Did you know you can stay up-to-date with all of our posts via our daily e-mail newsletter? Sign up today!
Quote of the Day
"There is a new culture war in America, between the ordinary and the transcendent. And the ordinary is winning."
(Tyler Cowen)
Chart of the Day

Why it feels like every movie in the theaters these days in an action movie.
Autos
- Crummy roads are increasing the costs to drivers via accidents and repairs. (wsj.com)
- What do the super-rich want from a car today? (ft.com)
- Have we hit 'peak-supercar' yet? (bloomberg.com)
Transport
- Food delivery robots are coming to a college town near you. (axios.com)
- Architects are beginning to design buildings with cyclists in mind. (wired.com)
Travel
- How Airbnb is hollowing out some neighborhoods in European cities, like Lisbon. (ft.com)
- Are we willing to eschew long-range travel to help the environment? (theatlantic.com)
- Invitation-only airline clubs are a thing. (bloomberg.com)
Energy
- Wyoming is having to come to terms with steeply declining coal production. (wsj.com)
- Pretty cool. A device that creates electricity from falling snow. (phys.org)
Environment
- Why Hurricane Dorian is not an outlier. (theatlantic.com)
- The Outer Banks of North Carolina are not a permanent feature. (washingtonpost.com)
- A lot of companies recognize Trump's deregulation is going to be a blip. (bloomberg.com)
- Why 'alternative meats' are not just a fad. (ft.com)
Heat
- Cities are heat sinks, exposing some of the most vulnerable to danger. (npr.org)
- Las Vegas is the fastest-warming city in the United States. (theguardian.com)
- How high heat impacts the brain and mental health. (npr.org)
Technology
- How a new wearable could help those with hearing loss "feel" sounds. (wsj.com)
- Why you need a password manager, now. (nytimes.com)
Psychedelic research
- Johns Hopkins Medicine is launching a new psychedelic research center. (baltimoresun.com)
- Tim Ferriss, and others, have invested time and money into psychedelics research. (nytimes.com)
- Psychadelics are a service, not a consumer product. (wsj.com)
The brain
- Even a quick dose of time outside can boost mood. (elemental.medium.com)
- Why listening to sad music makes you feel better. (elemental.medium.com)
Medicine
- The spread of vaping-related illnesses is scary. (nytimes.com)
- A gel that could fix cavities would be a miracle. (newscientist.com)
- Full digital access to your medical records is still a dual-edged sword. (nytimes.com)
Fitness
- 12 etiquette techniques for yoga class. (washingtonpost.com)
- In praise of deadlifting. (nytimes.com)
Food
- Better expiration dates could help reduce food waste. (wsj.com)
- Why this wave of alternative meats is different. (washingtonpost.com)
- Plant-based shrimp is now a thing. (fastcompany.com)
- How Annie's made powdered cheese seem virtuous. (eater.com)
- The best olive oil is the freshest. (nytimes.com)
Cannabis
- The future of cannabis is mainstream retail. (axios.com)
- What should you do with your weed at the airport? (wsj.com)
Coffee
- Starbucks ($SBUX) is set to open pickup-only stores. (bloomberg.com)
- The company aims to reduce the greenhouse emissions from coffee roasting. (venturebeat.com)
- Some recommended coffee gear. (medium.com)
Dogs
- Why euthanasia rates have plummeted at animal shelters. (mentalfloss.com)
- Why we should re-think de-sexing our dogs. (nytimes.com)
- How having a dog makes you more human. (nytimes.com)
Sports
- On the tenuous state of the knuckleball in MLB. (theringer.com)
- The WNBA is a good product. Why isn't anybody watching? (nytimes.com)
Media
- Premium short form video, like Quibi, is a big bet on the future. (wsj.com)
- Why you're not getting a 'Friends' re-boot, ever. (nytimes.com)
- 40 good movies on Netflix ($NFLX) that you likely haven't seen. (vulture.com)
- 25 TV shows that should have ended earlier. (vice.com)
Kids
- More schools are restricting smartphones from the classroom: texting parents. (wsj.com)
- Classrooms are filling with technology. Is that actually a good thing? (wsj.com)
College
- The 2019 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings are out. (wsj.com)
- Despite increased tuition assistance, full-time MBA programs are a tough sell. (wsj.com)
- A Q&A with Caitlin Zaloom author of the new book "Indebted: How Families Make College Work at Any Cost." (theatlantic.com)
- The one downside to paying for your kids' college education. (businessinsider.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Longform links: the high cost of delivery. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Building anything successful is difficult. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in Friday's linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: hardcore listeners. (abnormalreturns.com)
- In the future every asset will be tradeable, even sports teams. (abnormalreturns.com)
- ESG links: understanding risks. (abnormalreturns.com)