Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at life in Ukraine during war with Russia.
Quote of the Day
"How is it possible that social media apps always seem fated to manipulate and disappoint us?"
(Ellis Hamburger)
Books
- An excerpt from Jean M. Twenge’s book "Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—And What They Mean for America’s Future." (theatlantic.com)
- An excerpt from "Quitting: A Life Strategy" by Julia Keller. (bigthink.com)
- A Q&A with Alexander Field author of "The Economic Consequences of US Mobilization for the Second World War." (fasterplease.substack.com)
- An excerpt from "The Secret Gate: A True Story of Courage and Sacrifice During the Collapse of Afghanistan" by Mitchell Zuckoff. (theatlantic.com)
- A Q&A with Tove Danovich author of "Under the Henfluence: Inside the World of Backyard Chickens and the People Who Love Them." (annehelen.substack.com)
AI
- AI-generated music is already here. The question is how/if it gets monetized. (stratechery.com)
- How generative AI will change design. (notboring.co)
Companies
- Blooomberg LP is contemplating a future without its founder. (on.ft.com)
- Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter broke the fever dream for many users. (nytimes.com)
Geography
- Texas' feral hog problem is only getting worse. (texasmonthly.com)
- How geography helped Chicago become a market and population hub. (unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com)
Longreads
- A lot of historical bubbles have been productive in retrospect. (thegeneralist.substack.com)
- History suffers when images and video are out of the public domain. (aeon.co)
- Late night television is in decline with no great answers on the horizon. (variety.com)
- What exactly is a 'practical' college major any more? (nymag.com)
- Why farmers are uniquely at-risk of committing suicide. (nytimes.com)
- A profile of Kai Lenny who has seemingly conquered every water sport. (wired.com)
- What happens when we sleep. (reuters.com)
