Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. Wherever possible, free links for premium sites are used. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at why global fertility is in free fall.
Quote of the Day
"Somehow, no matter how much you lost at the casino—and you will lose at the casino—it always felt as if you got your money’s worth. These days, though, that dream is in tatters. Millions of people seem to have determined that Las Vegas has become corroded—its joys less accessible, its humiliations too dire."
(Luke Winkie)
Books
- Insights from Ray Madoff's "The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy." (crr.bc.edu)
- Five insights from Walter Isaacson's new book, "The Greatest Sentence Ever Written." (nextbigideaclub.com)
- Chapter 1 from Brian Potter's new book "The Origins of Efficiency." (construction-physics.com)
- An excerpt from "Everyday Driven: Poetry in Motion: The Precision and Passion of the Motorcar" by Pete Weishaupt. (everydaydriven.com)
Business
- How U.S. tech giants transformed Ireland. (thedial.world)
- You probably use this company's product every day, but don't know much about it. (quartr.com)
- A look at how the Boring Company operates. (fortune.com)
- Do you really want to give a tech company direct access to your brain? (nytimes.com)
Environment
- Geothermal energy is abundant. The technology now meets the moment. (newyorker.com)
- The countries most at-risk of rising temperatures are the last able to adapt and mitigate. (propublica.org)
- Recycling used car batteries comes a high human cost. (nytimes.com)
- These scientists are trying to preserve our world for future generations. (noemamag.com)
- Why we should care what happens to frogs. (washingtonpost.com)
Investing
- A deep dive into the Total Portfolio Approach. (on.ft.com)
- Essential wisdom of the best personal finance books summarized. (elmwealth.com)
Entertainment
- Hollywood producers are getting squeezed from every direction. (variety.com)
- Using AI to map an artist's, i.e. Bob Dylan, work over time. (aeon.co)
Longreads
- Money laundering is alive and well on big crypto exchanges. (nytimes.com)
- Why so many VC-backed startups start looking all the same. (investing101.substack.com)
- The ultra-wealthy are spending more to maintain their privacy. (wsj.com)
- Can tariffs break out addiction to cheap stuff? (wsj.com)
- Sofi Thanhauser, "Let’s not forget that inventing a cure isn’t the same as giving Americans access to one. Miracle cures mean little for the uninsured." (vqronline.org)
- In defense of men and their 'collective urge for competence.' (willstorr.substack.com)
- New York City's bodegas aren't going anywhere. (nytimes.com)
