big ideas

The case for insane asylums.

The case for insane asylums. This is probably controversial and borderline political, but I will share anyway. “a recounting of recent attacks by the insane, a history of america’s attempts to deal with severe mental illness, and an argument for […]

retail therapy

The Three Americas.

The Three Americas. “The first America is the speculative class, and its engine is artificial intelligence. … The second America is the real economy. With 75% of new jobs in healthcare and social assistance, our workforce is being absorbed by […]

profiles of people

Palmer Luckey, American Vulcan.

This is a long read about the founder of defense tech contractor Anduril, and of VR company Oculus before that. I suspect you’ll keep hearing about this guy for decades to come, so this is a good time to read […]

fun facts

Wait, does America suddenly have a record number of bees?

A story of incentives. “After almost two decades of relentless colony collapse coverage and years of grieving suspiciously clean windshields, we were stunned to run the numbers on the new Census of Agriculture (otherwise known as that wonderful time every […]

fun facts

El Ratoncito Pérez.

Americans have the tooth fairy, but much of the world has El Ratoncito Pérez. “In 1894, Queen Maria Christina commissioned [Luis] Coloma to write a tale for King Alfonso XIII, who had just lost a tooth at the age of […]

big ideas

The case for more energy.

I am really finding myself drawn to this point of view. I think it may be the only truly great path forward for humanity. “America has been on a 45-year energy diet, and we ought to try and end it.” ~ learn […]

fun facts

Brown gold: the great American manure rush begins.

Dairy farms are now partnering with companies to turn their cow manure into “renewable natural gas (RNG)”. Possibly the most dystopian line in this article: “Taken to an extreme, some worry dairy farms could end up turning into feces farms […]