It's a Wonderful Life, Five of My Favorite Things, and Looking Ahead to 2025
FIELD RESEARCH, VOL. 2, ISSUE #6
Hey Fam,
Welcome back to Field Research, a newsletter by Amran Gowani featuring informative and entertaining takes at the intersection of art, business, and culture.
In today’s issue I’m veering off script and keeping things festive and merry. I review and recommend It’s a Wonderful Life, which I saw for the first time at Chicago’s Music Box Theater, divulge five of my favorite sources for delight and despair, and offer heartfelt thanks to all of you as the satirical slog called 2024 comes to a close.
Enjoy the show.
I. TRACK OF THE DAY
II. GET SMARTER: HOLIDAY EDITION
These are five of my favorite things, which have helped make me the cheery misanthrope I am today. This list can also double as a half-assed gift guide for your least favorite friends and family members.
Hardcore History: Start with a legendary, world-shaping event, add an engrossing storyteller, and sprinkle in a generous dose of the macabre, and you’ve got one of the best history podcasts of all-time. Host
has been going strong for almost twenty years and, like a fine wine, keeps getting better with age. The first episode of his ongoing series covering the rise of Alexander the Great is a banger, and his past work on Genghis Khan, World War I, the Achaemenid-Persian Empire, and the rise of Imperial Japan has permanently penetrated my blood-brain barrier. New podcast episodes are free to download, but you can and should purchase his entire back catalog HERE.The Economist’s Christmas Double Issue: A decade ago, before The Economist’s noticeable rightward drift and its editorial decision to adjudicate every facet of the culture war, I was a huge evangelist for the paper and encouraged everyone to check it out. These days, the regional reporting remains top-notch, but the op-eds are cynical and craven and the organization’s overarching worldview feels much like the British Empire itself: obsolete. Alas, the annual Christmas Double Issue is still a treat, featuring long-form investigations on the weird and wonderful from across the globe and — with apologies to The New Yorker — the best writing anywhere. While I no longer recommend an annual subscription to The Economist, the print version of the Christmas Double Issue should hit magazine racks next week and is always worth a look.
If Books Could Kill: You know those horseshit books you see in the airport and at Target, which are written by opportunists and frauds, and are based on pseudoscience, cherry-picked anecdotes, and feelings masquerading as facts? Hint: Gladwell. The hosts of this podcast, Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri, read those dreadful books for us, dig up proper sources and actual facts, and viciously and violently eviscerate them for the good of humanity. This podcast is educational, cathartic, and goddamned hilarious. Highest possible recommendation. Learn more and sign up HERE.
FT Edit: The plebe version of The Financial Times includes eight curated stories each weekday. It’s my new favorite source for information and at just $4.99 per month by far the best deal in news. The typical daily round-up includes an eclectic mix of geopolitics, financial markets analysis, and cultural insights and, whether you agree with their center-left editorial takes or not, you can at least rest assured these are serious people attempting serious journalism. I certainly can’t say the same for any U.S.-based newspaper, and don’t get me started on the “independent journalists” operating on this platform. Check out FT Edit and subscribe HERE.
Audible: Yes, yes, I know Amazon is the epitome of all evil and we should never support them, but Audible existed long before its subjugation by the House of Bezos and still delivers an excellent user experience. At $14.95 per month, the value prop has always been suspect. But with Spotify bludgeoning into the audiobook space, Amazon has introduced new pricing tiers, bundled Audible with other services (e.g., Amazon Music), and frequently offers incredible deals for new or returning members. For example, right now you can snag three audiobooks for $2.97. After a multi-year hiatus, I re-subscribed in October and have immensely enjoyed listening to Martyr!, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Lucky Jim. Karla’s Choice, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, Empire of the Sun, The Alchemist, and The Hobbit await.
III. WATCH: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
A Christmas classic, and widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, It’s a Wonderful Life follows the trials and travails of George Bailey, a smart, ambitious, good-natured man whose charitable demeanor and familial circumstances confine him to the small, fictional town of Bedford Falls, New York. His brother becomes a college football star and war hero, his friends move to New York City and strike it rich, but George gets stuck dutifully managing his late father’s humble banking business and wistfully watches as the world passes him by. One fateful Christmas Eve, when a clumsy mistake escalates into a full-blown crisis, George seethes in frustration and laments his lifetime of missed opportunities. On the verge of taking his own life, he’s visited by the unlikeliest of apparitions.
What made me happy: The dialogue, the humor, the wit, the pacing, the editing, the snappiness — man, they truly don’t make ‘em like they used to. Watching this film is a total delight, and the black and white vintage makes the superb performances and understated scenery all the more colorful. In particular, James Stewart’s turn as George Bailey is inspired, teeming with heart, whimsy, and despair. The emotions he conveys — good, bad, and ugly — are visceral and practically jump off the screen.
As a history buff (see above), I also enjoyed the references to the globe-altering events which occur throughout the narrative. The 1918-20 influenza pandemic, the 1929 stock market crash, the Great Depression, and World War II all factor prominently into George’s story. In a strange way, it was likewise comforting to see people’s fundamental needs, wants, and desires — stable housing, financial security, and a loving family — haven’t really changed over the ensuing eighty years. Finally, and most importantly, the movie’s underlying message will melt even the iciest of hearts. Our lives are all interconnected, whether we like it or not, and the decisions we make — big and small, selfish and selfless — create lasting consequences for the people around us.
What made me sad: I know better than to romanticize the halcyon days of yesteryear, but the social cohesion and collective trust on display in this film hearken back to a more civilized time1. These days the thought of a financial institution actively supporting its community — and doing the right thing in spite of its fiduciary obligation — feels downright absurd. Worse still, following the Covid-19 pandemic, and given the extreme partisanship and polarization of the past two decades, the idea that humans would rally around a common cause also struck me as fanciful. Worst of all, the film’s cartoonishly evil antagonist, Henry Potter — a Robber Baron and slum lord who stands astride Bedford Falls like a colossus — comes off as quaint in comparison to today’s truly nightmarish standards. Potter’s a villain in the purest sense, but on our present list of the biggest scumbags and shitheels destroying society, he wouldn’t crack the Top 100.
Final verdict: It’s a Wonderful Life is an all-timer for a reason. Catch this fantastic film with your friends and family this holiday season.
Where to watch: I was fortunate enough to enjoy my first ever viewing on the big screen, but you can stream for free, or rent for money, on several predatory platforms.
IV. A POEM ABOUT: CHRISTMAS
Title: Indomitable spirit
Cutthroat corporations can
commercialize
and commoditize
til the cows come home.
Their callousness
and cynicism
can't kill
the true meaning of Christmas.
V. PRE-ORDER: LEVERAGE
My debut novel Leverage — a propulsive, darkly satirical, and grimly topical2 Wall Street thriller — will be published by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, on August 19, 2025.
That’s still 249 days away, but it’s never too early to get a jump on your 2025 holiday shopping.
If you’re planning to purchase and read a copy of Leverage, and you’re willing to snag a pre-order, you can do so at these fine (or not-so-fine) retailers:
Your local independent bookstore3
For better and worse, pre-orders make a big difference. Strong pre-launch interest generates enthusiasm and excitement within the literary ecosystem, which means more potential marketing muscle from my publisher.
Thanks in advance — and always — for the support!
VI. SOMETHING: HEARTFELT
I launched Field Research 951 days ago and — aside from crafting and selling Leverage — writing this newsletter has been the highlight of my professional career.
Of course, that speaks volumes about the atrocious industries and abysmal bosses I’ve suffered during my strange and surreal life, but I’d also like to think it’s a testament to the quality of the work I’ve done and the breadth of the community we’ve built.
As a scientist by nature, this newsletter has always served as my digital laboratory. I’ve experimented with a wide array of styles, formats, and story concepts, collaborated with brilliant and fascinating people, and fucked around and failed at monetization — multiple times.
I’ve learned a ton along the way, and Field Research will continue to evolve in the future4. But the one thing which has remained constant is the satisfaction I derive from the craft of writing. I love this shit, and I love this little online niche, and as long as my extraordinary and indulgent wife is willing to float my ludicrous literary lifestyle, I plan to keep pumping out this ludicrous and profitless newsletter5.
Field Research is a so-called labor of love, but it’s also one of necessity.
Beset by algorithms, enshittification, and oligarchs, social media is broken. Over the past two years I’ve reluctantly created and enthusiastically killed accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads. I’m not famous, willing to operate in bad faith, or desperate enough to show off my dad bod, which means those tools can’t, or won’t, work for me.
Beset by advertising, clickbait, and oligarchs, traditional media is broken. I have a better chance of playing for the New York Knicks than publishing a piece of humor or fiction in The New Yorker, and even if I could land a once coveted writing credit from an august publication like The New York Times or The Atlantic, it’d amount to fuck all in terms of money or downstream book sales.
The digital ecosystem and the digital economy are a goddamned mess, but this crazy little online newsletter is mine, and this crazy little community of readers and writers is ours.
As of today, Field Research has almost 1,500 subscribers6. If Leverage finds the kind of commercial success I hope — and believe — it can, that figure could climb much higher.
Whatever happens down the line, I won’t forget that you incredible peeps were the early adopters and the original gangsters. Roughly 20% of the readers who received this post have been riding alongside me for over two years, and about 55% of you maniacs have been enjoying the madness for more than one. That’s gratifying and humbling.
In many ways, the fun’s just getting started. I sincerely appreciate all of you for supporting me on this exciting and unpredictable odyssey.
VII. UP NEXT
Given the crunch of the holidays and the copy-editing schedule for Leverage, I won't publish again until mid-January. In the interim, I’ll be active on Bluesky and LinkedIn, so follow me in those places for your daily dose of nihilism.
Looking ahead, I’m confident 2025 will be another fantastic year for Field Research. I’m cooking up tons of killer “content” plus I’ll be reviewing several kickass novels, including surefire bangers from
in May and in June.Of course, barring catastrophe, on Tuesday, August 19, I’ll graduate from “unemployed rando with an email newsletter” to “unemployed rando with an email newsletter and a hella fun and darkly funny novel for sale at your favorite bookstore.”
Demise of The Republic notwithstanding, it’s gonna be a wild AF year.
I hope everyone has a safe, enjoyable holiday season.
As always, stay frosty out there.
Amran
You know, when Whites lived in peaceful segregation, Black women couldn’t vote, and “sexual deviancy” was a crime punishable by death.
Hacks following the recent debacle in the U.S. health insurance industry will undoubtedly describe my novel as “prescient.”
Mark my words: I will never monetize this newsletter again. Disclaimer: In the unlikely event I become super famous, I reserve the right to cash in my cachet by monetizing a different newsletter.
If Substack self-immolates, Field Research will migrate to the platform du jour. If the U.S. government strips my birthright citizenship and ships me back to Pakistan, I’ll locate my long lost cousins and publish in exile.
That’s a ten-fold increase since launch day!