A newsletter about Pop Culture, Software Studies, Business Strategy, Media Platforms, Algorithmic Management, Game Design, and everything in between.

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Essays

Ensemble

When two instruments in an orchestra play simultaneous pure tones at sufficient intensity, a third tone nobody is playing emerges.

Essays

Boomerang

Empires have a way of seeding their own destruction.

  • Arts & Ideas: Working Class Creativity

    Listen: https://ift.tt/qNiQ5tL From an impoverished neighbourhood in South London, Charlie Chaplin became one of the most significant figures in the development of cinema. More recently, TV writers like Sophie Willan and Michaela Coel have transformed the way working class lives… more ›

  • Mali

    For more than a decade, Mali has been engaged in multiple armed conflicts against non-State armed groups operating on its territory. As in other Sahelian countries, the roots of the armed conflicts… https://warwatch.ch/situations/non-international-armed-conflicts-in-mali/violations/ more ›

  • The Debrief | Why Some Retailers Are Ignoring the Internet

    As the global luxury e-commerce engine stalls, BoF correspondent Austin Kim discusses his look at independent boutiques finding that the right strategic move is to stay offline. https://www.businessoffashion.com/podcasts/retail/the-debrief-why-some-retailers-are-ignoring-the-internet/?utm_source=newsletter_daily_digest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily_Digest_300426&cid=587aba24-4127-469f-8d2d-6bf7a31b470b&did=69f2e1f0e9132076904b78e46cd9ddbb&uid=1643119&utm_content=intro more ›

  • How Russia Recruits Teenagers in Occupied Ukraine for a Pro-Moscow Propaganda Machine

    Trips to Russia, master classes from Kremlin-aligned media figures, and lessons in Soviet military glory. Through its “Young Correspondents” program, Russia is training teenagers in occupied Ukraine to promote the invasion and wage information war on Moscow’s behalf. https://www.occrp.org/en/investigation/how-russia-recruits-teenagers-in-occupied-ukraine-for-a-pro-moscow-propaganda-machine?utm_source=OCCRP&utm_campaign=27cef2043f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_04_30_08_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bcc1d53473-27cef2043f-712272188 more ›

  • Why Games Work: Emotional Arcs, Flow States, and Meaningful Play (with Jesse Schell)

    Listen: https://ift.tt/WMFoBgp Why are games so deeply engaging? What psychological principles make game design such a powerful tool for shaping attention, emotion, and learning? Game design is not a niche skill. It’s one of the most refined disciplines we have… more ›

  • Planet Money: How Black hair care grew Black power

    Listen: https://ift.tt/BEQs6Ic The Afro is one of the most iconic hairstyles of the last century. And one of its main ingredients was a hair product – Afro Sheen. But Afro Sheen did so much more than make Black afros shine.… more ›

  • Successful Iranians: Unveiling The 1979 Revolution: Amir Taheri Interview

    Listen: https://ift.tt/rYkJ9He What if you could witness the 1979 revolution of a nation through the eyes of someone who lived it? Join us for an insightful conversation with Amir Tahiri, an esteemed Iranian-born journalist and scholar, as he takes us… more ›

  • Democratic Governance of AI Is the Real Solution

    The potential for serious negative effects from the AI boom demands robust deliberation and real democratic governance. Data center moratoria won’t get us there. https://jacobin.com/2026/04/ai-data-center-moratorium-democracy more ›

  • Natasha Schüll on the Antisocial Lure of Gambling

    Listen: https://ift.tt/YBzEFUx As an anthropologist, Natasha Schüll spent more than a decade doing field work in Vegas casinos, especially among the slot machine addicts. She tells Michael Lewis why many of those who play slots actually hate to win. And… more ›

  • What’s Your Problem?: Mass-Producing Stem Cells to Cure Disease

    Listen: https://ift.tt/FG1Y8Tf Nabiha Saklayen is the co-founder and CEO of Cellino. Nabiha’s problem is this: How can you make personalized stem cell therapies quickly and cheaply?  Induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPSCs, have shown tremendous promise as treatments for illnesses… more ›