Thursdays are all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. Wherever possible, free links behind the paywall are used. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at the future for lab-grown meat.
Quote of the Day
"The CNBC paradox is that giving investors more information can hurt them because—hello, hypervigilance—it makes them think they need to act all the time to make money, when the opposite is actually true. "
(Andrew Feinberg)
Books
- A Q&A with Kara Swisher author of "Burn Book: A Tech Love Story." (wired.com)
- A Q&A with Margot Susca author of "Hedged: How Private Investment Funds Helped Destroy American Newspapers and Undermine Democracy." (politico.com)
- A Q&A with Kurt Wagner's author of "Battle for the Bird: Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, and the $44 Billion Fight for Twitter's Soul." (businessinsider.com)
Technology
- Why you shouldn't trust product recommendations you see at the top of Google searches. (housefresh.com)
- On the importance of the robots.txt file to how the Internet works. (theverge.com)
- Why you should wait as long as possible to give your children a phone. (epsilontheory.com)
Business
- How Hermes is different. (readtrung.com)
- Meet the company that sells unclaimed airline luggage. (thehustle.co)
Investing
Communication
- A changing climate requires skilled communicators to explain what is going on. (stanfordmag.org)
- It's only a matter of time before disinformation creates a real-world disaster. (timharford.com)
Nature
- John Whitfield, "The scale and spread of ant societies is a reminder that humans should not confuse impact with control." (aeon.co)
- We really don't know how to best feed out pet dogs and cats. (theguardian.com)
Sports
- How much is Saudi Arabia willing to spend to make a splash in global football? (gq.com)
- Only six people who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers remain. (defector.com)
Longreads
- Silicon Valley's elite increasing live in isolation. (lrb.co.uk)
- A look inside the new University of Austin. (thenewinquiry.com)
- Anti-semitism has been with us for millennia. (theatlantic.com)
- A profile of Vaclav Smil author of “Size: How It Explains the World.” (newyorker.com)
- Why Manhattan is perpetually filled with scaffolding. (wsj.com)
- What life is like aboard a nuclear-powered submarine. (vanityfair.com)