The future is now (unfortunately)

+ Art, Omicron, Book Flood (#374)

A few quick notes before we get to this week's recommendations.

As always, if you know someone who might enjoy this newsletter, too, tell them about it.‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌


1. Postcards From a World on Fire

A visual reminder that climate change isn't causing damage and suffering in the future, but today already. Nothing about the big picture here should be new, of course. What makes this piece so compelling is that it highlights how every single country on earth is affected by climate change. Not tomorrow. Now.

Opinion | Postcards From a World on Fire
These 193 stories show the reality of climate change. In every country in the world.

2. A Fascinating, Sexy, Intellectually Compelling, Unregulated Global Market.

I didn't know I'd find a podcast on the art market interesting. What I did know is that I can trust Freakonomics to make things interesting to me. I greatly enjoyed this three-part series on the peculiarities of the art market, and how it is changing. I recommend you give it a shot, even if you don't think it'll be for you.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

“A Fascinating, Sexy, Intellectually Compelling, Unregulated Global Market.” (Ep. 484) - Freakonomics
The art market is so opaque and illiquid that it barely functions like a market at all. A handful of big names get all the headlines (and most of the dollars). Beneath the surface is a tangled web of dealers, curators, auction houses, speculators — and, of course, artists. In the first episode of a…

3. What we know about Omicron