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Carefully curated recommendations on what to read, watch and listen to. For nerds and changemakers who love when something makes them go «Huh, I never thought of it this way!».Undecided? Learn more | Peek inside
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Immerse yourself in a particular topic, with some of the best links from around the web, handpicked.
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Hi, I'm David. A journalist, and a curious generalist.
I've been curating the best of the web for my newsletter since 2011. I'd love to be your diligent curator, too.
Recommendations in the Weekly Filet are things I want my friends to see.
Things that tickle and delight a curious mind.
Articles, books, podcasts, graphics, videos, photographs,...The form is never the limit.
I let these questions guide me:
1. Does it help understand a complex, important issue?
2. Does it foster empathy by making you see the world through others' eyes?
3. Does it inspire self-reflection?
If it's timely, that's good. If it's timeless, that's better.
If in doubt, I prefer nerdy, witty, ambiguous. Solutions-oriented and actionable. Candid.
Don't expect news. Expect new insights.
Expect to be surprised.
2817 recommended links since 2011
...or shuffle for a surprise
What a wonderful – and somewhat scary – idea: The author reached out to former good friends she lost touch with – to talk about what happened.
I need to quote this in full because it’s so poignant: «The end of the liberal world order is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in conference rooms and university lecture halls in places like Washington and Brussels. But in al-Ahamdda, this theoretical idea has become reality. The liberal world order has already ended in Sudan, and there isn’t anything to replace it.» Anne Applebaum, reporting from Sudan, still the most underreported humanitarian catastrophe in the world right now.
«One of the benefits of being an absolute monarchy with limitless wealth is that vast sums can be spent without having to clear lengthy bureaucratic hurdles.» A very interesting long read on how Qatar became a major player on the world stage, «for the sort of high-stakes geopolitical deal-making transacted until recently in Geneva and Oslo».
Even Taco, with his erratic tariff moves, could only briefly send markets downwards. These past weeks, stock markets have hit record highs. «The uncomfortable fact about its historic run is that no one really knows why it’s happening», this analysis begins. It gives a good overview of classical theories that no longer seem to apply and offers one possible explanation: more and more people invest and forget.
Did you know chief decision scientist is a role at Google? Me neither. Cassie Kozyrkov used to have that title and she has so many interesting things to say in this interview. I found the first part most interesting where she talks about what makes a good decision, and why even helpful answers from AI can lead to worse decisions.
A new video by «Epic Spaceman», and it’s just as mind-blowing as previous ones, with his unique blend of storytelling and animation technique. This is about the unimaginably large number of planets (and moons!) out there that could have alien life – and the disappointingly simple reason why we haven’t found anyone out there yet.
This moved me more than I expected. A beautiful 10-minute film documenting one man’s quest to preserve «the very last sounds» of the Morteratsch Glacier in Switzerland. Just as you’ve started enjoying these eerie sounds, there’s this dagger of a sentence: «The more alive the glacier seems, the more the glacier is actually dying.»
«Whole sections of bookstores are dedicated to becoming successful. There is no section marked managing your professional decline.» An essay on accepting that you’ve peaked professionally. And how embracing it starts with recognising that you can redefine what you see as your core strengths. Hint: If you enjoy helping others thrive, you’re in a good position.
An opinionated rating of the five most commonly used AI models in search of the most ethical one. Short answer: «There are no ethical options — only harm reduction strategies.» Still, there are notable differences and you probably don’t want to choose the ones that represent «environmental racism in action» or «industrial-scale exploitation».
«Enshittification» is such a great term for describing why most of the web is way shittier than it could be. The idea: Platforms like Facebook attract people and businesses, but as soon as they’ve locked them in, they gradually turn on them until in the end, only the platform’s own interests count. In this essay, the author transfers the concept to geopolitics – and it is illuminating. Military hardware, the US dollar, satellite constellations can be seen as platforms; platforms that were attractive to many countries that now rely upon them. And with Trump comes enshittification: «The United States is beginning to monetise its hegemony.»