Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at how lump sums can help jump start the lives of the homeless.
Quote of the Day
"Conspiracy theories arise in the context of fear, anxiety, mistrust, uncertainty, and feelings of powerlessness."
(John Ehrenreich)
Books
- An excerpt from "Beginners: The Curious Power of Lifelong Learning" by Tom Vanderbilt. (theguardian.com)
- An excerpt from "Ask Your Developer: How to Harness the Power of Software Developers and Win in the 21st Century" by Jeff Lawson. (fastcompany.com)
- An excerpt from "How to Survive: Self-Reliance in Extreme Circumstances" by John Hudson, the British military’s chief survival instructor. (wired.com)
- An excerpt from "Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas" by Alexi Pappas. (theatlantic.com)
Companies
- Alibaba ($BABA) trades at a discount due to political risk. (notboring.substack.com)
- Why Spotify ($SPOT) is betting big on podcasts. (bloomberg.com)
- Is Nike ($NKE) losing its cool? (ft.com)
Technology
- Why Austin, Texas won't become Silicon Valley 2.0. (texasmonthly.com)
- What does Internet 3.0 look like? Decentralized and more open. (stratechery.com)
Environment
- Want a better ocean? Eat more oysters. (newrepublic.com)
- It's now warm enough In Georgia to grow citrus. (bittersoutherner.com)
- Should we use CRISPR to save, or eliminate, a species? (newyorker.com)
Longreads
- The 'American Rage Machine' isn't new but it has grown dramatically in the past few years. (gq.com)
- A lot of the problems we saw over the past four years were presaged in the last presidential transition. (nytimes.com)
- How researchers are trying to prepare for the next pandemic including 'universal vaccines.' (wired.co.uk)
- Sperm banks are seeing a surge in demand in pandemic. (nytimes.com)
