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
"The belief that the world owes you the perfect role for your special unique personality is myopically self-focused and ill-suited to hard times. The alternative notion that the world needs you to offer all that you can is comparably liberating."
(Cal Newport)
Autos
- The global pandemic has put the entire auto industry in a hole. (axios.com)
- Global EV sales topped 2 million in 2019. (axios.com)
- Americans have swapped flying for driving. (thereformedbroker.com)
- The problem of licensing new drivers in the age of pandemic. (ozy.com)
Energy
- How farmers and utilities are capturing methane and burning it for energy. (washingtonpost.com)
- Fossil fuel production by country visualized. (visualcapitalist.com)
Travel
- Greece handled the coronavirus well and will likely benefit from it this Summer. (bloomberg.com)
- Some European cities, like Madrid, are enjoying the respite from tourists. (marketwatch.com)
- Tourists do not want to visit the US while the pandemic is ongoing. (qz.com)
- A chunk of the New York hotel market will not reopen to guests. (wsj.com)
- Has the pandemic changed the equation for travel insurance? (nytimes.com)
Apps
- Chatbot apps are gaining traction among users and therapists. (wired.com)
- The FDA approved a video game for the treatment of ADHD in children. (theverge.com)
- How to find the best meditation app for your needs. (nytimes.com)
Behavior
- The pandemic is a hard time for any with OCD or OCD-like tendencies. (theconversation.com)
- A Q&A with Robert Whitaker about the use (and abuse) of prescription antidepressants. (bigthink.com)
- Why getting out into nature can be an antidote to depression. (brainpickings.org)
- Why the feeling of boredom is do discomfiting. (behavioralscientist.org)
- There is meaning in pain and loss. (theatlantic.com)
Medicine
- Four major global public health issues that have been pushed aside due to the coronavirus including antibiotic resistance. (newscientist.com)
- Even before Covid-19 we needed better pneumonia diagnostics. (statnews.com)
- Flu shots are going to be a key tool in fighting coronavirus in the Fall. (bloomberg.com)
- The FDA has approved Gardasil 9 for the prevention of head-and-neck cancer. (statnews.com)
- If you can, you should donate blood in the pandemic. (nytimes.com)
Fitness
- David Epstein talks with Steve Kamb, the founder of Nerdfitness.com, about working out at home. (davidepstein.com)
- If you can't do 10,000 steps a day, do something. Every bit helps. (wsj.com)
- Chronic, extreme exercise increases the risk of atrial fibrillation. (washingtonpost.com)
Weed
- Canada's cannabis oversupply problem is set to get worse this year. (bnnbloomberg.ca)
- How the pandemic could help boost the prospects of cannabis companies. (cb1cap.com)
Farms
- The pandemic has disrupted those parts of the agriculture system we most need. (insidehook.com)
- Fish farmers are now trying to slow the growth of their residents. (wsj.com)
- Milk prices have rebounded but that doesn't mean things are all good with dairy farmers. (wsj.com)
Bread
- What it's like to be on the King Arthur Flour hotline in pandemic. (eater.com)
- It's time to call 'Peak Sourdough.' (npr.org)
Food systems
- Grocery stores have embraced delivery and pickup but recognize it is not that profitable. (wsj.com)
- Small meat processors can not make up shortfalls at the major plants. (politico.com)
- Food banks are struggling to keep up with demand. (theatlantic.com)
Food
- WFH has exposed more Americans to the dangers of snacking. (nytimes.com)
- Cheese is piling up in warehouses in the pandemic. (modernfarmer.com)
- Who said you can't grow lettuce in winter? (reasonstobecheerful.world)
- Five ways to make your bananas last longer. (mentalfloss.com)
Drink
- Cocktail Kingdom sold barware to professionals. Then the pandemic hit. (nytimes.com)
- Microbreweries are redesigning their distribution channels on the fly in pandemic. (eater.com)
Entertainment
- The pandemic is causing a big shake out in film financing. (ft.com)
- Movie theaters between a rock and a hard place. (axios.com)
- How Netflix ($NFLX) is trying to restart production for its slate of shows. (ft.com)
Relationships
- After taking a hit, online dating sites are seeing a surge in messaging. (ft.com)
- Dating apps are rolling now features since offline dates are a no-go. (wsj.com)
- No more lying about your age, AI is effective at predicting how old you are. (sciencedaily.com)
- Politics are now dating dealbreakers. (bigthink.com)
- Three bad reasons to get married. (markmanson.net)
Sports
- Its nearly impossible to play football and social distance. (wsj.com)
- Soccer without fans makes for unsettling silence. (theringer.com)
- People are fishing more in lockdown, just ask the makers of the Fishbrain app. (bloomberg.com)
Children
- The Department of Education is doing little to help states navigate reopening schools this Fall. (axios.com)
- Children have their own unique social needs that are not getting met in lockdown. (wsj.com)
MBA
- How B-school deans are dealing with the pandemic. (bloomberg.com)
- MBA programs have not seen a marked tick up in black enrollment over the past decade. (wsj.com)
- Elite MBA programs are built on in-person contact not Zoom ($ZM). Is there a way forward? (fastcompany.com)
- What will business school look like in the Fall? (wsj.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: lessons not learned. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: the economics of happiness. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Thursday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Longform links: sacrificing humaneness. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Sign up for our weekly adviser-focused e-mail that goes on Fridays. Five links to make you think headed into the weekend. (newsletter.abnormalreturns.com)