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Iran races to export its oil while Trump considers joining Israel’s bombing campaign. / Bloomberg [$]
Foreign ministers from Britain, France, and Germany meet with their Iranian counterparts. / The Times of Israel
In Washington, “two weeks” is one of Trump’s favorite units of time, and often means nothing at all. / The Daily Beast
Hadley Gamble: Europe’s greatest threat isn’t from Trump or Putin—it’s from economic insecurity. / Semafor
Thomas Wright: Those responsible for homeland security should not be chasing laborers on farms and busboys in restaurants. / The Atlantic [$]
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda are set to sign a peace agreement next week. / DW
How a new city in South Korea is planned and built from scratch. / S(ubstack)-Bahn
A hotel in China gets in trouble for waking up guests with red pandas. / Sixth Tone
Rooster fans: We’re a little over two weeks out from the start of our first-ever summer bracket. / The Tournament of Books
Your weekly white paper finds pseudo-therapist chatbots making dangerous statements to people experiencing delusions, suicidal ideation, and OCD. / arXiv
Researchers ask young people to use ChatGPT to write essays. As a result, they “consistently underperform at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.” / Dazed
See also: “Self-Learning Netflix Algorithm Produces Jeffrey Dahmer Stand-Up Special.” / The Onion
A new book says shower radios were once popular because “they reinforced and promoted entertainment as seamlessly meshing with hygienic and fitness cultures.” / The MIT Press Reader
Struggling with focus at work? An app encourages you to plant a tree that will die if you exit the screen. / Kottke
A thought experiment explores whether Tesla should be nationalized. / Places Journal
License plates from Vatican City are said to be the “holy grail” for hardcore collectors. / The Wall Street Journal [$]
See also: Studying drivers across the country for signs of license-plate prejudice—or, why everyone loves Vermont drivers and hates Texans. / The Morning News
And now a brief chat with new supporter Kim V.!
Hi, Kim! How long have you been reading TMN? I don’t remember when I first came across your newsletter but it has been quite a while, at least since early 2021. But I’m sure it was earlier.
Awesome. What do you enjoy about TMN? I just really enjoy the randomness of your stories—there is always something I follow up on. Through TMN I get to read stories I would have never found on my own and I really appreciate that. I own a small, independent, English-language bookstore in Valencia, Spain, so anything to do with books catches my eye.
How cool! Well, any particular reason you decided to support today? After all these years of reading your newsletter, I thought it was time to give a little back.
In the members area, unlocked links from Bloomberg, the Atlantic, and the Wall Street Journal ↓