Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at how the U.S. is using up its groundwater supplies.
Quote of the Day
"The college casino, in other words, is not entirely a game of chance. Your odds of coming out ahead depend largely on who your parents are."
(Paul Tough)
Books
- A Q&A with Alicia Kennedy author of "No Meat Required: The Cultural History & Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating." (hazlitt.net)
- A Q&A with Todd Rogers, co-author of "Writing for Busy Readers: Communicate More Effectively in the Real World." (annieduke.substack.com)
- An excerpt from "The Cult of Creativity: A Surprisingly Recent History" by Samuel W. Franklin. (behavioralscientist.org)
- An excerpt from "When the Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Season" by Rich Cohen. (wsj.com)
College
- College has gotten too expensive for Gen Z to mess around. (businessinsider.com)
- Going to college is no longer a sure bet. (nytimes.com)
- The WSJ/College Pulse ranking has some surprising results. (wsj.com)
Extreme heat
- Phoenix is increasingly dealing with heat-related deaths. (newyorker.com)
- Extreme heat is becoming a big problem all around the world. (washingtonpost.com)
Longreads
- OpenAI has big ambitions. (wired.com)
- Why life expectancy varies so widely across the U.S. (politico.com)
- Could we figure out how to talk to whales? (newyorker.com)
- Hollywood has re-discovered the drama (and comedy) of business stories. (thebaffler.com)
- Road noise affects animals, even those in national parks. (hcn.org)
- Why does this Minneapolis bridge, that nobody seemingly uses, exist? (tylervigen.com)
