Of cowards and monsters
Plus: a mystery box! (#553)
This is David, your decidedly human web crawler, and you're reading 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. A Time of Monsters
The first in a series of public lectures by everyone's favourite Dutch historian and Weekly Filet regular Rutger Bregman. In his trademark populist-optimist style, he delivers a scathing critique of progressive elites and of Europe's failure to fill the moral vacuum left by a United States gone MAGA. The polar opposites between which the future is shaped, Bregman argues, are not left versus right, but rather courage versus cowardice.
2. Does modern medicine need to drop the distinction between mental and physical health?
The separation of mental and physical has long shaped how we think about health and treatment. What if this mind/body split is not only outdated - but dangerously misleading? Edward Bullmore is both a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, an expert in both the mind and the brain, the mental and the physical. Very interesting conversation.
Pocket Casts
3. Are we doomed?
A long essay on how two of this century's biggest challenges facing humanity are interconnected (by the number 2!). And an exploration of the question whether we are at the very beginning or towards the very end of the human story.
David Runciman
4. COP30 delivered mix of success and failure, but that is no success at all
A short and to the point assessment of this year's UN climate conference in Brazil, and an answer to the one question that matters: «Does the final outcome help shift investments, change understanding of risk, and strengthen the sense of inevitability around the net zero transition?»
James Murray
5. I Hate Mysteries
It feels only apt that I keep you in suspense about why I think you should listen to this.
What else?
Instant-gratification links that make you go wow! or aha! the moment you click.
- The «Everyone Is 12 Now» theory, explained.
- Chart: How loud are cities?
- This is an excellent counter to «trans women should not compete in women's sports because it's unfair».
- First time I heard this, actually sounds like a great idea: a job interview conducted in a Google Doc.
- Poetic Textural Landscapes by Lee Hyun-Joung
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 hopeful history» is exactly what we can all use. Rutger Bregman clinically picks apart common assumptions about human behaviour, from history books to social experiments, to reveal that humans are often kinder than we assume. It’s that same approach — distrust common sense, look at actual studies, and look closely — that already made his Utopia for Realists a great book. If you want to restore some faith in humanity, and get smarter along the way, this should be at the top of your reading list. 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.