Is one human enough?
Plus: self-driving cars, a time machine and an impossible decision. (#554)
This is David, your friendly web crawler and the only human working on the Weekly Filet, the newsletter for curious minds who love when something makes them go «Huh, I never thought of it this way!». As every Friday, I'm here to help you make sense of what’s happening, and imagine what could be. It's great to have you.
1. Shell Game: Season 2
If you liked season one, you're going to love this one. If you're new to the Shell Game podcast, you're in for a treat. In season 1, Evan Ratliff had created a voice clone of himself and let it loose for all sorts of challenges. Now, in the second season, Ratliff is trying to lead a startup to success as the only human employee, alongside a growing cast of AI-powered co-workers. Again, an excellent blend of hilarious and insightful.
Pocket Casts
2 The Data on Self-Driving Cars Is Clear. We Have to Change Course.
«It’s time to stop treating this like a tech moonshot and start treating it like a public health intervention.» The case for dramatically speeding up the adoption of self-driving cars – because they cause so many fewer injuries and deaths than the average human driver.
3. Hunger
«The kids need food more than they need to be read to.» Sometimes, small stories like this one hit even harder than explicit descriptions of the horrors and the suffering the people in Gaza had and have to endure. On burning books – «the souls of the people who’d written them.» – to stay alive.
4. This may be the last time
We have long learned to accept that no one thing will end Donald Trump's political career. No matter how big the scandal, no matter how blatant the lies, the corruption, the disrespect for the rule of law, he remained untouchable. But maybe, just maybe, Andrea Pitzer argues, we're starting to see the beginnings of a slow shift against Trump, «small rifts that have the opportunity to turn into larger ones.»
Andrea Pitzer’s Degenerate Art
5. The Unlikely Story of an E-mail Time Machine
Twenty years ago, Forbes let users send messages to their future selves. Hundreds of thousands did. This is the story of how, despite everything that could have gone wrong, those messages arrived in 2025. In the end, it wasn't technology that made the time work. It was «because of people who cared about each other and about something they had worked together to build.»
David M. Ewalt
What else?
Instant-gratification links that make you go wow! or aha! the moment you click.
- An ad for a pear.
- A boomer comic that explains how the world works today.
- On repeat this week: What We Used To Say by Christian Löffler feat. Adna. 🎧
- Always a good starting point for an interesting next read: the Financial Times Business Books of the Year.
- «Other people make mistakes. Slow down.» Brilliant ad.
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.
A short book or a long essay, whatever you might call it, a good read in any case. Buy it here.
A gem from the archive
David Bauer
The Weekly Filet archive offers more than 2500 hand-picked links since 2011, like this one. You can search by interests, explore collections or shuffle for a gem.
That's it for this week. Thanks for reading. I wish you a nice weekend and hope to see you again next Friday!
— David
More ways to learn and take inspiration from
Check my 📚 digital bookshelf, with sections of 🌡️ books that help you make sense of the climate crisis, ⛵ books that make you a better product manager, 🪄 books that help you make sense of AI, and 🧒 books that help you as a parent. And from collecting the best links on the web for close to 15 years, my thematic collections: The Art of Thinking (Differently), The Stuff Our Modern World Runs On, Bingeworthy Podcasts, and more.
Little useful apps from me, for you
📊 Dataguessr, a playful way to update your knowledge of the world. 🌍 You Don't Know Africa, a simple game that has already humbled millions of people. 💯 Choose Impact, an online tool to compare job opportunities. 🧭 Priority Compass, a tool for individuals, teams and organisations to focus your energy on what really matters. 🪄 How I Use AI, a collection of use cases, ready to use and adapt. 💬 Climate Questions, a playful conversation starter. And ⏱️ One Minute Challenge, a little meaningful distraction to refocus.