June 6, 2017

Housing a prisoner in California—about $75,000—now costs more per year than Harvard. / The Los Angeles Times

“I hope others are inspired by Alex’s dedication to excellence and ability live without fear, and less by his willingness to accept risk.” Here’s climber Tommy Caldwell on Alex Honnold’s astounding achievement this past Saturday: climbing Yosemite’s El Capitan with just shoes. “Alex is the greatest climber of our generation. I trust him with my life. I trust him a little less with his own.” / Outside Magazine

Thirty-six hours inside “the big surreal” that is California’s Big Sur area, currently a land-locked island. / KQED News

First criminal charge filed in a leak investigation under Trump: a 25-year-old who fed documents to The Intercept. / The Washington Post

What’s driving the Persian Gulf’s simmering Qatar crisis? The country’s desire to escape Saudi Arabia’s control. / The Interpreter (The New York Times)

Some random delight in some of the world’s largest buildings. Pictured: Earth’s biggest bus depot in Tel Aviv. / The World’s Biggests

Probably no big deal? Trump hasn’t filled vacancies at top of FEMA, NOAA—and it’s hurricane season now. / Tampa Bay Times

“One need not condone the leaks to view them at least in part as an adaptive response to a system failure.” A look back at what we wouldn’t know without government leaks, bearing in mind that not all leaks are created equal. / The Washington Post

Bannon or Trump deleted support for mutual defense from NATO remarks prepared by defense advisers. / Politico

To celebrate the news that, 17 years later, Terry Gilliam has finally finished shooting The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, here’s a trailer for the 2002 documentary about some of the many times the film fell apart. / The New York Times

A Chinese city uses big data from the phone company to track the movement of its migrant worker population. / Voice of America

“No young black men were taking the lead in this kind of show. [LeVar Burton] was like Fred Rogers, talking directly to the audience.” Oral history of Reading Rainbow, a show that a few people fervently believed in before it became a cultural phenomenon. / Mental Floss

“It is what it is,” “what will be will be,” “I am what I am”—tautologies are here to stay, but enough is enough. / OUPBlog

Here: speculative typefaces for the future. / Creators

Stories from The Onion grouped by economic themes. E.g., bidding mistakes and “Auction Won By Crab With $20.” / John J. Horton

“Jim Carrey was the first guy to make $20 million for a movie. He did so for a decade. If he wants to go off book, now’s the time.” Jim Carrey is back, with a giant beard and a new TV show, and he has very little to do with “the rubber-faced gag machine” you remember. / The Ringer