Saturdays are the day we catch up with all the non-finance related stuff we didn’t get to during the week. You can check out last week’s edition here.
Quote of the Day
"To normalize this is to invite complacency, and complacency, as much as the virus itself, ought to be our enemy."
(Clayton Dalton)
Autos
- Tesla ($TSLA) has cut car prices by $5,000 in North America. (theverge.com)
- The pandemic is forcing traditional auto retailers to do more online. (nytimes.com)
- Amazon ($AMZN) is reportedly in talks to buy self-driving car startup Zoox to help beef up its delivery efforts. (axios.com)
- Why the Apple ($AAPL) Car fantasy persists. (mondaynote.com)
- European car makers are pushing hard on EVs. (ft.com)
- Ford ($F) has figured out a way to sanitize the interior of cop cars by cranking up the heat. (engadget.com)
Energy
- The US consumed more renewables than coal in April. (wsj.com)
- A dozen European countries are on track to eliminate coal from their energy systems. (reasonstobecheerful.world)
- Renewable energy fluctuations make managing the electric grid more challenging. (nytimes.com)
- It's a lot easier to build an energy efficient city from the ground up. (theconversation.com)
- Backup power sources still rely on fossil fuels. (ft.com)
Environment
- Will the coronavirus jump start the process of reducing carbon emissions? (wsj.com)
- Stop fetishizing tree planting as an environmental good. (slate.com)
Travel
- Boeing ($BA) and Airbus are trying to study how the coronavirus acts within the confines of an airplane. (wsj.com)
- Airlines are increasing the number of flights to maintain social distancing. (axios.com)
- A nine-seat Cessna electric-powered aircraft successfully took a test flight. (newatlas.com)
- Travel insurance companies are balking at paying out claims due to the coronavirus. (latimes.com)
- Some dedicated cruisers can't wait to get back on floating petri dishes. (businessinsider.com)
- Thinking about flying? Here's what you need to know. (nytimes.com)
Technology
- There is no better time than the present to get a password manager. (wired.com)
- Automated background checks are seriously flawed and preventing individuals from getting jobs, apartments etc. (nytimes.com)
Quarantine side-effects
- James Hamblin, "The individual model of depression was never meant to address a significant percentage of a population." (theatlantic.com)
- Digital communication, like Zoom, is not a substitute for in-person interaction. (vox.com)
- Prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications jumped in April. (wsj.com)
- Quarantine is a perfect time for anger to spill out in unproductive ways. (elemental.medium.com)
Behavior
- What does the research say about the benefits (or not) of a mindfulness practice? (fivethirtyeight.com)
- Suicide is often triggered by a range of factors, not just depression. (theconversation.com)
- What is the clinical endpoint in a trial of psychedelics? (nautil.us)
- Happiness cannot be directly pursued. (rationalwalk.com)
Medicine
- Fewer traffic accidents mean fewer organ transplants. (khn.org)
- Gut microbes may be the key to mediating allergic cascades. (knowablemagazine.org)
Covid-19
- Merck ($MRK) is putting into trials a treatment that would force the coronavirus to force an “error catastrophe.” (ft.com)
- Wastewater testing for the coronavirus can serve as a good early warning system. (statnews.com)
- We are going to have to rethink HVAC systems. (nymag.com)
- The steps the CDC recommends for offices that reopen. (nytimes.com)
- Public bathrooms are an ongoing issue for the spread of the coronavirus. (vox.com)
- Three ways to help make mask wearing in public the norm. (nytimes.com)
- Are we already becoming numb to the Covid-19 carnage? (newyorker.com)
Fitness
- There is a good chance you are breathing wrong. (wsj.com)
- Exercise is usually the answer to many of life's ills. (nytimes.com)
Food
- CPG companies are experimenting with home delivery. (ft.com)
- Many small farmers are going to get wiped out by the pandemic. (thecounter.org)
- How different grocery chains stack up on worker protection in the time of pandemic. (eater.com)
Dogs
- Before you get that 'pandemic puppy' here is what it will cost you. (wsj.com)
- Dogs could be trained to sniff out humans with the coronavirus. (businessinsider.com)
Euro soccer
- European soccer was changing before the pandemic. Those trends will likely only accelerate. (nytimes.com)
- What are Europe's 20 football teams worth? (footballbenchmark.com)
Entertainment
- Ten years in, five lessons learned from the show 'Lost.' (theringer.com)
- How studios are planning to get back to work. (variety.com)
- 12 lesser known classic, power pop songs. (nytimes.com)
Children
- The pandemic shows that teenagers naturally sleep in and later school start times would help. (nytimes.com)
- Schools are going to face higher costs this Fall. (washingtonpost.com)
College
- Major matters more than school when it comes to starting salaries. (wsj.com)
- The SAT and ACT may have lost their standing for good. (bloomberg.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Longform links: pet theories. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: reclaiming normalcy. (abnormalreturns.com)
