Longform links: ecological dead zones
Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. Wherever possible, free links for premium sites are used. You can check out...
Books
- A Q&A with Reid Hoffman, co-author of "Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right With Our AI Future?" (theguardian.com)
- A Q&A with Alex Hutchinson author of "The Explorer’s Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map." (davidepstein.substack.com)
- An excerpt from "Proof: The Uncertain Science of Certainty," by Adam Kucharski. (wired.com)
- An excerpt from "Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change" by Olga Khazan. (behavioralscientist.org)
- A Q&A with Leah Sottie author of "Look Inside Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age." (annehelen.substack.com)
Video
- Why people on YouTube watch Vegas Matt lose big money in Las Vegas casinos. (slate.com)
- On the origin story of Blockbuster-killer Netflix ($NFLX). (variety.com)
- Andy Kaufmann really was ahead of his time. (nytimes.com)
Global
- Why Europe is rethinking its reliance on U.S. defense, including nuclear. (wsj.com)
- China's manufacturing sector is rapidly transitioning away from labor intensity. (on.ft.com)
- What Europe needs to do to become a superpower. (unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com)
Health
- How to use AI to cure an incurable disease. (nytimes.com)
- Why did a cluster of ALS cases turn up in the Alps? (theatlantic.com)
- How framing affects what we want to eat. (aeon.co)
- How Zyn became a thing. (newyorker.com)
Longreads
- Katie Gatti Tassin, "Statistically speaking, women’s financial lives unfold differently than men’s, both for boring, apolitical reasons like longer average life spans, and tricky, entrenched problems like lower average pay after childbirth." (moneywithkatie.com)
- Does American business have a soft skills 'crisis'? (harpers.org)
- What you need to understand about solar energy. (construction-physics.com)
- H-Mart still has plenty of room to grow. (readtrung.com)
- Checking in on Culdesac Tempe, the self-proclaimed "first car-free neighborhood in America." (dwell.com)
- How (train) cargo theft works in practice. (outsideonline.com)
- How wealthy American high schoolers Spring Break these days. (nytimes.com)
- Oklahoma’s state superintendent of public instruction really wants schools to teach the Bible. (hechingerreport.org)
- How major league pitching has changed over time. (nytimes.com)
