Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at how Russian oligarchs keep their vast wealth hidden.
Quote of the Day
"When storytellers are held hostage by their own audiences, it undermines their ability to do what artists do best: explore, revise, play. "
(Adrienne Westenfeld)
Books
- A Q&A with Guarav Batra, co-author of "The Titanium Economy: How Industrial Technology Can Create a Better, Faster, Stronger America." (fasterplease.substack.com)
- An excerpt from "It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO" by Felix Gillette and John Koblin. (bloomberg.com)
- An excerpt from “I Wouldn’t Do That if I Were Me: Modern Blunders and Modest Triumphs (but Mostly Blunders)” by Jason Gay. (wsj.com)
- Daniel Pink talks with Eric Barker author of "Plays Well with Others: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Relationships Is (Mostly) Wrong." (nextbigideaclub.com)
- An excerpt from Kieran Setiya’s new book, "Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way." (theatlantic.com)
Longreads
- Google's ad business is a funding source for all manner of bad actors. (propublica.org)
- What happens to gasoline stations when cars increasingly go electric? (politico.com)
- Individual creators are taking the place of music labels. (tedgioia.substack.com)
- How generative AI will change art and creativity. (ft.com)
- The world is changing, so our cities should change as well. (noahpinion.substack.com)
- Climate change is now inevitable. Normalization and adaptation are the future. (nytimes.com)
- A deep dive into the business of an online content provider, Defector. (defector.com)
- Why modern dating is so hard. (mindmine.substack.com)
