Great episode from the David McWilliams podcast. On how rising interest rates have pushed us into a different world, back into reality, so to speak, because «when the interest rate is zero, the price of money is zero, and thus everything is priced wrongly.»

«It’s much more likely the 2024 election will be free and fair» is a ridiculously low bar for celebrations after the midterm elections in the USA, but I guess we’ll take it. A trenchant short analysis of the (preliminary and incomplete!) results.

A very interesting topic, expertly visualised. On fraud by photoshop in science, and how artificial intelligence is both part of the solution and making things worse.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a listicle by Rebecca Solnit, with advice on how not to lose hope. In this new essay, she specifically addresses the feeling of despair, and why we must not give in to it. She describes despair as an «enemy of hope», a «false certainty about what is going to happen that excuses inaction». My favourite bit of the entire essay: «Despair can be true as an emotion, but false as an analysis.»

Very relatable. As a passionate despiser of phone calls, I’d argue you can improve this article’s title by removing the last word and the first four.

Stunning multimedia piece on Ukraine’s effort to document the ongoing destruction and protect the nation’s cultural identity.

An impressive profile of «the most powerful person in the world» in the form of an eight-part podcast series. The Economist’s China correspondent tells the story of Xi Jinping’s slow rise to power, the China he’s shaping and how he plans to change the world.

An ode the the opening sentence of novels, standing there welcoming readers «with the heavy responsibility of taking them into a new world.»

Bolsonaro’s defeat in Brazil is good for all sorts of reasons. From a global perspective, few political issues have higher global stakes than the conservation of the Amazon. A good short explanation of why this election mattered so much, and why deforestation is still unlikely to stop.

I’m sure you’ve heard the advice (or given it yourself): Don’t be the smartest person in the room. Here comes the ultimate refutation of it. It begins with the obvious logical flaw in the advice and the humblebragging nature of it, only to take off to an extensive elaboration on freedom and the difference between infinite vs. finite games. The key insight comes early in the piece: Don’t surround yourself with smarter people. Surround yourself with unpredictable people, people who are «free in ways you’re not». The goal is to have more Huh?!- than Aha!-moments.