Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at how scientific fraud can perpetuate itself for so long.
Quote of the Day
"It turns out that Fukuyama doesn’t like what history’s end has wrought. Liberalism has been corrupted by bad actors on all sides who have lost faith in its tenets: free speech, universal tolerance, and human equality."
(Michael Brenes)
Books
- A profile of Mark Manson after the success of "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck." (nymag.com)
- A Q&A with Tyler Cowen, co-author of "Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World." (fasterplease.substack.com)
- A Q&A with Michael Sleipan author of "The Secret Life of Secrets: How Our Inner Worlds Shape Our Well-Being, Relationships, and Who We Are." (salon.com)
Entertainment
- Movies are increasingly starring older actors. (theringer.com)
- The Long Tail is getting shorter every day. (tedgioia.substack.com)
- An oral history of the movie 'Contact.' (vulture.com)
- How product placement works today. (nytimes.com)
Sports
- A look back at how 'Moneyball' changed baseball twenty years on. (ballnine.com)
- Female sports broadcasters come in for all manner of online and real-world harassment. (indystar.com)
Longreads
- Why nothing about the Russian invasion of Ukraine should surprise us. (americanpurpose.com)
- A falling Lake Mead is unearthing all manner of nasty stuff. (wapo.st)
- Companies, like Unilever ($UL), are often of two minds when it comes to environmental concerns. (reuters.com)
- There is increasing push back against TikTok medical information. (nytimes.com)
- A profile of U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and our mental health crisis. (wapo.st)