All Bets Are Off
And an update on the arc of the moral universe. (#504)
This is David, the man who surfs the web for you even in stormy conditions. As every Friday, I have some recommendations for you, to make sense of what’s happening, and imagine what could be. It's great to have you.
For those of you who understand German – ich würde mich sehr freuen, wenn ihr euch das mal anschauen würdet: In den vergangenen Wochen habe ich einen kostenlosen, kompakten E-Mail-Kurs entwickelt für alle, die in der Klimakrise einen Unterschied machen wollen, aber nicht so richtig wissen, wo anfangen.
1. All Bets Are Off
«The most critical job of Democrats is to fill their supporters with hope: a hopeless population is more vulnerable to autocracy.» These past few days, I've read so many analyses and hot takes that offered simple explanations of why Trump won again. Not helpful. However, I did like this forward-looking interview with Irish writer Joseph O'Neill on what fighting back needs to look like. O'Neill also touches upon reasons for Trump's win, but he refrains from premature monocausal explanations: «The richest, most militarily secure democracy in the world doesn’t embrace authoritarianism unless lots of mistakes have been made.»
Daniel Drake
2. the divine discontent
I feel seen: a reflection on people who let their curiosity pull them from one project to another, always slightly discontent with the outcome – and why this is actually a great way to live. «The most fulfilled people I know tend to have two traits. They’re insatiably curious—about new ideas, experiences, information and people. And they seem to exist in a state of perpetual, self-inflicted unhappiness.»
Celine Nguyen
3. Trump 2.0: What does it mean for Ukraine?
From a European perspective, arguably the biggest question about Trump's reelection is how it will impact Ukraine. And for that, I turn to the one podcast that has been outstanding since day one of Russia's full-scale invasion. I came away from listening to this episode with a better understanding of the possible scenarios, and – quite unexpectedly – with a little more hope than when I started listening.
4. The United States of Abortion Mazes
Access to abortion in the USA, visualised as 50 (playable!) mazes. It's this kinds of novel approach to a topic that makes The Pudding unique. Great idea, brilliantly executed.
The Pudding
5. Updates on the Arc of the Moral Universe
This made me smile, at times even laugh out loud. Hope it does the same for you. Some favourites, though it's hard to pick among that many great lines:
- The arc of the moral universe is feeling pretty stiff this morning.
- The arc of the moral universe demands constant fucking supervision.
- The arc of the moral universe wants you to please wait. Your call is important to it.
Amanda Lehr
What else?
Instant-gratification links that make you go wow! or aha! the moment you click.
- This is neat: an infinite podcast, generated on the spot, using information from your surroundings.
- You'll be OK
- Relax: One Minute Park takes you to a random park. Because sometimes the internet is just a nice place.
- This is dark: SNL for Trump Cold Open
- Love these images by Niall Staines where halfway in, each pixel is like «ok, I'm taking it from here».
- «The fact that we cannot save everything does not mean we cannot save anything and everything we can save is worth saving. Remember what you love. Remember what loves you. Remember in this tide of hate what love is.» – Rebecca Solnit
Books for curious minds
Some new ones as I read them, some older ones that continue to inform how I look at the world and myself. More on my digital bookshelf.
One of my all-time favourites that I re-read every now and then (and it sure looks like it's time for another re-read). «When an honest man speaks, he says only what he believes to be true; and for the liar, it is correspondingly indispensable that he considers his statements to be false. For the bullshitter, however, all these bets are off. [...] He does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly. He just picks them out, or makes them up, to suit his purpose.» Keep discovering new aspects that make me pause and think. Buy it here.
A gem from the archive
Matthew Dessem
The Weekly Filet archive offers more than 2500 hand-picked links since 2011, like this one. You can search by interests, explore collections, shuffle for a gem or check out my all-time favs.
That's it for this week. Thanks for reading. I wish you a nice weekend and hope to see you again next Friday!
— David