Yes, we can (improve lives with money)
Plus: A tour of Disney's secret test lab (#220)
This is David, the curious generalist who reads the entire web so you don't have to. 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 have some recommendations for you, to make sense of what’s happening, and imagine what could be. It's great to have you.
1. For many of us, it doesn’t cost much to improve someone’s life, and we can do much more of it
Foreign aid is always an easy target for people arguing that the state is wasting money on the wrong people. This analysis shows that the world isn't spending all that much on foreign aid, even though it's usually a highly effective investment in making lives better. It comes with this fascinating (and frankly: depressing) finding from a survey in the US: On average, respondents estimated that the government spends 31% of its budget on foreign aid. They think it should be far less, more like 10%. Which...is still ten times of what the US actually spends on foreign aid (before Trump and Musk, that was).
By: Hannah Ritchie
2. Inside Disney's Secret Test Lab
Something I never thought of: When Disney brings its movie franchises to their theme parks, special effects need to be recreated with actual, physical engineering. Or imagineering, as they call it. This is a fascinating tour of their R&D lab, featuring lightsabers, robots optimised for cuteness and a metal Spider-Man that can be catapulted across buildings.
3. Can Ukraine—and America—Survive Donald Trump?
Q: Then how does this end?
A: Who thinks it’s going to end?
David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, speaks to historian Stephen Kotkin. Insightful.
David Remnick
4. The truth about being multi-passionate
This hit close to home. All these struggles and doubts Adam describes are mine, too. And what a wonderful, empowering video he's turned them into. On accepting that you'll never be a specialist, on embracing that you're a generalist. Where not sticking to one thing isn't failure, but your way of moving forward. In an ever-repeating cycle of «learn, build, grow, and then move on to the next challenge». Where your superpower is hiding behind what you might perceive as a weakness.
5. Huh? The valuable role of interjections
We're taught to...um...avoid them, but what if those small...um...seemingly superfluous interjections are actually at the heart of language itself, and something that sets human language apart from artificially generated speech? An appreciation post for the «traffic signals to regulate the flow of conversation».
Bob Holmes
What else?
Instant-gratification links that make you go wow! or aha! the moment you click.
- Me this week: Got frustrated while baking. Posted to Threads. Found myself in a culture war over units.
- New solo song by The National’s singer Matt Berninger: Bonnet of Pins.
- Northern Lights photographer of the year
- A collection of beautiful images of Alaska
- A map of how ninety-two (90+2) is pronounced in European languages (the French and Danish just love math, don’t they?)
- Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK are now at their lowest level since 1872 (yes, that second digit is an 8)
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.
I'm only halfway through, but I feel confident recommending it. Think of everything you've read and heard about Zelensky and the war in Ukraine – and then zoom all the way in. This is what you'll find in this book: more details, added texture, a look behind the scenes. Buy it here.
A gem from the archive
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, Beba Cibralic
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