Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at how TikTok is changing the music business.
Quote of the Day
"Optimists move the world forward. There’s something deeply optimistic about entrepreneurship, the idea that it’s possible to create things that have never existed, and find a market for them."
(Packy McCormick)
Books
- An excerpt from "An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal The Hidden Realms Around Us" by Ed Yong. (theatlantic.com)
- An excerpt from "Bitch: On the Female of the Species" by Lucy Cooke. (wired.com)
Business
- A profile of Ginkgo Bioworks ($DNA) has the s goal of becoming the first platform company in synthetic biology. (notboring.co)
- Mario Gabriele, "Y Combinator has more weapons than any other player in venture capital." (readthegeneralist.com)
- Investors are building portfolios of vacation rentals with borrowed money. (bloomberg.com)
- How Nike ($NKE) has remained culturally relevant for 50 years. (nytimes.com)
Gambling
- Will the U.S. learn the UK's lessons from widespread sports gambling? (wired.com)
- A profile of poker legend Doyle Brunson at age 88. (texasmonthly.com)
Longreads
- Adrian Wooldridge, "The ultimate paradox about authenticity is that the more we crave it, the more we are likely to be deceived: Authentic leaders turn out to be bounders and authentic experiences turn out to be mirages." (bloomberg.com)
- Over the past few years Hong Kong has been thoroughly transformed, and not for the better. (nymag.com)
- Some insights and wisdom from Josh Wolfe of Lux Capital including 'The best way to predict the future is to invent it.' (neckar.substack.com)
- Sanibel Island is doing everything right, but it still may not save it from rising sea levels. (bloomberg.com)
- Will Northwest seaweed finally farming take off? (seattlemet.com)
