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

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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.

  • Microsoft Asked FBI for Help With Israel-Gaza Protests

    Twenty activists urging company to sever ties with Israeli military were arrested last week. Executive Brad Smith said he welcomed discussion but not disruption. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-26/microsoft-asked-fbi-for-help-with-israel-gaza-protests?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc1NjIyMDc1MCwiZXhwIjoxNzU2ODI1NTUwLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUMUxMOEpHUFFRR1UwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJGOENBMUZGREZGMEI0M0E1ODRENTk5MEQ3NDAwNDkzMCJ9.ZxRrVJ29dvRDmuie-Z8dWFKR1_o_HzD4hLa-kAzRlVc&leadSource=uverify%20wall more ›

  • The Brazilianization of the World – American Affairs Journal

    The West’s involution finds its mirror image in the original coun­try of the future, the nation doomed forever to remain the country of the future, the one that never reaches its destination: Brazil. The Brazilianization of the world is our… more ›

  • The Decline of Deviance

    Where has all the weirdness gone? https://open.substack.com/pub/experimentalhistory/p/the-decline-of-deviance?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=oj2p5 more ›

  • The Vergecast: The end of OpenAI, and other 2026 predictions

    Listen: https://ift.tt/06Q1Bhd A year ago, David and Nilay sat down with Wall Street Journal senior tech columnist Joanna Stern to make a bunch of confident predictions about 2025. We got them… you know what, never mind. Let's look ahead to… more ›

  • Africa’s AI Productivity Gain – Pathways to Labour Efficiency, Economic Growth and Inclusive Transformation

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to deliver transformational gains for Africa’s economies. If developed and deployed inclusively, AI could generate up to US $1 trillion in additional GDP by 2035, representing close to one-third of the continent’s current output.… more ›

  • Intelligence Squared Member (🔓): Putin, The Soviet Union and The Rise of Russian Imperialism, with Mikhail Zygar

    Listen: https://ift.tt/SGo2MEn Mikhail Zygar is a renowned Russian dissident journalist living in exile in the USA. He was the founding editor-in-chief of independent news channel TV Rain in Russia. He publicly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and fled… more ›

  • Past Present Future: Politics on Trial: Nelson Mandela vs Apartheid

    Listen: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4w2rGct1HE074Prd6xYFrg?si=6vpXyd0tTvCEMawFYfGNaw Today’s episode explores the trials of Nelson Mandela, variously charged by South Africa’s apartheid state with treason, incitement, illegal foreign travel, sabotage and conspiracy across a decade that saw him more often in court than out. How did… more ›

  • The a16z Show: AI Eats the World: Benedict Evans on the Next Platform Shift

    Listen: https://ift.tt/YmzTjJW AI is reshaping the tech landscape, but a big question remains: is this just another platform shift, or something closer to electricity or computing in scale and impact? Some industries may be transformed. Others may barely feel it.… more ›

  • Today, Explained: Pop culture is conservative now

    Listen: https://ift.tt/pIz9DKc Why books, movies, music, and fashion all took a turn to the right. This episode was produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd and David Tatasciore, and hosted by… more ›

  • We Failed The Misinformation Fight. Now What?

    Defending democracy in the digital age will require moving beyond the focus of fighting online misinformation. https://www.noemamag.com/we-failed-the-misinformation-fight-now-what more ›