Recommended Reading: Not Reading Enough
But also, we should all be reading more fiction
The tagline to this Substack, and to a lot of bios that I write about myself, is that “I read a lot. And I read a lot of things.” I also am currently behind-the-scenes executive of One Potato (go subscribe!) - where I have been interviewing incredible chefs-who-are-parents and other people involved in the food industry (food activists, writers, CPG founders). This and One Potato are both newsletters. But the reality is that ~20% of US adults have a literacy proficiency of Level 1, meaning they are functionally illiterate. I can’t tell you how many times a day I lament the fact that people don’t read anymore - let alone have the attention span to read. Whilst in London with a friend last May, we both remarked on the fact there are still independent bookstores on many streets - tons of them.
All of that being said…I have found myself self-soothing my current systemic anxiety—nausea, migraines, overwhelm—from the state of the country (world) and global energy by staring at screens. If you’re not familiar, look up “Functional Freeze.” I will not pretend to be holier-than-thou. I spend too much time, and way more time than I did 10 years ago, staring mindlessly at screens (thanks, social media and smartphones and streaming TV). And these make me feel worse, absolutely not better. And if you know me, you know I don’t even participate in social media! Just being on my phone. I’ll call out this article from today’s long list: My Smartphone Was Ruining My Life. So I Quit. And you can, too. by August Lamm. And this Hidden Brain Podcast is worth a listen: What Your Online Self Reveals About You. I’ll finish this short missive by saying: I do not own a Kindle on purpose. I do not want another screen. I am actively trying to read more fiction, and more printed books.
I hope you find a link or two interesting enough to read today.
IN PRINT:
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Listening To:
My friend Johnny Hwin and the 57 Community in NYC just launched their new record label, 57 RECORDS, with his new single! It’s called "Love Is All I Need". Save & Listen here - you won’t regret it: https://ffm.to/57rec001
Steven D. Levitt Freakonomics Podcast Ep. 133: Pay Attention! (Your Body Will Thank You) (June 2024) Ellen Langer is a psychologist at Harvard who studies the mind-body connection. She’s published some of the most remarkable scientific findings Steve has ever encountered. Can we really improve our physical health by changing our mind?
Nick Larson Silicon Zombies Podcast Ep. 128: Innovation & Integrity Ft. Olivia Gambelin & Justin Lokitz (July 2024) This may sound a bit paradoxical, but it turns out constraints actually *drive* innovation. And nowhere is that more clear than ethics as a framework in building technology. Lucky for us we've got author and expert Olivia Gambelin to enlighten us with Professor Justin Lokitz.
SÉBASTIEN LÉGER & ROY ROSENFELD at LOVELAND FESTIVAL 2024 • AMSTERDAM
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING - Top of Mind
My Smartphone Was Ruining My Life. So I Quit. And you can, too. August Lamm (2 December 2024)
Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same Thomas Germain (25 May 2024)
Friend or Faux? Millions of people are turning to AI for companionship. They are finding the experience surprisingly meaningful, unexpectedly heartbreaking, and profoundly confusing, leaving them to wonder, ‘Is this real? And does that matter?’ Josh Dzieza (3 Dec. 2024)
Meet the Italian ‘Fruit Detective’ Who Investigates Centuries-Old Paintings for Clues About Produce That Has Disappeared From the Kitchen Table Renaissance paintings, medieval archives, cloistered orchards—how one Italian scientist is uncovering secrets that could help combat a growing agricultural crisis Mark Schapiro (Nov. 2024)
Maggie Nelson on the Conversations She Wants to Be Having The author of “The Argonauts” and the new collection “Like Love” discusses the performative aspect of writing, reading her old work, and becoming “lightly interested” in genre for the first time. Lauren Michele Jackson (7 April 2024)
‘Eat What You Kill’ Hailed as a savior upon his arrival in Helena, Dr. Thomas C. Weiner became a favorite of patients and his hospital’s highest earner. As the myth surrounding the high-profile oncologist grew, so did the trail of patient harm and suspicious deaths. J. David McSwane for ProPublica (7 Dec. 2024)
Help Each Other in Trump’s America (and Beyond) Nico Hall (7 Nov. 2024)
What Your Online Self Reveals About You By Hidden Brain Staff (16 Dec. 2024)
40 years after his death Michel Foucault’s philosophy still speaks to a world saturated with social media Cameron Shackell (24 June 2024)
NEWS / LONGREADS
How Lonely Planet Founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler Revolutionized the Way We Travel Paige McClanahan (21 June 2024)
The Devil Went Down to Georgia For years, a mysterious figure preyed on gay men in Atlanta. People on the streets called him the Handcuff Man—but the police knew his real name. Hallie Lieberman The Atavist Magazine (No. 149, 2024)
Do Our Dogs Have Something to Tell the World? Camille Bromley (6 Jan. 2025)
You’ll Never Get Off the Dinner Treadmill There’s no such thing as an easy weeknight meal. Rachel Sugar (6 Jan. 2025)
Why We Celebrate When Copyright Expires Every January 1 in the Books department, we like to make an extra toast for a concurrent holiday: Public Domain Day. Boris Kachka (10 Jan. 2025)
How to disappear completely The internet is forever. But also, it isn’t. What happens to our culture when websites start to vanish at random? s.e. smith (18 Dec. 2024)
She Is in Love With ChatGPT Kashmir Hill (15 Jan. 2025)
Abigail McGrath, Founder of an Experimental Theater, Dies at 84 She was an aspiring actor when she was cast in an Andy Warhol film called “Tub Girls.” But she was best known for the beloved Off Center Theater. Penelope Green (12 Jan 2025)
Fighting to Avoid Her Mother’s Fate, for Her Daughters’ Sake A mutant gene is coming to steal Linde Jacobs’s mind. Can she find a way to stop it? Virginia Hughes (22 Dec. 2024)
Buy Nothing Groups Seem to Offer Everything—Except a Chance to Get to Know Your Neighbors The local online parent group, where I’d hoped to find new friends, was basically a random yard sale. Maggie Lange (11 Jan. 2025)
She’s One of Florida’s Most Lethal Python Hunters …but the Invasive Creatures Still Have a Hold on Her Donna Kalil has plunged into canals in the dead of night, straddled two-hundred-pound serpents, and been bitten more times than she can count—all in the name of killing a thing she loves and playing a game she can’t win Lindsey Liles (15 Oct. 2024)
The joy of clutter The world sees Japan as a paragon of minimalism. But its hidden clutter culture shows that ‘more’ can be as magical as ‘less' Matt Alt (11 Oct. 2024)
Bad Influence One Amazon influencer makes a living posting content from her beige home. But after she noticed another account hawking the same minimal aesthetic, a rivalry spiraled into a first-of-its-kind lawsuit. Can the legal system protect the vibe of a creator? And what if that vibe is basic? Mia Sato (26 Nov. 2024)
WitchTok: How witchcraft became the latest controversial wellness fad
From ‘spiritual mentors’ charging £1,500 for a tarot reading to gurus who claim to dabble in the occult, witches have gone mainstream in the Goop-sphere. But real witches are claiming it makes a mockery of their beliefs Olivia Petter (27 July 2024)
The Alchemists They led a cycling revolution in Afghanistan where women were forbidden to ride. When the Taliban returned to power, their only hope was a harrowing escape to an uncertain future. Kim Cross (23 Oct. 2024)
How One Woman Became the Scapegoat for America’s Reading Crisis Lucy Calkins was an education superstar. Now she’s cast as the reason a generation of students struggles to read. Can she reclaim her good name? Helen Lewis (13 Nov. 2024)
A New Vending Machine Sells Bullets Next Door to a Middle School Its owner says the devices—which he plans to introduce to grocery stores across Texas—make it impossible for minors to buy bullets. Critics say the machines feel like something out of a dystopian novel. Peter Holley (17 July 2024)
The Eyes of a Killer: Part VII It began as a routine hearing. Then came a pair of revelations that could upend the government’s case against Bryan Kohberger Howard Blum (27 April 2024)
Undersea Surgeons In a wireless world, it is easy to forget the all-too-real cables that snake across the turbulent ocean floor. Until they snap. James Glanz, Elian Peltier and Pablo Robles (29 Nov. 2024)
50 years of The Oregon Trail: The hidden controversies of a video game that defined the US Alex Miller (20 Dec. 2024)
Nobody goes to New York City anymore. It’s too crowded. The subway has problems but remains an incredibly popular means of transit. Nate Silver (23 Dec. 2024)
TECH / AI / WEB 3 / CRYPTO
What Is Venture Capital Now Anyway? The opposing paths taken by two powerful firms — Benchmark and Andreessen Horowitz — embody a profound debate about the future of an industry that funds and fosters American innovation. Erin Griffith (13 Dec. 2024)
The Rise of AI-Driven DAOs: 5 Challenges to Watch With artificial intelligence on the rise, DAOs face new challenges and opportunities. William M. Peaster (16 Dec. 2024)
Human rights lawyer Susie Alegre: ‘If AI is so complex it can’t be explained, there are areas where it shouldn’t be used’ The author of Human Rights, Robot Wrongs on why AI isn’t an all-or-nothing equation, separating hype from genuine dangers, and discovering that ChatGPT says she doesn’t exist Killian Fox (11 May 2024)
Inside a Fusion Startup's Insane, Top-Secret Opening Ceremony Robots! Huge capacitors! A pianist-programmer of impossible skill! One of Silicon Valley's formative figures takes the stage at a wild event. Jaron Lanier (10 Dec. 2024)
Google 'Willow' quantum chip has solved a problem the best supercomputer would have taken a quadrillion times the age of the universe to crack Keumars Afifi-Sabet (9 Dec. 2024)
The Words That Stop ChatGPT in Its Tracks Why won’t the bot say my name? Jonathan L. Zittrain (17 Dec. 2024)
The Death Of The Follower - The Next Era Of Content Creation Ian Shepherd (27 April 2024)
It’s the end of the internet as we know it—and I feel fine Maybe this was the last year of the usable web. If so, blame corporate greed. Scott Nover (17 Dec. 2024)
Diagnosed with gender dysphoria, she couldn’t concentrate in front of her computer. Then she transitioned her gender and raised $6.8 million for an AI electrical engineering startup Emma Hinchliffe and Nina Ajemian (19 Dec. 2024)
Online dating is about to radically change Samantha Murphy Kelly (19 Dec. 2024)
BRAIN / MIND / HEALTH
The brain microbiome: could understanding it help prevent dementia? Long thought to be sterile, our brains are now believed to harbour all sorts of micro-organisms, from bacteria to fungi. How big a part do they play in Alzheimer’s and similar diseases? Amy Fleming (1 Dec. 2024)
How Multitasking Drains Your Brain Renowned neurologist Richard Cytowic exposes the dangers of multitasking in the digital age. (7 Jan. 2025)
Remembering Daniel Kahneman: 7 theories that can help you understand how you think Spencer Greenberg and Travis M. (8 May 2024)
Decision fatigue is a peril of modern life — but understanding how it shows up in you can help Why having more choices and aiming for perfect outcomes doesn’t always put you at an advantage Zehra Kamani (3 May 2024)
The Global Loss of the U-Shaped Curve of Happiness Happiness used to be U-shaped by age, with middle age the least happy. Not anymore. Young people are now the least happy. David Blanchflower and Alex Bryson (27 May 2024)
Why is it so hard to get ultra-processed foods out of our diets? A lack of time Better food labels are a necessary but insufficient step to improve diets and health Lindsey Smith Taillie (23 July 2024)
3 Ways To Become A ‘Manifestation Magnet,’ According To A Psychologist Mark Travers (1 July 2024)
We know there are many benefits to writing by hand – in a digital world we risk losing them Nova Weetman (2 May 2024)
Becoming You - Are you the same person you were when you were a child? Joshua Rothman (3 Oct. 2022)
Want to Live Longer? You Better Start Moving—All Day Long. Scientists crunched the numbers to come up with the single best predictor of how long you’ll live—and arrived at a surprisingly low-tech answer. Alex Hutchinson (4 Dec. 2024)
‘Brain rot’ named Oxford Word of the Year 2024
Human brain can process certain sentences in ‘blink of an eye’, says study Researchers say findings differ from previous theories that words are understood one by one Nicola Davis (23 Oct. 2024)
LITERATURE / FICTION / POETRY
When Poetry Could Define a Life The close passing of the poetry critics Marjorie Perloff and Helen Vendler is a moment to recognize the end of an era. Adam Kirsch (1 May 2024)
Three Words, Five Syllables: Lorrie Moore Classic “Charades” by Lorrie Moore, recommended by Susan Minot (23 Dec. 2024)
My 14th Summer Was Revolutionary in All the Wrong Ways An excerpt from BERLIN ATOMIZED by Julia Kornberg, recommended by James Yeh (2 Dec. 2024)
Franz Kafka letter shows author’s anguished struggle with writer’s block Letter to friend and publisher Albert Ehrenstein, to be auctioned in June, details struggle to write at time of tuberculosis diagnosis Kate Connolly (3 June 2024)
From Dua Lipa’s book club to George Saunders’ Substack: a guide to the online books world From BookTube to podcasts, newsletters and tweets, literature is finding ever-more new homes. Here are some you should definitely be browsing Ella Creamer (10 May 2024)
Before there was diving and relays, there was the Poetry Olympics Katrina Grant (26 July 2024)
Farewell to Academe I leave with doubts and foreboding that I would not have anticipated when I completed my formal education in 1982. Eliot A. Cohen (3 July 2024)
FILM / OTHER / PERSONAL INTEREST / RANDOM
Mariska Hargitay on Making a TV Icon, Dick Wolf’s ‘Tough Love,’ Fighting for Kelli Giddish and 20 Years of Helping Survivors of Sexual Violence Emily Longeretta (1 May 2024)
Kung fu nuns show off martial art skills at monastery reopening in Nepal Nuns mark opening of Druk Amitabha nunnery with performance, five years after Covid closure Reuters (31 Dec 2024)
The Hot Market for Books About Bloodletting and Delivering a Baby in 1669 Collectors with a love of medical history are bidding up the price of arcane texts; ‘I don’t need a car, but I certainly need a copy of Vesalius.’ Jared S. Hopkins (3 Jan. 2025)
This couple built a travel company for Americans who want to leave the U.S.—then they did it themselves Jennifer Liu (12 July 2024)
We Deserve Free Sparkling Water Why more restaurants are making sparkling water free Jaya Saxena (4 Dec. 2024)
Grief Guides: Among the death doulas Meg Bernhard (21 June 2024)
Why do so many of us blame ourselves after a loved one’s death? Delaney Rebernik (29 July 2024)
Younger Asian Americans navigate something new to their generation: Taking up space Deepti Hajela (17 Dec. 2024)
Survivors seek a reckoning as FBI investigates child sex abuse in little-known Christian sect Rebecca Boone (16 Dec. 2024)