On Saturdays we catch up with the non-finance related items that we didn’t get to earlier in the week. You can check out last week’s edition here. Have a great weekend!
Quote of the Day
"So if Threads does work, it won’t be because it has toppled Twitter, but because it toppled Instagram."
(Ryan Broderick)
Chart of the Day
New auto sales were up some 13% in the first half of 2023. (chart via @ycharts)
Transport
- What will it take for the U.S. to take pedestrian safety seriously? (vox.com)
- Ambulances don't need to run 'hot' all the time. (statnews.com)
- Why more e-bike fires are going to happen. (theatlantic.com)
Lithium
- Norway has found a huge stash of high-grade phosphate rock. (euractiv.com)
- Why automakers are making deals with miners. (nytimes.com)
Energy
- U.S. incentives are stealing renewable projects from Europe. (politico.com)
- Why the U.S. lags Europe in offshore wind power. (semafor.com)
- Renewables continue to take share in Texas. (econbrowser.com)
- We have the technology to make geothermal energy ubiquitous. (austinvernon.site)
- Virtual power plants are the future. (grist.org)
Heat
- This week was filled with global temperature records. (grist.org)
- This might be the coolest summer of your life. (vox.com)
- The American South is becoming increasingly hot, and unbearable. (msn.com)
Environment
- PFAS chemicals are not the only thing to worry about in your water. (washingtonpost.com)
- You can't address climate change without talking about meat consumption. (vox.com)
- More corporations are going natural in their landscaping. (nytimes.com)
- Can air conditioning be made more sustainable? (theweek.com)
Water
- The ocean is warming worldwide, but more so in the high latitudes of the Northern (grist.org)
- When people move away from flood-prone areas, they don't move far. (nytimes.com)
- Is there a better way to do desalination? (hakaimagazine.com)
Animals
- Researchers have found an elusive octopus nursery some 9,000 feet under the sea. (abcnews.go.com)
- Great white sharks are feeding off the coast of Cape Cod. (scientificamerican.com)
- Elephants like variety at meal time as well. (newatlas.com)
- Half of bat species are at-risk. (modernfarmer.com)
Archaeology
- Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered the remains of an ancient Maya city deep in the jungle of the Yucatán Peninsula. (bbc.com)
- What Indiana Jones gets right (and wrong) about archaeology. (smithsonianmag.com)
- Pompeii continues to provide clues on Roman life. (aeon.co)
Travel
- Why tourists have no place in Antarctica. (msn.com)
- The Galapagos have an overtourism problem. (theatlantic.com)
- The TSA is expanding the use of facial recognition software. (theverge.com)
- What's going on with airport security lines? (axios.com)
- The case FOR checking a bag. (theverge.com)
Technology
- You can't talk about the Internet without talking about Ethernet. (om.co)
- You can't scale AI without a lot of compute, which is controlled by Big Tech. (nytimes.com)
Psychedelics
- Australia now allows for the use of MDMA and psilocybin to treat depression. (nature.com)
- A resource for people having a bad trip is a phone call away. (wired.com)
Behavior
- Lonely people experience the world differently. (arstechnica.com)
- Depression after a traumatic brain injury is distinct. (statnews.com)
- Five insights from "The Power of Saying No: The New Science of How to Say No that Puts You in Charge of Your Life" by Vanessa Patrick. (nextbigideaclub.com)
- The benefits of working outside. (newscientist.com)
Weight loss
- Ozempic alone will not make for a healthy weight. (vox.com)
- Intermittent fasting works by helping to reduce calorie consumption. (npr.org)
- Are there better ways to measure obesity than BMI? (scientificamerican.com)
- Is there a link between BMI and health? (emilyoster.substack.com)
Pharmaceuticals
- The FDA has approved the first drug to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. (newatlas.com)
- Older adults are underrepresented in cancer drug trials. (undark.org)
- A third RSV vaccine is coming to market. (biopharmadive.com)
- Oral films as a drug delivery system. (newatlas.com)
Health
- On the ethics of using someone's sperm after they have died. (wired.com)
- WHO is really bad at communication, the case of aspartame. (msn.com)
Fitness
- Why maintaining muscle mass is so important for aging. (scientificamerican.com)
- What to do if you don't feel like working out. (artofmanliness.com)
Cannabis
- The low down on states that are holding out against cannabis legalization. (politico.com)
- On the relationship between cannabis use and mental illness. (wsj.com)
Food
- Good luck finding Georgia peaches this summer. (nytimes.com)
- Chewing gum had a good run. Now it's passe. (msn.com)
- Why skate wing is showing up on menus everywhere. (eater.com)
- Compostable plastic is not all that compostable. (msn.com)
- Store-bought barbeque sauces, ranked. (washingtonpost.com)
- A corn allergy seems like a bad deal. (theatlantic.com)
- Eat more fiber. (theconversation.com)
The Bear
- Season 2 of 'The Bear' is all about nurturing talent. (vox.com)
- Six open financial questions about 'The Bear.' (theringer.com)
- How 'The Bear' turned Chicago restaurants into characters. (hollywoodreporter.com)
- Inside the (real) restaurant where Richie staged. (theringer.com)
Drink
- How alcohol can become a habit. (psychologytoday.com)
- America is falling out of love with beer. (slate.com)
- To decarbonize brewing you need to electrify the production of steam. (technologyreview.com)
Sports
- Women's soccer has an ACL problem. (wsj.com)
- Five insights from Sally Jenkins' new book "The Right Call: What Sports Teach Us About Work and Life." (nextbigideaclub.com)
Movies
- The 10 best movies of 2023, so far, including 'Showing Up.' (hollywoodreporter.com)
- The best movies of 2023, so far, including 'Polite Society.' (nytimes.com)
College
- Grad school may not be the escape you think it is. (washingtonpost.com)
- Affirmative action and university selectivity go hand-in-hand. (nytimes.com)
- Is college still worth it? It depends... (thecollegefinanciallady.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- What you missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: in pursuit of low volatility. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Are you a financial adviser looking for some out-of-the-box thinking? Then check out our weekly e-mail newsletter. (newsletter.abnormalreturns.com)
