Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at America’s relationship with dysfunctional drinking.
Quote of the Day
"People gauge their wellbeing relative to those around them. It’s the path of least resistance to determining what life owes you and what you should expect. Everyone does it."
(Morgan Housel)
Book stuff
- A Q&A with Pete Davis author of "Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing." (theatlantic.com)
- A Q&A with Katy Milkman author of "How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be." (gq.com)
Crypto
- Capital and talent are rushing into DeFi: a lay of the land. (john-street-capital.medium.com)
- Caroline Lester, "Starting a cryptocurrency is a bit like starting a religion. Without large-scale buy-in, the system looks like a cult." (newyorker.com)
Profiles
- How exactly did Jeffrey Epstein become so rich? The story of his relationship with Leslie H. Wexner. (vanityfair.com)
- The people who are hunting Capitol seditionists online. (bloomberg.com)
- Meet the people who enter contests for a living. (newrepublic.com)
Longreads
- How billionaires end up not paying much in the way of taxes. (propublica.org)
- Why the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are having trouble retaining firefighters. (grist.org)
- China has become a big exporter of urban surveillance systems around the globe. (ft.com)
- How the U.S. fractured into four different parts. (theatlantic.com)
- Little Leagues used to be a hub for a town's Summer activities. Travel teams have taken that away. (newyorker.com)
- Chefs are going overboard, flavor-wise, when it comes to going vegan. (gq.com)
- What we lose when we lose our unbridled enthusiasm as children. (paulgraham.com)
