serious topics entertaining. Start with "Your Password is Too Damn Short", a fan favorite.

1) MIT Technology Review - https://www.technologyreview.com/ - In my opinion, the gold standard for online tech news and longform articles. The New Yorker of tech. Or what Wired could have been. I think this is the last physical magazine I subscribed to before ditching all for websites. If there's one takeaway from this article it's to go spend some time there. Highest possible recommendation.

2) Popular Science - https://www.popsci.com/ - Intended for a broad audience. A broad range of articles on tech, engineering, space, and consumer gadgets. While less technical than MIT Tech Review or even Wired, it’s understandable and engaging for general readers, often including experiments, guides and lots of visuals. You likely can find a link here to send to your aunt or uncle.

3) Ars Technica - https://arstechnica.com/ - Deep-dive tech analysis, science, policy, and IT -- lots of what MIT Tech Review and Wired does, though in my opinion not as good as MIT and a little better than Wired.Detailed reporting for technology professionals and enthusiasts. They’re not afraid of a longer article.

4) Wired - https://www.wired.com/magazine/ - We all know about these guys, so in some ways I’m not sure why I’m bothering to include it in this list. Tends to stay with "big picture" stuff. I’ve taken a couple of shots at them here but they do the thankless job of walking the line between developers and lay people.

5) Dr. Dobb's Journal - https://web.archive.org/web/20250204013614/https://www.drdobbs.com/ - A little more functional for developers with programming tutorials, languages, tools, and software practices. Though it ceased print publication in 2014, Dr. Dobb's contained deep dives into coding techniques, algorithms, and practical advice that are pretty timeless. I’ve got an artchive.org link here.

1) Plain English with Derek Thompson - Derek Thompson hosts two great podcasts but start with Plain English, where he explores big ideas in technology, culture, politics, and science with guests. First heard him on The Bill Simmons Podcast and not only great with tech info but an original thinker with a take.

2) Hanselminutes - Focus is on oftware development, productivity, and new technologies. Frequently gets really interesting guests from a variety of tech-related areas.

3) Something Ventured - Full disclosure: I did the music for this podcast. But my friend Kent Lindstrom runs a great podcast. He’s from the VC world of Silicon Valley and a veteran of major online companies but comes at interesting stories about things tech and otherwise through a Silicon Valley lens, and he’s also not afraid of some gossipy fun.

4) Software Engineering Daily - This stays pretty serious, covering software architecture, programming languages, and tools. I don’t always listen to each episode or always to the end, but parachute in when they have an issue you care about.

5) CodeNewbie - While ostensibly all about beginner-friendly programming stories and developer experiences, this one really satisfies my hunger for funny coding fails and awkward onboarding stories.