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

FEATURED

Essays

Boomerang

Empires have a way of seeding their own destruction.

Essays

Retrograde

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

  • How ICIJ traced Huione Group funds to major crypto exchanges

    ICIJ’s trailblazing blockchain analysis has uncovered how cryptocurrency giants Binance and OKX are key conduits of illicit transactions. https://www.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/how-icij-traced-hundreds-of-millions-from-huione-group-to-major-crypto-exchanges/?utm_source=ICIJ&utm_campaign=9a992aae1c-2025.11.26+%7C+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_992ecfdbb2-9a992aae1c-82589145&mc_cid=9a992aae1c&mc_eid=534827c347 more ›

  • The Coin Laundry, a global cryptocurrency investigation

    The Coin Laundry exposes how cryptocurrency companies have empowered a shadow economy that lavishly profits from crime. Led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Coin Laundry is a groundbreaking cross-border investigation that reveals how many of these companies make money… more ›

  • Another Reckoning – The Ideas Letter

    Wang traces the emergence of multiple generationally distinct “reckonings” with China among different groups: There are the young Americans who encounter the country as offering a sleek, TikTok-mediated vision of… https://www.theideasletter.org/essay/another-reckoning-with-china/ more ›

  • Simpler digital rules to help EU businesses grow

    The new digital package will enable Europe’s businesses to spend less time on administrative work and compliance and more on innovating and scaling up. https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/simpler-digital-rules-help-eu-businesses-grow-2025-11-19_en more ›

  • Why Belgium is now the cocaine capital of Europe

    With record seizures of cocaine at Belgian ports, the country has become Europe’s cocaine-trafficking capital. As the flow of drugs increases, local authorities are struggling with corruption and violence. 00:00 – Antwerp: Europe’s cocaine trafficking capital 01:48 – How much… more ›

  • The Thinking Game | Full documentary | Tribeca Film Festival official selection

    The Thinking Game takes you on a journey into the heart of DeepMind, capturing a team striving to unravel the mysteries of intelligence and life itself. Filmed over five years by the award winning team behind AlphaGo, the documentary examines… more ›

  • Why Electricity is Holding Back Africa

    Virtually every wealthy nation uses power abundantly, with electricity consumption and GDP growth closely linked. Some 80% of all people who live without electricity live in Africa, a problem that’s long hobbled the continent’s industrial development. So why isn’t Africa… more ›

  • China’s Dark Factories: So Automated, They Don’t Need Lights | WSJ

    Ford’s CEO says China’s EV industry poses an existential threat to global automakers. The country’s dark factories, which have robots run 24/7 with limited human interaction, aim to further widen the gap between Chinese car manufacturers and everyone else. As… more ›

  • How strong is Iran’s regime?

    Nicolas Pelham, our Middle East correspondent, and Adam Roberts, our digital editor, are just back from a rare reporting trip to Tehran. They join our top editors in the studio to discuss the future of the Islamic Republic. After 46… more ›

  • Wagner Moura’s Closet Picks

    The actor and director praises BLACK GOD, WHITE DEVIL as one of the most important Brazilian films ever made, talks about the complex humanity of IL POSTO, and reflects on why Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are his favorite filmmakers. — more ›