My favorite books, podcasts and resources from 2025
by Zach Kiehl
As we close out the year, I’ve been thinking about the ideas that stuck with me. I’m lucky that my job lets me bounce between worlds: physiology, software, public safety, behavioral science, and the messy human parts of leadership. Reading helps me make sense of it all.
Below are a few standouts from 2025. They’re not themed on purpose, yet together they sketch out a picture of what this past year felt like: building things that matter, communicating with clarity, raising humans while trying to stay human, and chasing better ways to learn.
If something here sparks your curiosity or pushes you toward a new habit, even better.
Books and Ideas That Stuck With Me
Factory for Good by Alex Bean
Bean takes you behind the curtain of what it really means to build with purpose at scale. It’s part “how-to” and part candid field guide on aligning profit, purpose, and culture. I found myself nodding at the parts where he talks about the invisible work that makes an organization reliable and the focus on positive impact and charitable giving. Anyone building lasting teams, families, or tools will find this “purpose-driven living” guide a grounding and inspiring read.
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
It’s eternal and it still holds up. Carnegie’s reminders about listening and earning trust have aged better than most leadership frameworks you’ll find today. When you’re trying to bring new technology into tough environments, the soft skills matter just as much as the software. This book is still one of the best primers on both.
Juggling Glass and Rubber Balls by Joel Peterson
This one hit home. Peterson’s reflections on fatherhood and leadership feel like mentorship in book form. His metaphor on which “balls” in life bounce and which break is simple and unavoidable. It helped me rethink how I set boundaries and how I show up for my kids, my team and my customers without letting any become an afterthought.
How I Built This (Podcast)
I listen to this on flights, in rental cars, and whenever I need a reminder that every “overnight success” is built on years of trial and error. The founders featured on the show are refreshingly honest about what didn’t work and how they adapted. It’s a good antidote to the highlight-reel version of entrepreneurship.
Dreaming Languages (Platform)
A more niche pick, but a refreshing and enjoyable take on language learning that maps to how we all learned our first language: comprehensible input. Despite the challenges of balancing three roles of father, husband, and CEO, this platform is helping me achieve my goal of becoming fluent in Spanish to better serve our customers and users. I started testing some of the ideas while practicing Spanish in Costa Rica over Thanksgiving, and it made the whole process feel lighter and more intuitive. If you’re curious about language cognition or looking for a smarter way to learn, this platform is worth exploring.
I hope one or two of these finds a spot on your nightstand or in your queue. Here’s to a new year full of bold ideas, good conversations, and maybe a little more sleep — ideally the kind that helps you learn a new language.