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Retrograde

Like water, gold simply can’t tell you what it used to be.

Essays

Free money

Bankers and prophets seem to be driven by an almost poetic compulsion to push further.

  • Artificial Power: 2025 Landscape Report – AI Now Institute

    In the aftermath of the “AI boom,” this report examines how the push to integrate AI products everywhere grants AI companies – and the tech oligarchs that run them – power that goes far beyond their deep pockets. https://ainowinstitute.org/publications/research/ai-now-2025-landscape-report more ›

  • President Trump’s “Carrot and Stick” Approach to Africa

    The Trump administration needs a more nuanced approach to Africa that doesn’t alienate the people and the markets that it is seeking to engage. To do so requires the president to somehow square his domestic priorities with his foreign policy… more ›

  • How two tiny banks are helping Donald Trump’s sons build a crypto empire

    Dominari Holdings and Yorkville Advisors are benefiting from close connections with Eric and Donald Trump Jr https://www.ft.com/content/39a4a5c9-aa33-40b4-addb-076ee0242430?accessToken=zwAGQxMqUYx4kc85pKXJqjNAtNOt2wdu4CQkMA.MEQCIHGeDYXFIYG6a2vKcjzA9-Dwpalk08t1px8rVF9T72zVAiBRKQpjoSxld3xc087nXVv-jC0I6WdShiCKsOMwbKvD7g&sharetype=gift&token=29e57fe5-f715-4991-b68b-462abdf67fc9 more ›

  • China is the new science power: How will Europe respond?

    China is taking the lead in international science: A new study shows how China overtakes the US in key areas of research and increasingly dominates the agenda. What does this mean for Europe? https://www.dw.com/en/china-is-the-new-science-power-how-will-europe-respond/a-74618481?maca=en-newsletter_en_bulletin-2097-xml-newsletter&at_medium=Newsletter&at_campaign=EN more ›

  • The new power buyers: How women are rewriting the rules of art collecting

    Women collectors are outspending men — and taking bigger, smarter risks. The latest Art Basel & UBS Survey of Global Collecting reveals a generation (…) http://bit.ly/4oQu28j more ›

  • It’s Not Just Rich Countries. Tech’s Trillion-Dollar Bet on AI Is Everywhere.

    As part of ‘AI decolonization,’ developing nations push Silicon Valley to build locally https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/its-not-just-rich-countries-techs-trillion-dollar-bet-on-ai-is-everywhere-1781a117?st=YZudfN&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink more ›

  • Dead Man’s Wire – Official Trailer

    His revolution was televised. Meet Tony Kiritsis in the official trailer for Gus Van Sant’s ‘Dead Man’s Wire,’ starring Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo, Cary Elwes, Myha’la, and Al Pacino. Now playing in select cities and everywhere starting January… more ›

  • MURAD KAJLAYEV – Ekzoticheskiy tanets

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  • None Dare Call It a Conspiracy

    From the GQ archives: Who was behind the 1999 Moscow apartment bombings that accelerated Vladimir Putin’s rise to power? https://www.gq.com/story/moscow-bombings-mikhail-trepashkin-and-putin more ›

  • Ta-Nehisi Coates in conversation with Ryan Coogler

    ALOUD hosted critically-acclaimed author Ta-Nehisi Coates last fall to discuss about his first novel, “The Water Dancer.” He is joined in conversation by “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler. — more ›