Saturdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at some scenarios on how the coronavirus pandemic will play out over time.
Covid-19
- Until there is a vaccine, estimates about the economy are just guesses. (marker.medium.com)
- How Michael Lewis' book "The Fifth Risk" foreshadowed the adminstration's mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak. (worth.com)
- Covid-19 will be a boon to automation in a number of fields. (protocol.com)
Books
- An excerpt from “Coffeeland: One Man’s Dark Empire and the Making of Our Favorite Drug” by Augustine Sedgewick. (wsj.com)
- An excerpt from "The Rocket Years: How Your Twenties Launch the Rest of Your Life" by Elizabeth Segran. (fastcompany.com)
History
- In the US the 1918 Spanish Flu was largely swept up the rug by newspapers. (newrepublic.com)
- Britain has forgotten about this site from WWII. (nationalgeographic.com)
Longreads
- Like it or not, China is well on the way of building its own Internet. (ft.com)
- How epidemics change civilizations. (wsj.com)
- How scientists (and marketers) are hoping to create a consistent high for consumers. (nytimes.com)
- How vacations became just another opportunity to 'work on yourself.' (vice.com)
- Does Twitter ($TWTR) really want to be in the business of verifying claims in tweets? (stratechery.com)
- A history of loneliness. (newyorker.com)