# Thorium, Quincy Jones, and OpenAI: Today’s Highest-Signal Recommendations *By Recommended Reading from Tech Founders • April 28, 2026* Balaji Srinivasan’s thorium explainer stood out for its specific learning value, Ben Horowitz’s documentary pick offered a concrete leadership lens, and Sam Altman and Elon Musk shared two very different reads. The rest of the list clusters around Balaji’s media-and-power books. ## Start here ### Sam Monella Academy video on thorium - **Content type:** YouTube video - **Author/creator:** Sam Monella Academy - **Link/URL:** Direct resource URL was not provided in the source; mentioned in [this interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql3p0i4fDyE) - **Who recommended it:** Balaji Srinivasan - **Key takeaway:** Balaji said it is essential for understanding India’s thorium and breeder-reactor progress, and said "everyone should watch." - **Why it matters:** This is the clearest technical learning recommendation in today’s set because it comes with a specific reason to spend time on it. [^1] > "Everybody should know about thorium... there’s a really good Sam Monella Academy YouTube video on thorium, which everyone should watch." [^1] ## One leadership case study to watch ### *The Greatest Night in Pop* - **Content type:** Documentary - **Author/creator:** Not specified in the source - **Link/URL:** No direct resource URL in the source; described as available on Netflix and discussed in [this interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAzLRlg0uJs) - **Who recommended it:** Ben Horowitz - **Key takeaway:** Horowitz recommended the film about the making of "We Are the World," with Quincy Jones’ leadership highlighted in the source notes as the lesson to watch for. - **Why it matters:** It turns a documentary recommendation into a practical management case study on leading highly talented, difficult people. [^2] ## Two individual reads worth saving ### Paul Graham essay at paulgraham.com/kids.html - **Content type:** Essay / blog post - **Author/creator:** Paul Graham - **Link/URL:** [https://paulgraham.com/kids.html](https://paulgraham.com/kids.html) - **Who recommended it:** Sam Altman - **Key takeaway:** Altman shared it with the simple endorsement: "this is so good." - **Why it matters:** The source gives no extra framing, but the endorsement is direct and unambiguous. [^3] ### *Sam Altman May Control Our Future. Can He Be Trusted?* - **Content type:** Magazine article - **Author/creator:** Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz - **Link/URL:** [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted) - **Who recommended it:** Elon Musk - **Key takeaway:** Musk called it "very much worth reading" while using it to reinforce his criticism of Altman. - **Why it matters:** It is the only long-form reported feature in today’s set and the only recommendation centered on OpenAI leadership. [^4][^5] ## Balaji’s media-and-power reading cluster Balaji also surfaced a reading stack he framed as worldview-changing examples involving journalists and authoritarian leaders. No direct resource URLs were provided for the items below; all were mentioned in [this interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql3p0i4fDyE). [^1] - ***Ten Days That Shook the World*** - **Book** by John Reed. **Who recommended it:** Balaji Srinivasan. **Key takeaway:** Balaji presented it as a book that whitewashed the Bolshevik Revolution and emphasized Reed’s importance to that moment. **Why it matters:** It opens Balaji’s broader media-history list and sets the frame for the rest. [^1] - **Walter Duranty’s Stalin coverage** - **Articles / reporting** by Walter Duranty. **Who recommended it:** Balaji Srinivasan. **Key takeaway:** Balaji singled out Duranty as a Pulitzer-winning Stalin apologist tied to covering up mass killing in Ukraine. **Why it matters:** It broadens the cluster from books into consequential newspaper reporting. [^1] - ***Red Star Over China*** - **Book** by Edgar Snow. **Who recommended it:** Balaji Srinivasan. **Key takeaway:** Balaji said the book became a major Western source and portrayed Mao and his followers as dedicated reformers. **Why it matters:** It shows the same theme through an influential book-length account. [^1] - ***The Gray Lady Winked*** - **Book** by Ashley Rinsberg. **Who recommended it:** Balaji Srinivasan. **Key takeaway:** Balaji called it a good book on the Herbert Matthews / Fidel Castro episode and said it goes through similar cases. **Why it matters:** It is the most explicit follow-on reading recommendation in this cluster because he directly called it a good book on the subject. [^1] ## Bottom line If you only save two items from today, the thorium video has the clearest technical learning payoff, and *The Greatest Night in Pop* has the most immediately transferable leadership lesson. [^1][^2] --- ### Sources [^1]: [Balaji Srinivasan on AI, NYT vs Tech, and Why Media Is Power| MTS Live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql3p0i4fDyE) [^2]: [Ben Horowitz from a16z on Venture Capital Systems, Network Effects, and Culture in the AI Era](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAzLRlg0uJs) [^3]: [𝕏 post by @sama](https://x.com/sama/status/2048751392031203544) [^4]: [𝕏 post by @elonmusk](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2048807976991850953) [^5]: [𝕏 post by @RonanFarrow](https://x.com/RonanFarrow/status/2041127882429206532)