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The Grey NATO – 387 – Drafting Good Watches That We Don’t Like

Published on Thu, 20 Aug 2026 06:00:00 -0400

Synopsis

In episode 387 of The Grey NATO podcast, hosts James Stacey and Jason Heaton tackle an unconventional topic: watches they don't like despite being objectively excellent timepieces. The episode features a draft-style format where each host picks three specific watch models and one entire category of watches that, while well-regarded and popular, simply don't resonate with them personally.

The hosts begin with updates on their summer activities and upcoming events, including the Toronto Timepiece Show on September 26-27 and the availability of restocked TGN 10th anniversary Dazzle Camo NATO straps from Strap Habit. Their discussion emphasizes that all their picks are based purely on personal aesthetic preferences rather than any objective quality issues. Jason's selections include the Rolex Explorer (due to the applied numerals), Grand Seiko's UFA Spring Drive Diver (the patterned dial and price point), the Seiko Monster (too cartoonish), and the entire Cartier brand. James chooses the G-Shock 5600 (fit issues), Breitling Emergency (too serious/posery), Omega Seamaster 300m SMP (skeleton hands and thickness), and ultra-deep dive watches as a category (impractical depth ratings). The episode concludes with final notes: Jason recommends a Wall Street Journal video about classic Land Rovers, while James suggests Annie Jacobson's new book "Biological War: A Scenario."

Show Notes

Transcript

Speaker
James Stacey Hello and welcome to another episode of the Grey NATO. It's a loose discussion of travel, adventure, diving, driving gear, and most certainly watches. This is episode three hundred and eighty-seven, and it's proudly brought to you by the always growing TGN Supporter crew. We thank you all so much for your continued support, and if you're listening and would like to support the show, please visit thegreators.com for more details. My name is James Stacey, and I'm joined as ever by my friend and co-host, Jason Heaton. Jason, how are we doing today? Hitting uh mid August pretty hard. just back for vacation.
Jason Heaton Yeah, that's wild. Geez, eighteenth of August. I I hate to hate to m you know even utter the word autumn, but changing light and a couple of trees starting to turn color. It's um yeah you know looking forward to getting back in a sweater at some point and a pair of boots. But uh other than that I'm I'm really still leaning into summer pretty hard here. Went for a swim last night at the lake. I don't have to do that training anymore for that long swim. I can just do it for fun and it was just kind of a nice nice outing to ride ride my bike down to the the lake nearby here and just go for a swim just for fun. It was great. That's great. Hopefully a few more weeks of that.
James Stacey Yeah, I'm hoping so. I'm like I said I'm back at work after after two weeks away from Hodinkee and we're already, you know, Sarah and I were walking to drop our son off at daycare this morning and said, what when do you want to go to the cottage? Like how soon how soon can we make it up there? Uh you know, it is it is we kind of starting this weekend, you entered like the last phase. Apologies if you could hear that, cicada. We'll make a quick audio cut as I had my window uh open and I could definitely hear right
Jason Heaton on cue for summer chat. For sure, yeah.
James Stacey Uh but yeah, we just enter that phase where it's kind of you know, you're into that last season of the of the summer. You know, we usually pack up the the cottage by mid-October, but I've got tons of travel between now and then. We've got the Toronto Timepiece show. So it's it's not a lot of free weekends. It's not as easy to just kind of it's not as easy to just commit to like every weekend we're gonna be up there pretty much.
Jason Heaton Oh yeah. So yeah. But uh definitely
James Stacey still good swimming season, still good uh, you know, sipping a beer on the sand uh time of year and still a couple of projects left to do up there before the end of the season, ideally. So we'll probably get up this weekend and get some of the tools out and and make a few uh a few modifications to the property. But uh that's about all I've got uh you know sort of on my list. But I did mention the Toronto Time Peace show, yeah, which also includes our annual marathon party, and uh that's coming up. That'll be the 26th, 27th of September. Uh anybody listening is well aware. U theh marathon party will be the evening of the twenty-sixth. Uh all are welcome, of course. There will be an RSVP in the future. We'll send one out probably towards the end of uh this month, very early September, with all of the details and and uh if you are SVP and you get in, then we're excited to see you there. And yeah, the show should be great. We're planning sort of uh some stuff to do on Saturday, which which will include uh uh a live show which we've done the last couple of years uh from the sort of event space that's right next uh it's in the same building so it literally you just walk into some doors that are next to one of the brands that are exhibiting and you're able to uh to kind of enjoy a live show. We're always excited to do those and they're a good time. And then I'm working on plans for a couple of other things as well, which should be fun uh as those come together. But if you're planning to be in town, um I know there's lots of organizing and otherwise going on in the the TGN Slack as far as uh how people are approaching the show and recommendations. And this is sort of in you're not quite downtown and you're not quite out of Toronto. It's this sort of midtown area which has lots of options for you know places to stay and places to eat and and all that kind of stuff. So should be a good one. We're awfully excited for that. And then another uh just sort of news that we finally can share uh some time ago a couple months back, uh we, announced uh to the Slack a TGN sort of Dazzle Camo TGN 10th anniversary nylon NATO style strap uh with uh our friends at Strap Habit and they immediately sold out. Like I mean, immediately they went so quickly it was kind of insane. And we had added so many more to the number than we thought we would need. So after that uh initial sellout, they've now been resupplied. Uh, and you can find the link in the show notes to those. It's that uh kind of bright orange and tan uh NATO pattern that we've been using since the boxes for the CW and one, uh, but then rendered into either a 20 or 22 millimeter nylon uh strap. Um, this is a double pass, so you can remove the the keeper if you don't need it, the underkeeper, and you have the option of um either like silver cut tone or black tone hardware. Uh so I'm really thrilled with this. It's actually what I have on my wrist, which takes us into uh into a bit of wrist check. Uh Jason, before we jump into your uh watch, which I guess could be wearing one of these straps, have you had a chance to wear these much? I it's I'm not usually a a big fan of like I I I wore the lizard camo from Kill Hubris for years. I still do. Oh
Jason Heaton yeah. And I absolutely adore it, but it's a very
James Stacey rare thing that where they really hit the mark. And I'm I'm really happy with this strap. I mean, obviously a hugely biased, but I think it turned out really nicely. Uh staycom industries uh helped us with uh the design and if you flip it over, there's a little Easter egg built into the camo pattern, which is a lot of fun.
Jason Heaton Yeah, I think these are great. I I I do wear mine more than I thought I would. Um like you, I'm just not much of a patterned strap person, um, short of, you know, like an Erica's with a single stripe down the middle or whatever. But um I don't know. There's just something about the way that the camo is designed, the way it kind of hits on the the sides of the wrist that doesn't seem too egregiously kind of busy or anything like that. And uh you know, I don't know if it's a if it's a a great winter strap, but it's it it's just kind of hitting perfectly for for summer, you know, with just like a t shirt and a and a big dive watch or something.
James Stacey So uh w for wrist check this week, what what have you got on?
Jason Heaton I do uh I have the FXD. So I'm not wearing it on the the TGN 10 strap. I've just got it on uh actually I've got it on uh watches of espionage uh NATO as uh today. But um yeah, it's uh I not much to say about this watch. We've talked about it so much, but uh I have the little anecdote. I was at the uh there's a neighborhood farmers market every Sunday nearby here, and uh I was over there and there's a a guy who um offers knife sharpening services while you kind of shop for vegetables at the other stands, and um we left a few knives with him, kitchen knives to sharpen. And uh when I went to pick them up later, uh the young guy, you know, pretty young, kind of early twenties, uh kid who was uh kind of manning the the booth, kind of taking the money and and to talking to customers, he had this kind of funky old watch on, and I kind of asked him if I could see it and he held it up and it was like this 19, looked like a 40s boulevard or something. Um and asked if I could take a picture of it. And uh lo and behold, on his uh water bottle he had a like an Audubon Society sticker on it. And I said, Have you seen Listers? And he said, he said, I've seen it like three times, once with my bird group. Um and I I watched, I just watched it last week, actually. Um, which was a lot of fun. I forgot to mention it on last week's show, but uh so great. And so we kind of bonded over that and then he he I was wearing my FXD. That's this is getting around to my story here, but uh he said uh he said, Oh nice tutor and I was like yeah you know it's a cool kind of in the wild watch nerd recognition back and forth so it was uh it was kind of fun.
James Stacey That's great. Yeah absolutely super uh super fun and uh I mean a great watch and I had my uh my Pelagos 39 on recently with that tutor video finally coming out for Hodinkee. Uh yeah, just I my I really haven't uh my my feelings about those watches and and the like the especially stuff from the Pelagos world,
Jason Heaton yeah, really hasn't changed in in a very
James Stacey long time. I'm just a big fan. even the stuff that's maybe a little bit big for my wrist, I just I I really like them. All the way up to and including the uh the ultra, which I think is quite a cool one. Oh
Jason Heaton yeah, yeah. I don't know if I've handled one in person yet, but uh yeah, that's gotta change, yeah. Oh and one other thing, I guess this isn't really risk check, but I um uh I never mentioned this, but um when we record I have this I don't know, let's see what the year does it say on the back here. It's from uh ninety-two. It's uh it's a CWC um stopwatch that I keep on my desk, uh issued in nineteen ninety two and it's got the broader mark on the back and the Royal Navy um markings. Um and I always time our episodes. I just it's just a fun thing to do. I'll just click to start the stopwatch when we start recording and it ticks away on my desk here. So that's uh sort of wrist w wrist check adjacent.
James Stacey Yeah, absolutely. That's rad. I uh we'll have to see if we can include a photo of that uh in there. They certainly make some very cool ones uh in their past, uh including some which like have shown up in movies and things like that. We've talked about it. But uh uh for me this week I'm wearing my CWN1 on the Strap Habit T G N 10 strap, uh the uh Dazzle Camo uh strap that I already spoke about. And uh I've been wearing this for the last couple of days. I've spent the last several weeks, I guess. Yeah, but nearly several weeks of just wearing the Doxa and nothing else. Uh the uh the Army 200T that we did with um with Doxa at Hodinkee. Uh I absolutely adore it. And for whatever reason, yesterday I was like, uh, you know, I want I I wanted the quartz or I wanted maybe a set I don't remember but I I just instantly just grabbed this. It was sitting on my desk and running and already on the the uh the T G and ten strap. So uh that's what I'm wearing the with the strap habit strap and uh I like it it. It's a's a great combo. It feels weirdly large after wearing the Doxa for the better part of three weeks or whatever, a month. It and it of course isn't an especially large watch, uh, but it also weighs nothing. It's just so comfortable.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Um, especially if you've got a strap
James Stacey where it the the sizing really, really kind of works out, uh, which it does for me on these ones. So definitely good stuff.
Jason Heaton Yeah. good combo for sure. All right, we got a fun episode. Yeah,
James Stacey we g it's it's kind of a fun one. We were we were you know, this August it's always tough for us to be like, what are we even gonna talk about? Um, you know, we're l uh two weeks or so away from Geneva Watch Days where there I'm sure will be some interesting and fun watches announced. Um, there's some bigger stuff being announced next week, which I'm sure we can talk about on uh next week's episode. Um, but beyond that, we, you know, we were kind of searching for a topic. Uh this is also not a time of year where Jason and I are like doing a lot of activities that are like w I'm outside, I'm doing stuff, but I'm like, you know, I'm I might be building an outdoor shower or something, and we're not gonna devote an episode to that or or going on a hike or tuning up my bike or something like that. Uh all things considered. So we dug back into the uh crew and a questions and we actually found one from Dave Ann um who's kind of posing uh us offering up a three-watch collection of watches that are good watches, but we don't like them.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Uh, which is a kind of a fun
James Stacey premise and one that I kind of liked. And we've we've taken Dave's uh suggestion and thank you very much for that, Dave, and we've twisted it a little bit where it's going to be a draft. So Jason and I will be drafting watches and we will each pick three fairly specific watches, like a model, a known model. But uh to finish it out, there'll be a fourth pick, which is going to be an entire category of watches that we don't like. There's nothing wrong with it. It's just, you know, we're this is uh gonna be the most deeply subjective episode of uh of things like I don't I don't care for X and this is why is kind of the idea. Uh despite the fact that I think almost everything on my list would be considered like an icon of some sort.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Um, which uh which is kind of a fun
James Stacey place to start. So uh Jason, I think that's uh about as well uh sorted as we need and neither of us can pick any that the other picks. They are blind picks, so I don't know what you've selected. I have a we didn't put them in the show notes or that that sort of thing. Um and uh and so once once something is picked, like if like I said, uh when we were planning this, if you pick the Timex Iron Man uh as a hypothetical watch that people like but you don't, I can't go ahead and also pick that.
Jason Heaton Yep. So with that all being said, I
James Stacey don't remember which one of us had first pick in a draft previously.
Jason Heaton Well, I would say you go first. I I feel like I always go first because you're you usually do the intro and then you hand it over to me. So I think in this case, let's uh why don't you run with it?
James Stacey Okay. Let's see. That gives me so much freedom. And I guess with it just being two of us, it doesn't have to be serpentine. It's just back and forth for our four picks. Yeah. I'm I'm gonna go I'm gonna go with a classic. And I I to be clear, the other thing, and I don't know about your picks, Jason, so this is not a statement anyway. I tried to stick to watches that I could or would buy.
Jason Heaton Okay. So like it's not that interesting for me to
James Stacey say like, oh, I don't like the Nautilus.
Jason Heaton Mm-hmm. Well, James, you're never gonna get a Nautilus. Yeah. Yeah.
James Stacey So your opinion of it's probably not necessarily all that valuable, you know what I mean? Yeah.
Jason Heaton Um so I'm gonna try and stick with things that are like within
James Stacey the realm of my actual reality thereabouts. There'll be some wiggle room um in that space. But uh my first one is I I think an absolutely fantastic watch, uh, but one that no matter how many I have bought and owned, it never works on my wrist.
Jason Heaton And that's a G Shock 5600. Oh, wow. That's your
James Stacey your standard core arguably a perfect unit of digital watch and I've never found one that I liked. I've had uh I've had the you know the red frame atomic I've had the cheap one I've had like the MM white one uh back, you know, to 15, 20 years ago, and uh none of them really land for me. And it's weird because sometimes you go like, oh, maybe their stuff is too big. I like the I like the Iron Man eight lap because it's kind of small and diminutive and feels very light. They're not necessarily the same level of robustness, of course. Yeah. G-Shocks are just some of the toughest stuff in the world. But I think I I enjoyed my rangeman more, which is the size of two 5600s on your wrist. You used to wear a Pro Trek a bunch, which is again a huge watch. So it's not a size thing. They literally it's it's something about the way the strap integrates with the case, I think. And they never just they have to be quite tight to sit flat on whatever is going on with my wrist shape.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Do you have any uh are you plus
James Stacey minus on a fifty six hundred? You're not a huge digital watch guy.
Jason Heaton I had G Shock on my list, so I'm gonna scratch that for my list, which mm um I I but will say that of the G-Shock family I have tried so hard to like all of them and the only one that I would even consider is the 5600 um that's not to say I'm recommending it. In fact, it it G Shock in general made my list. Um, but you know, I really thought I would be, you know, given my predilection for diving, I thought, oh, the frogman's the one for me. I tried a frogman. I've tried the 5600. I've tried and and none of them stick. Um, you know, I might have talked about this in the past, you know, 10 years of of this uh show that uh G Shock's just not my thing. And I want so badly to like G Shocks, but uh I would the fifty six hundred is the most tame one and I think that's why
James Stacey yeah of all the G Shocks that
Jason Heaton would be the only one that I could see putting on my wrist. Just because it's it doesn't have such whiz bang graphics or the big bulbous case and whatever.
James Stacey Sure. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like I watched Speed with my daughters last night, and of course, Kenna Reeves' character, that's what he's wearing. And by the end, you know, he they've slid out from under the bus, spoilers, I guess, for this movie from nineteen ninety-four that all of you should have seen. Um, but they, you know, they exit the scary part of the movie, and he's kind of got Sandra Bullock in his arms and you get like a really clean shot of this watch. It's all covered in mud and dirt and debris and you just think, Man, that's that looks really good. Yeah. And there's you know, there's several G Shocks throughout the Mission Impossible uh series. Uh and I yeah, I it's never really worked for me. I remember using my arrangement more like a true tool watch. If I was going hiking, that sort of thing, I would wear it and use it and and I really liked it. It was quite useful. And then once the world of like the the Suntos and then the Garmin's really came online.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Not to be unfair to G Shock, like they
James Stacey still make an a fantastic watch and they're probably much more stylish than a Garmin. But I just wear the Garmin if that's what I'm going for.
Jason Heaton Yeah. They just it the function, the fit,
James Stacey the weight. Again, a conventional lug with a conventional strap option versus the sort of resin of everything. It's the same reason I've never really connected with like an F91W. They're just not I don't find them to be even remotely comfortable. Nice and light.
Jason Heaton Yeah. But there's something about the the
James Stacey edging of the the strap that I find kind of noticeable on my wrist.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. So that's
James Stacey my first pick. An absolute classic, the the 5600.
Jason Heaton Yeah. How about you? What have you got for your first one? All right. This is gonna this is a big one. This is uh We're gonna ruffle some
James Stacey feathers. Uh ruffle some Yes,
Jason Heaton I am. Does everybody get their pearls ready? Yes, I am. Ruffled feathers and pearls clutched here. Rolex Explorer.
James Stacey Okay. 36 or 33. I
Jason Heaton used to have a 14270. So the old 36mm tritium dial Yeah, I sold a TGN or years ago. Uh in fact I revisited it when I was in New York last summer. He sh uh the guy who bought it from me showed up in an event with my old watch on. But um look, objectively, these are spectacular watches. They're um such an icon. Everybody I I think across the board loves these except me. I and I I I I wouldn't call it a hate. I I don't truly strongly dislike these watches. It's just I've owned one. I've tried them and you know, I think I've gone on record as someone who likes gadgets with watches. I like a bezel to spin or some pushers to push. Um, but I that's not the that's not the reason I just don't really like this watch or it doesn't I can't bond with it. It's um I love a 1016 Explorer or whatever I think it was a 6610 was the very first iteration way back in the in the 50s. But the the the difference is the i whenever they switched over to applied markers and applied numerals, it's not even so much the applied aspect of it. Because I you know, I have a a sub, you know, with with applied white gold markers. And I can do it on a sub, I can do it on an explorer two or a GMT master. Um, but for some reason those applied numerals just don't disagree with me. I just do not like those applied numerals. I find them a little bit dated now. Um, whereas like on a 1016, those kind of looping painted on tritium uh markers are just so spectacular. So it's it's kind of the reason I like the the Tudor Ranger, the current edition, um, and and would wear that, but I would not want to wear an explorer. So
James Stacey fair. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm uh I I like the Explorer a lot. Uh I've I've I've told this story so many times. Years ago, I was in Miami checking out and shooting this massive story for uh all the watches that were just around at Matt Bain's office. He's this uh dealer in uh in Miami and and a a buddy of Ben's and he let us in and just kind of kept bringing trays out and it was just like wild one wild tray after another and one of them was like these sort of pseudo modern five digit uh Rolex stuff and he had uh it was I was I I don't remember if it was a 1427, he had one one four two seven oh um but it was on a jubilee and I thought it was very cool and I and to this day I kind of wish I had bought it. He didn't want much money for it. It was definitely a fair price. I think they look great. Um you know the the the other thing that would keep me from ever maybe having one now is uh you know I worked very closely with Malika Crawford at at Hodinkee who runs Hodinkee magazine and she wears one and she just looks so much cooler than I'm ever gonna look wearing it. Uh it's so chic on her. And uh and and she really pulls it off and it's uh I believe it's a 14270 um on a bracelet. And I I always think whenever I see that, I go, well, I think that one's off the table for me. I can't I can't match that. I can't match that at all. But I I like those watches a lot. But yeah, I I really liked the Ranger. And I like there's very little polish on the Ranger as well.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, I definitely
James Stacey uh dig the the choice of the explorer. We'll see if I might may or may not have a Rolex on my list. I'm I'm playing the list like jazz here. We're kind of going in different directions. Alright. My next one will be a surprise uh to many as it's a brand that I really like and one that I probably have evangelized quite extensively, and it's a watch that I think is exceptionally cool, but I don't actually like the watch.
Jason Heaton Mm-hmm. And that's the Brightling Emergency. Oh, okay. The latest or all all of them?
James Stacey uh I would say at all all. Brightling Emergencies. There's I I love seeing them.
Jason Heaton Yeah. It's kind of like seeing a a Hummer
James Stacey E uh uh like a real Humvee.
Jason Heaton Oh sure. Yeah. Like one of the original, like
James Stacey a or an H one, I guess. It's
Jason Heaton like seeing one of those. I go, like, oh, that's fascinating that
James Stacey it that that exists, that you were able to fit it into your parking space, um, that you drive that around town or whatever. But then every time that I experience one in the person, like put it on my wrist or or have it in hand. I just think, wow, you took an aerospace and made it worse for a function that it's not provable that anybody's really used or gotten a great v value out of. And to be clear, if that if that watch saves your life, that that function is worth it for sure.
Jason Heaton Yeah. But I
James Stacey I this is probably because I am such an ardent fanboy of 40 millimeter and even 42 millimeter aerospaces, but especially the early series, the 40mm stuff. And I just think, you know, at this, they're making these two watches at the same time. And one is this like sleek, gorgeous. Again, I think it's a it's a weird type of beauty, but I do think the aerospace is quite a cool, great looking watch. and I just yeah, it it's it's always kind of led me to go like, I don't understand why you would have gone emergency when the aerospace is like next to it in the um in the cabinet or whatever.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I can I can I can get that. I mean I think you know comfort is such a a huge concern with with so many of these these picks and and just the way a watch wears. And especially like as we're making these picks, some of these watches we've tried and and and passed on. You know, I mean I I can think of countless, not countless, but several you know, old Willard Seiko's or um you know, speedmasters that I've owned. And they it sometimes it's just something that doesn't hit and oftentimes it has to do with um just comfort or just kind of you're looking at it sideways. And I think it's I I kind of think th this whole exercise that we're doing here today is kind of a case study for this idea that watch appeal really almost entirely comes down to an aesthetic kind of choice. And then we kind of go ahead and justify it with other things like you know pedigree and movement and finishing and provenance and all that kind of stuff. And I think you know objectively all these watch picks that we're making today, um I haven't heard all of yours, but I'm guessing that all of them are you know really excellent watches by most measures. And it's just really kind of comes down to like what you want to look at on your wrist or or what doesn't feel quite right. And I'm a huge fan of an emergency and I it just goes to show like I you know I owned one, I own owned the Orbiter three version with the blue dial years ago and and I don't regret getting her to that one 'cause I the orbiter connection wasn't for me. Um but I still kinda look at some yellow dial or the old orange dial, the coral I think they called it dials or white ones or the blue ones from from back in the
James Stacey nineties and and that that'd still I'd still rock
Jason Heaton one of those. Those are great. I I
James Stacey also think like a lot you know in in if we're considering how how you rank the importance of various elements of a watch, like I it wouldn't be Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but you know, the watch idiots hierarchy of needs. Like obviously the top, you have to like the way the watch works or looks. You have to like the way it fits your wrist. And then somewhere on that list, and I'm not like embarrassed to admit this, but I'm also not sure how much it weighs in, is like, do you identify with the other types of people you see wearing that watch?
Jason Heaton Yeah. Sure. And when it comes to the emergency,
James Stacey you might be the only exception to that. Because I see it on guys in Tommy Bahamas
Jason Heaton at the airport. And I see
James Stacey it on kind of hardcore special forces types.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Right? Yeah. And I'm
James Stacey I can't really identify with either of those dudes at this point. I'm kind of somewhere in the middle. You know what I mean? And I just like I I think if I put one on it would feel too posery for me.
Jason Heaton Yeah. And I think the aerospace is subtle
James Stacey enough to pull me back from that line. Mm-hmm. You know, I I don't lead a life of emergencies.
Jason Heaton yeah. Uh ideally. Right.
James Stacey It's a little bit too serious, maybe, I'm not sure. I'm it maybe I'm not explaining the point. Maybe some people understand. I get
Jason Heaton it. I get it. Um yeah,
James Stacey I I do I do think they are cool, but it's almost like cool in a vacuum. And as soon as you start to bring in the context of like some of the other anti digi from that brand, um and that sort of thing, and and then I go like, ah these, are a bit much, you know.
Jason Heaton yeah. No, I get that. And I especially the new the current edition of the emergency, assuming they're still making it, just got incredibly expensive and much bigger. Um, I remember the first year it came out I got one into review for for Gear Patrol back then and uh this was separate from the one that I owned and the the newer ones are just massive and it just became unwearable and then the the price was way beyond anything that I could afford. So um I'm still a fan of the old ones. But uh the you know, you funny when you said my life is not one of emergencies. I was remembering uh maybe the last episode of the one before when you were talking about uh differentiating between what's urgent and what is important. And it's and for some reason as you as you as you were just talking, I was thinking they should make a different version of the Brightling called the Brightling Urgency. Yeah,
James Stacey exactly. Not sure what feature it would have or what functions,
Jason Heaton but uh anyway But
James Stacey yeah, so that that's my second pick of of my three. Jason, what have you got for your second?
Jason Heaton All right. Here's uh here's a good one. Um this is one we've talked about. It is the Grand Seco UFA Spring Drive Diver, the one that just came out.
James Stacey The most recent one, sure. Yeah, the most recent one.
Jason Heaton So it's a 40 millimeter watch. It's got this highly accurate spring drive movement. It seems like they answered all of our quibbles over Grand Seiko divers. You know, it's got a good bracelet, it's got the smaller size, um, seemingly wears well, it's really accurate, it's nice looking. Um but I can't get around the uh that kind of patterned dial. It's uh sort of has that um three-dimensional sort of textured dial. And then um I just feel like Grand Seiko always does such a I don't want to say a poor job, but a a questionable head scratching job on the the dial text. It just it never looks as like fitting with the the kind of the elegance of the watch itself. Um the text always looks a little boring. So again, this this this is a case where it's almost entirely a an aesthetic thing. I mean it's just I I just would have a hard time looking down at that and just not kind of squinting every time I see it because it's such a spectacularly good watch that it's hard to it's hard to not like. Um and yet I don't. And I think you know, going along with this theme of let's let's draft a watch or or recommend a watch or whatever you want to say, that that is really an excellent piece, but that we don't like. This is a classic case of that because it truly is a superior watch. It's just not for me.
James Stacey You know, I I had this watch on my like first first list that I I wrote yesterday. And I took it off simply because this is a a thirteen thousand dollar watch, which is not an amount of money I spend on watches. And when you when you factor that into Canadian and due taxes, we're talking about twenty grand on a grand seiko.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. For a dive watch that for me would
James Stacey fill the same slot as a as a Pelagos. Oh
Jason Heaton sure, yeah. Yeah. I think we said this
James Stacey in our episode following like in the megasode following the the show this year. Mm-hmm. I think we said that like it'd be cool to see this in like just a matte black dial, like
Jason Heaton yeah, tone it down bring it, tone it down a level.
James Stacey But if it was still thirteen grand, uh that wouldn't my credit card's not coming out.
Jason Heaton Yeah. You know what I mean? I just I think that there's some
James Stacey really tough competition at this at this price point because you have to fight some of the stalwarts and you're up above the price of a submariner.
Jason Heaton Yeah. and you're sort you know,
James Stacey now we're talking, you know, sea dweller ish money.
Jason Heaton Mm-hmm. Uh and that sort of thing. and I'm
James Stacey not saying that it's not an incredible watch. That's absolutely not my point. Grand Seco makes awesome watches. Um, I'm just saying it's a I think it's a really awkwardly positioned watch in terms of what it's offering and what it costs, if that makes sense.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. I think the the the people
James Stacey that fall into the overlaps of all those things make it a bit of a niche play. And uh and for me the price makes it would would would negate it from my list for today. But yeah, I don't I don't disagree on the rest of it. I would love love for them to make something, you know, dial it back a little bit.
Jason Heaton Again, like w like we've talked in the butt SLA 017s,
James Stacey SLA O three seven, those were maybe a little bit more in our vibe and more in the at least at the original price point, maybe more in in our striking zone.
Jason Heaton yeah. And to be clear, as I'm talking about this, I I think to myself I think you mentioned this too with like the emergency, these are all watches so far, these four that if I saw them across the room on somebody's wrist and some stranger, let's say once on an airplane or a dive board, I'd be so excited, I'd be like Oh
James Stacey yeah. I'd love to see a Grand Seiko diver
Jason Heaton on somebody's wrist in in the wild. I just think it'd be such a blast and I'd celebrate that. I think it'd be great. Um and that's what's fun about this, I think.
James Stacey Yeah, I don't disagree. That's a that's an interesting point to bring up. If I saw a fifty six hundred on somebody, especially if it was an interesting one, I'd probably be pretty pumped about that. Or I at least I wouldn't be like, well, at least it's not a whatever insert whatever, you know, totally bland uh smartwatch or whatever. And if I saw an emergency, I'd be jacked. Yeah. Just like seeing an H one. I just don't I don't want to have one in my uh in my driveway, so to speak, right?
Jason Heaton Yeah, right. Um all right. Well here's
James Stacey my third and last uh before we get to the entire category pick, which might be wild. We'll
Jason Heaton see. Yeah. I'm struggling on this. I've
James Stacey I've got three here that I kind of dislike in all the same ways, in some ways. I'm gonna go with one that it really shouldn't be surprised if you've listened to the show for a while because it is a great watch. It's an inarguably great watch that I just don't really like necessarily the way that it fits in the modern sense, and I don't like the hands. And that might be enough of a hint that it's the Omega C Master 300 meter, the SFP.
Jason Heaton Yeah. I am an ardent fan
James Stacey of, you know, 2254s and sword hands. Um and and for whatever reason, these watches, the the the successful continuation, maybe due to Bond. I'm not sure.
Jason Heaton Mm-hmm. Because you know, Bond, it's been t twenty
James Stacey years since they went to P.O. But maybe due to the the Browse and Bonds, they decided that the skeleton hands were gonna be the way to go versus the sword. And I just it's not an agreement. It's not a choice that I would, you know, and I just don't agree necessarily with that move. I really like the MOD style design language,
Jason Heaton what you get in the CWCs, what you get in 5517s,
James Stacey uh, all this sort of stuff. Um as they went from 1120s into 2500s, into you know, I think it's 8,000, 8900 series, like whatever the current master coaxial scenario is. They also got thicker along the way.
Jason Heaton Oh, yeah. And part of what made those original
James Stacey models, including the quartz ones, so sweet was the proportions.
Jason Heaton Sure, they were 41 millimeters wide and
James Stacey wore like 41, but they were thin. And the lugs turned so beautifully. And I think so much of that is preserved in the modern one. But the between the thickness and the sword hands, it's a watch that I can't I there's no argument to say that this is a bad watch.
Jason Heaton Yeah. It's very successful watch for them. It
James Stacey comes in a bajillion different colors. Everybody enjoys having one. You had a uh great white dial which is probably my favorite version. Maybe the necton, hard to say.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Probably my favorite version of the of those
James Stacey errors, but it just doesn't doesn't it's not something I want on my wrist as much as I would love to be a guy that has a a modern omega dive. That would be great.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. No, I agree. And I think it's it it's it's been one of kind of our core tenets of of T GN since the beginning was kind of our ambivalence about about the Seamaster because we both have such love for several of the their watches, you know, they've been out since the 90s. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, they really do. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good call. Um I have so I've got two and then I've got my category. And man, I really want to I really want to talk about both of these. But I I'm gonna make a pick here. Let's see here. I think you know, erring on the side of more affordability, I that wasn't kind of one of our agreed upon rules, but since you've kind of set that for yourself, I think I'm gonna stick to that. This almost feels sacrilege to to mention, but I I think I've gone on record before and we've talked about it. Um this is such a purely subjective aesthetic choice for people, and it's just definitely not for me, and that is any Seiko Monster diver. I just um I I get why well I I don't know if I truly get why people like them because they're not it's not like they're great watches, right? I mean they're they're not like they're great in the way that an SKX was or you know something like that, just the a a true beater of something you can bang around and have fun with and it's a good summer watch and it's waterproof, etc. Um but I'm guessing they keep pretty crappy time for the most part. I'm sure some are better than others, but um they just look so cheap. They just look so cartoonish and more so even than some of the real cartoonish ones from from Citizen, you know that, I've got this EcoDrive, uh, EcoZilla um that I got back in Chicago last month and whatever. And that that kind of has that same it's in that same family, but for some reason the monster just looks kind of cheap and kind of, you know, just like a kind of a mall watch in in kind of the worst way. I'm really digging a hole there.
James Stacey I love the monster. Yeah, I know. I realize a goodie.
Jason Heaton I I should put my shovel away here before I get tired and feathered, but no
James Stacey please. I I I think that's that's kind of the point. And yeah, I've never known you two have been a monster guy. Obviously you were a seven oh two SKX dude. Yeah. Um and and probably still are to some extent. I think we still are. And he was wearing it the other day at the cottage and it just looked great.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Uh you know, that watch is approaching
James Stacey 20 years um on somebody's wrist. But yeah, with the with the monster, I think, I think it that's very much um what what's the what's the saying? Marmite? Yes. Yeah. It's a it's a love-hate sort of thing. It's very distinctive. Not no other watch kind of looks just like it.
Jason Heaton Mm-hmm. and but I agree, it does slot
James Stacey more into the realm of the wild Japanese diver, whether it's the Orient Beast or one of the Zillas or or something like that. But even in that category, it feels like its own sort of scenario. You know what I mean?
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. I could I could see it not being
James Stacey beloved by by all. Uh I certainly enjoy it, but it is a a sp it's a very specific plate of food.
Jason Heaton Yeah. And again, if I saw one on a dive boat somebody's wrist, I'd I'd celebrate them. I'd be like, you know, right on buddy for for making that choice because um you're it it kind of shows that you're a bit of a watch nerd. It i even though I said it looks like a mall watch, it's probably not the kind of watch that somebody randomly walking through a mall that saw it would buy it. it really does seem to have some weird appeal among kind of watch insider types, which is kind of fun.
James Stacey I don't mean it as offense, but there is a you know, there's a slice of Seiko, a slice of citizen, heck, there's a slice of Omega and Brightling that are like duty free watches.
Jason Heaton Oh, sure. yeah. And like if
James Stacey if you see a guy like with you know what were those what were those sort of Nava Timer esque Seiko's I owned one.
Jason Heaton Oh yeah yeah an SNA
James Stacey 411 was the black with the yellow great watch
Jason Heaton yeah um they also made like one in like Tommy Hill
James Stacey figure colors, like blue, white, red. Yeah.
Jason Heaton And they did like a gold tone
James Stacey with the black. Mm-hmm. Um, and those for me, I I think it's because I was on a cruise as a young man getting into watches and saw them.
Jason Heaton Yeah. You know, I walked by the the display every
James Stacey day and saw them and and there's there's always that category where like m you these feel like like something you'd you'd snap up on a cruise and then wear for a while and I feel the same way about a certain type of you know, the the like blue angels or that variety of of citizen, which are like great watches.
Jason Heaton Yeah. I remember my grandfather got one
James Stacey on a cruise to Alaska and just wore all the time. You know, the little nice little digital display, great watch.
Jason Heaton Yeah, those are great. Yeah. Yeah. I think
James Stacey it's kind of vacation indiscretions.
Jason Heaton You're sort of you're feeling freewheeling and kind of loose with your money and you've had a
James Stacey cocktail. maybe you win something at the casino.
Jason Heaton Yeah. You know, it's it's not it's not real
James Stacey money yet until you get back to the shore. We all know that.
Jason Heaton right. Um but yeah, so that's uh that's
James Stacey our original uh six total. Yeah. Um a big spread here. We got some G Shocks, some Seiko, Rolex, Brightling, Omega.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Definitely some stuff that that's beloved.
James Stacey But this is I don't know if this next part is where you know we'll get people more riled up. I'm not sure. And to be honest, I I might have to let you follow up your Seiko Monster pick with the category because I'm hoping you pick one of mine so I don't have to pick between the two. Because I've got more than one that I I really there's nothing wrong with them, but it is it's not gonna be for me. You know what I mean?
Jason Heaton Yeah, right. So all right. Just to to lay the groundwork here, I've from I I I have I have two kind of general picks in my list, both of which could be used and expanded to a category. And I I I'm just dying to mention the one the one of them. Um so I'm gonna I'm gonna sneak it in later as an honorable mention. But in terms of the category, I'm actually not even gonna go category. I'm gonna go brand. Oh,
James Stacey okay. Which I think is a great, great
Jason Heaton brand. Um, but I don't like a single watch in their collection, and that is Cartier.
James Stacey Ah, okay. It's funny, I was having this conversation
Jason Heaton privately on a direct message chain with uh Tom Place. Lately he's been wearing his uh Caliberta Cartier diver, which
James Stacey it's cool. I had an opportunity
Jason Heaton to take diving and try out years ago for a couple of weeks. And at the time, it was it was kind of like the only Cartier that I liked. And it was, you know, for obvious reasons, it was a dive watch. It's a little funky now. I kind of look at it sideways. But I just look up and down their their their uh offerings and I just do not see a single watch that I like. I get why they're popular. I understand the appeal, they're high quality, there's prestige, there's class, there's eight there's you know, kind of heritage. But I just I I couldn't wear a single Cartier. Um and I I people have tried, you know, I think we this has come up in a past episode and people have said, Oh, the blacked out Santos would you know, and I'm like, okay
James Stacey Yeah, look, I uh I really like Cartier. I enjoy the tanks. Um I've occasionally the right era of um the Santos on a bracelet when it's not two tone, I think they're killer. I think they suit a smaller wrist really, really well.
Jason Heaton Yeah. I think their modern stuff is really beautifully
James Stacey made as well, like they're making a very high quality product. And when it get when you get the right special for you, they are they feel really special. But at the same time, the popularity of I would say if I'm allowed to psychoanalyze your pick a little bit,
Jason Heaton yeah. the popularity
James Stacey of of Cartier that that's going on right now that has been on the rise for the last say five years or so is a direct response to the sorts of watches that you deeply love.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Classic tool
James Stacey watches, mid-century, uh, you know, mid-century inspired dive watches, uh, and that kind of thing. And I think people found all those watches or the the cohort just above them were obsessed with these, you know, the Steve McQueen of it all, the Paul Newman of it all, the the custler of it all. and and kind of the the the response was was to go towards these much more dressy things from an exceptional name
Jason Heaton like Cartier. And uh and so yeah, I I
James Stacey to I totally understand that pick for sure. Aaron Powell And
Jason Heaton I think it's it comes down to um so much about kind of the way we view watches or how we you know how they reflect who we are. And I think for me it's just I I I've said this before, but I I kind of come from this idea that that a watch is an extension. It's a piece of gear like your boots or your skis or whatever. And I I just I realize that nowadays that's not the case necessarily.
James Stacey Mm-hmm. Um but that's still kind of my
Jason Heaton ethos. And I think for a Cartier, you know, something you have to as the I think you mentioned this, you know, take off your wrist and slip in your shoe and leave it on the dock when you jump in the lake. Like, I don't want that. I want the watch that you can wear, you know, w w with your shoes when you jump in the lake, kind of thing. You know?
James Stacey Yeah. When we transitioned from Steve McQueen shooting pistols in the in the desert to Don Draper having four martinis at lunch, I feel like the taste is kind of shifted that way as well. Yeah,
Jason Heaton true. Yeah, right. But yeah, I get that
James Stacey for sure. I'm I'm having a lot of trouble with mine. Alright, we're gonna go with we're gonna go with ultra deep divers.
Jason Heaton Okay. All right. I like this. I
James Stacey like that they exist. I have no interest in owning one.
Jason Heaton Mm-hmm. Whether it's the Rolex, the Omega,
James Stacey um what what was the what was the one from years ago, Jason? It was like a yellow dial sector maybe.
Jason Heaton Oh yeah. Oh no do you remember that it was like a Swiss
James Stacey something? Swiss something, yeah, right. It wasn't Swiss Army, but it was 12,000
Jason Heaton meters. Yeah, exactly. Somebody's screaming
James Stacey at their um at their screen. Uh yeah. I think as soon as the watch has to become essentially unwearable for that number,
Jason Heaton yeah, you've lost the plot. Yeah.
James Stacey I think I think that if you have a a totally wearable watch that's a 500 meters or a thousand, that's very impressive. That's that speaks to the engineering of being able to do both, right? But as soon as you get into these ones where it's uh it yeah the the watch is now less of a watch because it can go to a depth that nobody can go to. I just don't know what the point is anymore and it bugs whatever practical piece is left of me.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. Right? Yeah. I like that they
James Stacey exist that you know, and and I was there for the launch of the deep sea challenge, and I got to see the machine they had to make to test it because it's tested to deeper than any ocean ghost. Yeah. And I go, but that's equal parts silly. And uh interesting.
Jason Heaton Yeah. From a technological standpoint,
James Stacey okay, cool. I'm I'm on board. From a product standpoint, who's buying this and who's wearing it? I have seen one in the wild, but it was at quail.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Which is kind of where you would wear that watch, I guess.
James Stacey Right. Yeah. But yeah, that's that's my pick. I had a couple others. Um, but that that's the one that I I like 'em and I get it. I think I get it, but I wouldn't I wouldn't buy one.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. No. Like the 200 meters of my
James Stacey peligos is plenty. Yeah. I I mean most of the watches that I have that are hundred meters, I don't ever consider them to be like out of spec for diving.
Jason Heaton Mm-hmm. As long as it's screwed
James Stacey on crown, because I I guess I'm a fuddy duddy that way, but yeah, I uh the the the deep divers don't don't speak to me. Have you ever owned one? One of these ones with like a really big number?
Jason Heaton I mean like well I guess the Super Marine one
James Stacey thousand. Supermarine 2000. I' stveill got
Jason Heaton that that.'s a monster. Huge thing. Ploprof. I had a uh Ploprof, the modern one. Yeah, I guess I've had some deep ones. I had I had the thousand meter citizen um professional diver a few years ago. I mean they're they're fun, but yeah, they're they're kind of largely you know, the trade-off in kind of lack of wearability versus you know function is just kind of it it tips the scales a little too far in one direction. So and I just I just googled that watch the we were both thinking of it's the CX Swiss military.
James Stacey CX Swiss military. There it's a yellow dial that was gonna bother me for a while.
Jason Heaton Yellow dial, you know, just massive thing. Yeah, twelve thousand feet. Anyway. So glad we solved that one. All right.
James Stacey Yeah, good stuff. So that's our three picks each and our whole category. I'm sure this will kick off as some sort of an interesting conversation in the Slack. So preempting some of that, any uh any sort of honorable mentions like th ones that you didn't they didn't have to make the list but but were on your mind when you're putting the list together?
Jason Heaton Yeah, actually this was the first one that came to mind like when we initially proposed this this this topic, I was like, yep, I know exactly which one's coming first. Um but it kind of breaks the bank. It's a more expensive luxury piece. Um and this is also one that could straddle into the category um kind of pick and this is the the Chopard Alpine Eagle uh okay 41 millimeter um just not my taste and and I just I feel like I've seen so much praise for this watch. I know you've liked it. It's come up with
James Stacey 36 a lot several times. Yeah, and
Jason Heaton it doesn't have to be the 41. There's just I I'm not a fan of Roman numerals on dials, for one thing. And
James Stacey sure. I almost as I was considering
Jason Heaton this, I was thinking to myself, do I actually not like integrated bracelet steel sports watches in general? Um and so that's that's why
James Stacey so that was the that was the other category. Could be the other category ultra deep divers.
Jason Heaton Yeah. I don't think I care. Oh, yeah, right.
James Stacey I get I get why they're popular. Um but like I if I like l if we're if we're breaking through the walls here, uh if I was a Patek guy, I would have an aquanut on a rubber strap.
Jason Heaton Yeah, same. Yeah. I just
James Stacey I wouldn't I the the the fitted bracelet, the royal oak of it all, the the this or that, maybe the exception would be a cardinal points.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. If I could be that guy, yeah, it's
James Stacey really good on the bracelet, right? Um, but from the Tissot PRX to that new Raymond wheel to the Chopar, like I don't think I like the Chopar, it's a nicely made watch. I the 36mm fits really well when I when I wear it, but I wouldn't I don't think I'm pining after it. And I think as the category has become like a playbook for brands of any price point, each one makes it a percent less interesting to me.
Jason Heaton Oh, sure. Yeah. Yeah. That's my honorable mention slash category.
James Stacey And I like a NATO. I' Ive I fe Iel feel like like I I might be on record about preferring a NATO.
Jason Heaton That's true. Yeah. Uh you
James Stacey know, nearly four hundred episodes in here. But uh yeah, and uh any any others stand out for you?
Jason Heaton No, that that was my list. Yeah. G Shock was the one that you you got before I got there, but uh yeah. Okay. Yeah. How about you?
James Stacey Yeah, I mean a lot of my other ones were like chronographs
Jason Heaton that I just that are so insanely popular.
James Stacey Speedmaster, Daytona. Yeah. Like you th you there's no argument on the planet to say like this is a bad watch. that's insane. But like I don't really understand the the love.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Um you know, none of them feel great
James Stacey on my wrist. Uh you know, a lot of them I find difficult to read or or borderline like illegible from from a time not just the sub subcounters, but sometimes the time as well.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Depending on the colorway and the rest of
James Stacey it. I guess I'm just that much of like a kind of dive or travel watch guy that like I'm super picky when it comes to chronographs. I and the ones I like, I like a lot.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Um but the you know the
James Stacey the hype around the Daytona and just kind of it being again just kind of like a playbook for people who have a certain amount of money.
Jason Heaton Mm-hmm. I just that doesn't always rub
James Stacey me the the right way. Obviously, they they're beloved by collectors, so that's not the problem.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Um, but yeah, has has never
James Stacey really done it for me. I mean, if I if I wanted to if I wanted a softball my uh category I could say two tone watches, don't like those, guilt, guilt watches, don't like those. But that's not interesting. We've been talking about that for years. So yeah, ultra deep divers felt like more of more of a surprise. But that's a good that was fun. That's a fun little draft. Thanks uh Dave N for the idea.
Jason Heaton Yeah, definitely. All right. Well I I
James Stacey think the rest of this conversation can happen on the Slack.
Jason Heaton Yeah. I think there'll be lots of opinions both
James Stacey for and against our picks. Uh but Jason, you picked uh the Rolex Explorer, the Grand Seiko UFA Spring Drive Diver, Seiko Monster, and Cartier uh watches as a whole in terms of your category. You went for a brand. Uh brave picks, I'd say for the most part.
Jason Heaton Yeah, same. I think the same thing Sacle Monster stings a
James Stacey little bit. I f I thought it might,
Jason Heaton yeah. Yeah, you went with the G Shock fifty six hundred, the Brightling Emergency, the Omega C Master three hundred meter diver, and uh your category was ultra deep divers, so good stuff.
James Stacey Uh but with that in mind, like I said, a big shout out to Dave N for uh the great question. We'll get to more Slack crew and A in the future, but for now, how about uh a little bit of final notes?
Jason Heaton Yeah, sure. Um mine
Jason Heaton is uh it's a bit of an older pick. I guess it's from early July. Um and it's on YouTube and it's a video called W I hate this title, Why Americans Pay $170,000 for this British SUV. And it it comes from um the Wall Street Journal's uh style section. They've got a series called Coveted. And uh as you might guess from the title, it's uh about Land Rovers and and it says here uh the Wall Street Journal explains why the classic quote unquote British Jeep has surged in popularity and why they can sell for up to $170,000 in the US. So um, you know, this isn't a big surprise. There isn't you know much surprise in this video, but it's uh it's kind of a fun look at at the variety and kind of love of old Land Rovers, of which I'm one of its uh proponents. Um and and there's some kind of familiar faces and and organizations in here, you know, Brooklyn Coachworks is in here, kind of a well-known New York Land Rover refurbisher. There's a woman from Instagram that uh is in here as well that people might recognize and uh just kind of covers a broad range of kind of the love of of old Land Rovers and why they're still very popular. And I just you know if you if you're if you're like me and you just kind of like to watch them driving around and people talking about old Land Rovers, I think this is a good video.
James Stacey Yeah, I I didn't realize yours were each worth a hundred and seventy K. Yeah.
Jason Heaton Gee I should just retire now. I'm just sitting on a gold mine here. good
James Stacey nesting. Right. That's just such an absurd. It's probably that new top that pushed it to one hundred and seven. It might even be a hundred and eighty.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah,
James Stacey this is great. I'll I really I do enjoy the coveted uh series uh as do my daughters uh when we're sitting down and kind of watching shorter stuff like the um business insider does like w why is this so expensive?
Jason Heaton Yeah. And takes you like into its supply
James Stacey chains and that's it's it's fascinating stuff. So these could be great and uh I'm I'm excited to watch that. Yeah. Good pick.
Jason Heaton All right. What do you got?
James Stacey Uh this week I have a follow up to a book I recommended last year or even earlier this year. I didn't go, which was Nuclear War, a scenario by Annie Jacobson. Annie uh or Miss Jacobson has followed that up with a new one called Biological War, a scenario, and it is terrifying jaw-dropping.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Oh, totally terrifying. Um
James Stacey this just came out, I believe, uh just recently, and uh I I I missed its announcement um and hadn't like signed up for the wait list on my Kindle, but I was hanging out with my brothers while while I was off and uh my brother Grant said he bought it the day it came out and read it that weekend. And uh I I'm doing the same. I absolutely I'm just these are jaw-dropping books. The nuclear war one was an incredible thing to read and I I I know I rambled on about it on a previous episode. Uh but I recommend either of these. Uh the biological war one is a whole different, obviously a different category and a different type of terror and having the hindsight of COVID behind us, it's even kind of scarier. So I I if it's something that feels interesting to you, maybe go grab the I it's definitely a book where in a chapter you're gonna you're gonna understand the vibe the tone is equal throughout
Jason Heaton yeah um you can go grab the Kindle
James Stacey sample if you're not sure it was easily worth the 18 bucks that I I that I paid and I hope Andy gets a decent cut of that. Uh she's just become uh an anything she writes, I will be reading. Um, and anytime she pops up on a podcast, I I will listen. Um so I'm a big f big fan of this one. It's absolutely terrifying. Very uh dark. very dark.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Um, but a great read. Yeah. Yeah. Good pick. Well, uh, we came in under an hour, just barely. Um look at us. Yeah, right.
James Stacey It's that August energy. Right.
Jason Heaton Yeah, efficiency. Yeah. Exactly. All right. Well, uh, as always, thanks so much for listening. If you want to subscribe to the show notes, get into the comments for each episode, or consider supporting the show directly, and maybe even grab a new TGN signed NATO, please visit thegreynato..com Music throughout a siesta by Jazzar via the Free Music Archive.
James Stacey And we leave you with this quote from Mel Brooks, who I believe recently celebrated his 100th birthday, who said, Bad taste is simply saying the truth.