How to walk like a harmless toaster

Poland says the missile strike on its land appears to be an accident by Ukraine. / NPR

On the day FTX declared insolvency, El Salvador, suffering the Bitcoin crash, announced a free trade agreement with China. / The Guardian

A South Korean regional leader's dislike of a new Legoland park is threatening to downgrade government debt. / Foreign Policy

In Thailand, monkeys are chained and forced to pick coconuts sold to Western companies like HelloFresh. / CBS News

Sophie Strand: To survive this era of ecological collapse, I'm choosing a weed to be my saint. / Make Me Good Soil

Analysis of "the four rings of GOP infighting" currently taking place. / Wake Up to Politics

Related: MAGA media is melting down over Kari Lake's loss. / Rolling Stone

Ten trends to watch in the coming year: revenge tourism, peak China, the medium-term rush to renewables, etc. / The Economist

In a recent survey of 5,000-plus single Americans, nearly 80 percent said the end of Roe has changed their sex life. / VICE

Generative AI had a very big year, though no one's quite sure, including advocates and critics, if any of it is legal. / The Verge

From September, an interview with Thomas Thwaites, the engineer who tried to make a toaster from scratch, walk like a goat, and build a harmless car. / The Prepared

See also: How smartphone touchscreens work. What it's like to dissect a cadaver. Some nice paintings made with lipstick. / TKSST, Every Man a Debtor, It's Nice That

Photographs of a new made-to-order patisserie in Tokyo's Daikanyama neighborhood. / Spoon & Tamago


Did this newsletter feed you somehow today? Yesterday? Day before? 🥐 Become a Sustaining Member or boost via PayPal, crypto, or Venmo (open in app).

✔️  Got a correction or a link we should consider? Email us or just reply to this newsletter.

Your headlines are sourced and written by Andrew Womack and Rosecrans Baldwin, Monday through Saturday.