Thursday headlines: Nano me this
A visualization of places in the United States at highest risk from disasters and insurance hikes. / The Guardian
Interview with a physicist focused on biobased materials. "The question is whether we have enough." / Knowable Magazine
When will we get nuclear fusion? After 2050, though first "we've got to survive the next decades without it." / Ben James
The White House and various companies and groups announce a universal "Plug and Charge" program for electric vehicles. / Ars Technica
In Vietnam, EV charging networks are being developed by small investors. / rest of world
Unrelated, from Sarah Jeong: "When the South Korean president declares martial law on Tuesday night, I am fairly drunk." / The Verge
Car fans are trying to figure out if Jaguar's design overhaul is refreshing or revolting. / Motortrend
Mephisto's orthopedic shoes are said to now be cool. / The Wall Street Journal [+]
The year in Spotify for Gen Z customers globally: Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny. / After School
Unrelated: "With Puccini died the great opera tradition." / The New York Times [+]
Tinder releases its predictions for dating in 2025—e.g., "nano-ships" and "micro-connections." / Mashable
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt says Gen Z men may wind up preferring AI girlfriends to real women. / Fortune
See also: People turning to AI for companionship "are finding the experience surprisingly meaningful, unexpectedly heartbreaking, and profoundly confusing." / The Verge
Wednesday headlines: No guts, no story
South Korea’s president faces impeachment after he unexpectedly declares martial law. / The Guardian
Some analysis of China, North Korea, and Russia’s response to regional developments. / CNN
Unrelated: Vladimir Putin has a “secret” daughter working as a DJ in France? / NME
Turkey's proxies in Syria may soon be in open combat with US proxies in Syria. / Forever Wars
One theory why Democrats lost power in Washington? Existential dread. / Elad Nehorai’s Newsletter
A writer who used to romanticize heartbreak tests out some new apps, coaches, and getaways meant to address breakups. / The New Yorker
A report by UN Women finds 85,000 women and girls were killed intentionally by men in 2023, with 60% of those deaths committed by someone they knew. / The Guardian
Regarding yesterday’s link about lonely Americans, a new trend (of sorts) to address the situation: “cohousing.” / NPR
See also: A climate report from the suburbs. / Places Journal
Bible sales are up 22% in the US through the end of October. / The Wall Street Journal [+]
The price of coffee beans reaches its highest price in 47 years. / Semafor
The world’s largest iced latte stands 11 feet tall, comprising 3,200 shots of espresso. / Sprudge
Some kennel designs from Milan’s Architecture for Dogs exhibition. / dezeen
Videos of the best goals scored by male and female footballers this year. / Kottke
Your weekly puzzle: What do starship captains see when they fall straight into a black hole? / Azimuth
A thoughtful essay by an author (who lost her parents to AIDS) to explain what “virality” now really means. “You have a story and I have a story and they are not the same story.” / Lithub
Tuesday headlines: Horse majeure
France's prime minister faces a no-confidence vote that could leave the country without a functioning government. / BBC News
France has recorded 52 Israeli violations of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. / The National
Palestinians explain what it's like to go through an autumn olive harvest in Area C. / Al Jazeera
Canada launches a new ad campaign telling asylum-seekers that making an immigration claim "is not easy." / The Toronto Star
Unrelated: Men in New York City explain how much they'd pay for a flannel shirt. / The Wall Street Journal [+]
Arizona's largest public utility gained $69 million in savings last year by buying California's excess solar power. / The Los Angeles Times [+]
A longtime California travel writer lists the state's best mountain towns. / Travel + Leisure
Gripes from private chefs for Silicon Valley's elite families. "The labels in the beverage fridge were not facing forward." / The San Francisco Standard
See also: How a federal policy change in the 1980s created the modern food desert. / The Atlantic [+]
Americans have long been warned about loneliness. "The alarms, of course, may not always be false." / Asterisk Mag
Details from an international "space-out competition." / Inside Hook
Details about Genji-kō, a Japanese game of smelling different types of incense. / Owl
Scientists discover a new family of living things "that reside in the midnight world of the ocean." / The New York Times [+]
"In Mongolia, people rave on horseback." Tom Whitwell reports on the things he learned last year. / Medium
The very weird story of how Pras Michél, co-founder of The Fugees, became a spy. / Variety
Patricia Lockwood on The X-Files: "The real reason everyone loved the show was not because it was about alien autopsies but because it was about motel rooms." / The London Review of Books
Monday headlines: You, robot
Scientists are still unsure why H5N1—which is known to have a fatality rate around 50%—has so far been mild in all 55 reported human cases in the US this year. / STAT
"When you're homeless, you are even more vulnerable. You have no place to go, no kitchen table to sit at while you drink your beer." Homelessness in America, firsthand. / Esquire
The hacker who accessed user accounts at AT&T, Ticketmaster, and others was caught after threatening the chief researcher at a cybersecurity firm. / Waterloo Region Record
The future relevance of mainstream media could come down to understanding the difference between the Manosphere and the Zynternet. / Joshua Citarella's Newsletter
Worries abound that Sonos may be prepared to launch a subscription model, completing a long line in a series of missteps. / WIRED
Oxford's word of the year is "brain rot," the first appearance of which goes back to Thoreau's Walden. / Oxford University Press
The creator of 2000 Mules admits his film misled audiences with claims the 2020 election was stolen. But that does nothing to reverse the damage that's been done. / The Washington Post [+]
How Gladiator II mishandles its depictions of Africa and Africans, who "play the role of barbaric outsiders in ways both problematic and familiar." / Hyperallergic
Watch: How Ex Machina is actually a reverse Turing test. / YouTube
Reconsidering the seven deadly sins as not merely bad, inappropriate, "sinful," etc., but as evolutionary imperatives. / The Guardian
Techno made with household objects—e.g., a sewing machine, an electric toothbrush, a ladder. / Neatorama
Experience the calm of building a train and watching it run on virtual tracks. / Railway Design
Wednesday headlines: Skate or reply-all
TMN will return on Monday, following the Thanksgiving holiday.
Russian forces are advancing in Ukraine at the fastest rate since the start of the 2022 invasion. / Reuters
How many Ukrainian soldiers have died in the war? As a share of population, more than America suffered in the Vietnam and Korean wars combined. / The Economist
See also: Street interviews with people in Kyiv about podcaster Joe Rogan's recent rant. / The Kyiv Independent
Gangs in Haiti now control most of Port-au-Prince. Up to half of their members are children. / The Associated Press
A former drug dealer known for Fox News appearances is arrested on suspicion of pimping and pandering. / The San Francisco Standard
Donald Trump's signature dance move is being embraced by athletes, but it's not clear if they're celebrating or mocking him. / The New Yorker
Unrelated: A bunch of "mirror houses" that you can rent or buy. / Field Magazine
A round-up of tariffs used by different countries "to stem the flow of China-made tech products." / rest of world
A fully functional microscope made of paper only costs $2 to make and is offered free to kids in lower income countries. / Goats and Soda
Some office furniture pieces that can be converted into skate ramps and rails. / dezeen
In 2024, the number of people talking about "pheromone perfume" on social media rose nearly 300%. / The Wall Street Journal [+]
A genre of Japanese fiction known for cats and coziness is booming in Britain. / The Guardian
See also: A first-of-its-kind lawsuit is testing whether the legal system can protect an influencer's vibe. / The Verge
A new Ken Burns documentary about Leonardo da Vinci can be streamed online through December 17. / Open Culture
Some lessons from the AI Art Turing Test. (You can still take it yourself.) / Astral Codex Ten, Google Docs
A puzzle for the holiday: "Suppose you have a publicity-seeking inchworm and want to keep him to yourself. What's the smallest cover you can contrive to keep him hidden?" (Mathmeticians still don't know the answer.) / Futility Closet
Tuesday headlines: That’s that old espresso
US prosecutors indict Indian billionaire Gautam Adani over his alleged lead role in a bribery scheme. / Al Jazeera
The boats behind Mozambique's $2 billion "tuna bond scandal" are up for sale. / gCaptain
The White House says it'll lend $6 billion to help Rivian build a factory in Georgia, part of an effort to lock in climate policies. / elektrek
Tesla factories, including its Austin plant, are found to be flagrant polluters. / The Wall Street Journal [+]
Elon Musk's wealth recently hit $348 billion. "Musk could pay the entire New York City budget for three years, and still have an eleven-figure net worth." / How Things Work
See also: The remarkable house built by Lynda.com. / The Architect's Newspaper
Unrelated: Some antique espresso machines. / Flashbak
The fundamentals of lab-grown meat are pricey—is the future of the business in luxury products? / Undark Magazine
Research shows parts of our bodies start aging earlier than others, "right down to our organs and cells." / The Washington Post [+]
A profile of the man designed an apartment complex for mice to examine the effects of overcrowding. / The Guardian
How the "polyworking" trend has led to "Creator As Expert" culture. / The Trend Report
A look at time capsules scheduled to be opened next year. / Paleofuture
In case you missed it, we dropped the 2025 Tournament of Books long list last week. / The Tournament of Books
Lili Anolik explains her reasons for "killing" Joan Didion and making an enemy of Donna Tartt. / Vulture
Confessions of Cormac McCarthy's "secret muse," whom he met when she was 16. "He asked me why I carried a gun." / Vanity Fair
Monday headlines: Desolate streams
The ICC's warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant sent shockwaves, but don't expect the Court to rock American Exceptionalism, an "assertion of who the rules apply to and who they don't." / Forever Wars
The first known H5N1 infection in a child in the US was confirmed last week, marking the 55th human case so far this year. / CDC
A database of the Federal Reserve board's meeting minutes from 1967 to 1973 uncovers a secret history that's often humdrum, but sometimes nearly disastrous. / Notes on the Crises
Unrelated: "Anyone can buy data tracking US soldiers and spies to nuclear vaults and brothels in Germany." / WIRED
Whether to get rich or simply to make music, people use Suno for different reasons, but one thing seems clear: Copyright laws need updating. / Can't Get Much Higher
If podcasts are your thing, it's because of the people behind the microphones. So how could AI podcasts ever be a thing for anyone? / Internal Exile
How the "cozy gaming" trend is influencing AI device makers, who want us to feel our digital companions are more than tools. / The New Yorker
See also: "Several AI-based study tools are capitalizing on a 'PDF to Brainrot' trend, which will read the text of a document you upload over 'oddly satisfying' videos." / TechCrunch
More than a decade after the Times spent months covering the troubled teens on a Tennessee basketball team, checking in with the Lady Jaguars. / The New York Times [+]
A six-and-a-half-hour supercut of Tom Verlaine's guitar solos stitched together from 50 different bootlegs of "Marquee Moon." / Ty Burr's Watch List
Hundreds of Beavers, the indie slapstick Everything Everywhere All at Once's co-director called "the future of cinema"—is now streaming for free and you need to see it. / AP, YouTube
"How queuing for stuff became just as important as buying it." / The Face
A chilling, immersive remembrance of Kristallnacht through the eyes of those who were there, 86 years later. / Inside Kristallnacht
"This coming Thanksgiving will be the first without her." Alice Brock of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" dies at 83. / WBUR
Friday headlines: The root of the problem
After 800 years of dormancy, Iceland's geological systems reactivated in 2021; since then, a volcano near Reykjavík has erupted 10 times. / Reuters
The discovery of a mummified saber-toothed tiger cub is providing scientists a first-ever glimpse of the species, and providing answers to long-held questions. / National Geographic
To understand the debate over fluoridated water, look to Portland, Ore., where the water remains fluoride-free, and the locals are still divided on the topic. / The Washington Post [+]
It may be nice to think science should be apolitical, but at this moment it isn't, and that's why the removal of Scientific American's editor-in-chief is such a loss. / Defector
Related: Do California teachers have the right to slam Donald Trump? / Los Angeles Times
"The backlash against incumbents is real, but it is only indirectly related to factual information about inflation and the economy." / Econbrowser
A Q&A with the author of a book about the secret worlds that exist only for the super-rich, who make their own laws and rarely abide by them. / Coda
Did AI art just pass the Turing test? Only if you're comparing AI output to "JPEGs of photographs of paintings." / Read Max
See also: A visit to the Met's staff art show, "the most enjoyable exhibition I've seen in recent memory." / The Loaf
New to us, but, German Chocolate Cake isn't German and Baker's Chocolate isn't for bakers—both were instead named after people. / Kottke.org
You know the disclaimer movies include that states the film isn't based on anyone living or dead? It's there because of a lawsuit over the death of Rasputin. / Interconnected
"You experience a decrease in dopamine and norepinephrine, due to the decreased activity of the reward system cells." The neuroscience of heartbreak. / Mapping Ignorance
Rooster fans rejoice: Here it is, the 2025 Tournament of Books long list. / The Tournament of Books
"All you could see were toys, toys, and toys, like a fabulous toy land." New Yorkers recall shopping before the internet. / New York Magazine
Thursday headlines: War and peace (finally)
The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and former defence minister, and Hamas's military commander. / BBC News
A recap of Gaza resolutions the UN's Security Council has voted on since last October. / Al Jazeera
Consulting firm McKinsey is said to have a client list "that reads as the 'whodunit' of the climate crisis." / The Guardian
Unrelated: Confessions of a repentant Wagner disinformation agent from the Central African Republic. / Le Monde
Roughly 57% of the world's population is now connected to the mobile internet, though the rate of growth is slowing. / rest of world
An investigative journalist who's never had a smartphone considers getting one that was previously only available to the military. / 404 Media
Regarding yesterday's news about robot dogs, one just completed a full-course marathon. / The Register
See also: A developer released what he's billing "the world's first AI street hawker." / Ted Benson
In the 1930's young, working women divided a week into "48 hours working, 56 hours sleeping, 31 hours on home obligations, and 24 hours eating or running errands." / The One Percent Rule
Explaining what the "women in male fields" TikTok trend is about. / Screenshot
A video report from Europe's recent Tramdriver Championship. / YouTube
The great sports writer Louisa Thomas on Rafael Nadal's legacy: "No match was over until it was over; and then it was over." / The New Yorker
Footage from 1910 shows Leo Tolstoy's final days, right to his deathbed. / Open Culture
See also: A calculator can tell you a famous person's "net elevation" from birth to death. / Avi Bagla
Wednesday headlines: Deco and the bunnymen
Negotiators at COP29 are stalled on how much money to raise for climate action in developing countries, "and how to raise it." / Semafor
A new generation of cheaper batteries is increasingly popular with EV automakers. / Canary Media
The TSA expects to screen 18.3 million travelers next week. / The Points Guy
Singapore is said to be the only global city that meets the "3+30+300 rule" for greener and more heat tolerant cities. / The Conversation
Trump wants to expand fossil fuel production—a breakdown of how he can accomplish it. / Vox
See also: A new gas plant is being proposed to power a $5 billion Louisiana data center. / floodlight
Some old and new theories on whether we're accidentally building a planetary brain. / Noema
"AI pimping" refers to AI-generated influencers that are created from videos of adult content creators. / 404 Media
Unrelated: Mar-a-Lago is being patrolled by robot dogs. / BBC News
A Magritte painting sells for $121 million at Christie's. At Phillips, a Basquiat self-portrait doesn't sell at all. / artsy, The Art Newspaper
What is it like to be an art detective? "When they find out you lied to them, they shoot you." / Atlas Obscura
When is it okay to send wine back? When "it smells like a waterlogged cellar." / Esquire
From September, what if the United States had stuck with Art Deco? "It was the last ornamental architectural style before an infestation of austere cubes." / Fashionably Late Takes
A photo series highlights horse culture in South Africa. / Booooooom
San Marino, the world's bottom ranked soccer team, wins its first away game ever. / BBC Sport
"I'm not a very superstitious person, but you took it to the next level." Roger Federer sends Rafael Nadal a nice note for his final tournament. / NPR
Tuesday headlines: Proxy murmurs
Ukraine fires "longer-range" ballistic missiles into Russia on the 1,000th day of war. / CNN
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country may face 100,000 North Korean troops. / The Guardian
How has the Assad government maintained control in Syria despite 13 years of civil war? By becoming a "narco state" dependent on captagon. / The New Yorker
China is moving quickly to ramp up domestic production of semiconductors. / Nikkei Asia
AI-generated police reports are said to be a sign of what's to come. / MIT Technology Review
Related: A leak shows what "Graykey," a phone-unlocking tool used by law enforcement, can get from your iPhone. / 404 Media
"Planet Nine" refers to a potential planet orbiting 10 times farther from the sun than Neptune. / Phys.org
Three trends to explain a supposed decline in scientific innovation—and the answer is "epistemic anarchy?" / City Journal
A Utah forest of 47,000 aspen trees—named Pando—is actually a single interconnected organism. / Nature
See also: Audio recordings from the world's first certified "wilderness quiet park" in Ecuador. / Quiet Parks
Americans aren't just buying more toys for their kids than they used to, "they're also buying them differently." / Vox
Allison Willmore: Men are unwell, but they deserve better than Gladiator II. / Vulture
Unrelated: Photos of Eric Wareheim's loft apartment. / Domino
Layered photographs of starling murmurations. / Colossal
An explanation for how magician David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear in 1983. / Open Culture
Monday headlines: Doing things to do things
In trade journals, agriculture experts worry Trump's combination of RFK Jr. and tariffs could chill their $1.5 trillion industry. / NPR
See also: Under Trump, the future of Medicare drug price negotiations—one of Biden's key domestic policy achievements—is now uncertain. / Roll Call
Polls indicate Americans favor deporting undocumented immigrants—but only when the question doesn't mention people who've lived here a long time, work, and have no criminal record. / CNN
"Apparently some people think it makes us look like Nazis." Trump allies have been told to stop referring to their planned immigration detention facilities as "camps." / Rolling Stone
There must be merits to boredom; after all, examples abound for all the ways capitalism treats it as a threat to society. / The Flaw
See also: From an OSS handbook, how ordinary citizens can disrupt enemy operations—or, the art of doing dumb shit. / ZINE
"There are just too many people walking too slow, filming themselves, or waiting on long lines that I have to push past because they want to try some mid bagel place." Missing a lonely New York. / The Melt
It's estimated that around four percent of the world's population hear the Hum—a persistent, rumbling noise that remains a mystery to scientists. / The Independent
A new solar-powered desalination system provides drinking water at lower costs by adjusting to changes in sunlight, requiring no extra batteries. / MIT
Genetic analysis of the quaking aspen tree Pando, one of the world's largest and oldest plants, shows it's between 16,000 and 80,000 years old. / Nature
Fifty years after scientists transmitted the Arecibo Message to prove a radio message could traverse the galaxy, it's still on its way to the star cluster Messier 13. / JSTOR Daily
In a single day, more music is released now than it was in all of 1989, and music software companies are cashing in through recurring subscriptions. / MusicRadar
See also: Re-listen to the Hood Internet's mashup of 50 songs from 1989 into a single three-minute track. / YouTube
Clips from TV pilots that didn't make it past the first episode, even with some really big names attached. / Ironic Sans
Screenshots of personal epiphanies in the Notes app. / Dirt
Friday headlines: Go wild in the country
A bankruptcy judge has halted The Onion's purchase of Infowars, claiming concerns over the transparency of the auction. / Bloomberg Law
How the planned construction of a Trump golf course near Hanoi might affect Vietnam's relations with the incoming administration. / The Diplomat
Now that the election is over, lifestyle influencers are free to admit they were MAGA all along. / Defector
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear warns Democrats against abandoning LGBTQ causes in hopes of winning over voters. / them
Between 2020 and 2023, about 63% of counties classified as rural or in small metros saw an increase in arrivals aged 25 to 44, compared to 27% between a decade prior. / Business Insider
"For science to be effective, it simply cannot be efficient." When efficiency experts come for science, science doesn't happen. / Slate
According to a new study, poorer nations will need at least $1 trillion a year to cut emissions and deal with climate disasters. / The Guardian
On an expedition to the Solomon Islands, scientists have discovered what's thought to be the world's largest coral—it's about the size of five tennis courts. / ABC
In 1916, just one year after the first transcontinental phone call, the first teleconference occurred, simultaneously connecting 5,100 engineers across the US. / IEEE Spectrum
See also: "When she got home in the morning it indicated that she had danced enough to cover thirty-one miles." Pedometers were once a form of surveillance tech. / The MIT Press Reader
The Texas Funeral Service Commission says a state medical school's practice of liquefying cadavers after training and research is illegal. / NBC News
Unrelated: Families spread loved ones' ashes at college football stadiums more often than you think. / ESPN
"We did have a new album come out this year, and I feel like it's detracting from that." When musicians realize AI slop is masquerading as them on Spotify. / The Verge
Music critic Philip Sherburne finds a fraudster has been using his name in attempts to bilk money from new artists. / Futurism Restated
Inside the origins of Makaton, a trademarked version of British Sign Language, and the fight to end the commodification of deaf communication. / The Baffler
"Library employees can read people as fluently as bartenders." Elizabeth McCracken visits every branch of the Austin Public Library. / Texas Highways
Thursday headlines: The heart of war
India's Supreme Court forbids "bulldozer justice," i.e., when the government demolishes someone's home affter they've been accused of a crime. / BBC News
The GOP retains its House majority, giving Republicans full control of Congress and the White House. / Politico
Some Republican Senators seem alarmed by some of Donald Trump's nominations for key posts. / NBC News
Young people are avoiding the red heart emoji (❤️) for fear of seeming MAGA. / Usermag
Jia Tolentino on the far right's new phrase "your body, my choice" and how "posting now creates political reality." / The New Yorker
Sex educators say parents need to counterprogram against pornography. One possibility is a family "sex scene night." / The Cut
The "great stuff transfer" refers to Baby Boomers passing things down to their children who often don't want them. / Metafilter
John Jervis: I love mid-century modern, but it makes me sad. / dezeen
A new infection called "Valley fever" may be caused by unchecked development in desert landscapes. / Noema
"It is likely that his psychotic visions had something to do with his professional exile." Some notes on Carl Jung's midlife crisis. / Noted
Some theories on why people often didn't smile in early photographs. / Upworthy
Unrelated: From September, how to combine 143 World War II movies into a 12-hour series. / ww2supercut
An essay to explain what it's like to be a professional outdoor gear tester. / Patagonia
How Machiavelli described his evening reading hours: "I feed on the food that alone is mine." / Public Domain Review
See also: One example of how to write a story entirely in monosyllables. / Futility Closet
Wednesday headlines: That child-free lifestyle
Russian lawmakers vote to ban all content that promotes "a child-free lifestyle," including social media. / Semafor
Since the 1990s, deaths have nearly always outnumbered births in Russia. / The Washington Post [+]
What can President Biden do prior to Donald Trump's new term? "Use his clemency power to empty the federal death row." / Slate
Tim Snyder on Trump: "We should expect him to try to cling to power until death, and create a cult of January 6th martyrs." / The New Yorker
See also: An updated guide to protecting yourself from government surveillance. / WIRED
Wealthier nations want Saudi Arabia, China, and the private sector to contribute more to help lower-income countries adapt and cope to the climate crisis. / The New York Times [+]
Pakistan's smog is visible from space. / Goats and Soda
Global sales of electric and plug-in hybrid cars are up 35% from October last year. / Reuters
Unrelated: Fourteen percent of urban road miles nationwide are under state control, but two-thirds of all crash deaths in the 101 largest metro areas occur there. / Vox
The iconic SS United States, "once the pride of America's maritime fleet," is about to become the world's largest artificial reef. / gCaptain
What is it like to experience polar night in the world's northernmost town? "I savor the calm it brings." / Smithsonian Magazine
A history of Black Mountain College's weaving tradition. / Hyperallergic
A review of a new biography of writer Sanora Babb, known for her bad luck "of now-legendary proportions." / The New Republic
Tracing the King James Bible's influence on Ernest Hemingway's "principle of the iceberg." / Slant Books
RIP, Alvin Ailey star and artistic director Judith Jamison. / The New York Times
See also: During the pandemic, different Ailey dancers performed Ailey's "Cry." / YouTube
Tuesday headlines: Serenade the sheep from the goats
Israel says there will be no ceasefire or pause until its war objectives are met. / The Times of Israel
A video round-up of what's happened in northern Gaza siege since the US gave its 30-day warning a month ago. / Al Jazeera
Between news-averse voters and Twitter disinformation, "Donald Trump was returned to power by the most badly informed electorate in modern American history." / The Philadelphia Inquirer
See also: The mirror of fascism in big tech. / Dead Simple Tech
Hannah Ritchie: The fact that researchers can't keep up with developments in low-carbon energy is, in many ways, a good thing. / Sustainability by numbers
Difficult-to-pronounce names are found to be negatively related to the probability of landing academic jobs. / American Economic Association
A scientist with breast cancer self-experimented with lab-grown viruses—and though the treatment was a success, she doesn't recommend just anyone try it. / Nature
Only 0.8% of American women live in an area that has an abortion facility that doesn't also have a nearby anti-abortion "crisis pregnancy center." / NBC News
"Spiritual bars"—alcohol plus tarot readings—are said to be booming in China. / Radii
More migratory birds passing through New York City means more skyscraper collisions. / The Guardian
Unrelated: Some thoughts about rethinking your commuting route. / The Los Angeles Times
Authorities dismantle a criminal group responsible for forging over 2,000 artworks attributed to more than 30 known artists. / artsy
A review of a $420,000 electric car says the best feature is the sound it makes. / The Verge
Watch: A short film about the custodians of an emergency airport in Australia. / Colossal
Residents of Coulsdon, England, find their Facebook posts deleted by an algorithm that flags the word "LSD" in their town's name. / Inside Croydon
Is social media an oral culture? "I actually don't know if any of this is right." / X
Baby boomers think the love song is dying—and they're wrong, but that's because the categories have changed. / The Pudding
Friday headlines: Fight or flightless
For the first time in history, every incumbent party in a developed nation this year lost vote share in elections. / Financial Times
See also: A German far-right party won a regional election in September, which hasn't happened since the Nazi era—a result of 30 years of ignoring a lurking problem. / The Baffler
The good news is that the US political system is too complex for Trump to destroy it. The bad news is he's going to try anyway. / The Guardian
We blamed Facebook for Trump winning in 2016, so it tracks that we'd blame TikTok this time around—except the squirrel thing was not nothing. / Read Max
An explanation of 4B, the South Korean feminism movement that bans men, and that's been taking hold this week among American women. / Vox
"Ten percent of American workers today are union members, meaning that 90% of 'the working class' are not union members." To unfuck politics, create more union members. / How Things Work
Life after landing your dream job as a lighthouse keeper on a remote Australian island, where your only company for a month at a time is a colony of penguins. / BBC News
See also: From an 1860 John Ruskin letter, "One feels everything in the world so sympathetically ridiculous, one can't be angry when one looks at a Penguin." / Instagram
An emperor penguin has arrived on the southern coast of Western Australia, the furthest north the species has ever been recorded. / ABC
Ten years after legislation to curtail stores' and restaurants' seafood mislabeling, an investigation finds 18% of salmon sold as wild is actually farmed. / Gizmodo
Unrelated: Webfishing, a game that combines fishing, relaxing, chatting, and little else, could not have come at a better moment. / VICE
Or if smashing fascists sounds more appealing, the allure of Wolfenstein remains. / Kotaku
See also: From 1941, "It is an interesting and somewhat macabre parlor game to play at a large gathering of one's acquaintances: to speculate who in a showdown would go Nazi." / Harper's
A vibrant journey through the colorful world of mushrooms, comprising more than 800 shades. / Mushroom Color Atlas
Thursday headlines: O patria mia
Cuba's power grid fails again as Hurricane Rafael crosses the island. / The Guardian
Germany's ruling coalition collapses, triggering political chaos in Europe's largest economy. / DW
A round-up of how global leaders are responding to Donald Trump's reelection. / NPR
Related: The return of Trumponomics gets markets excited "but frightens the world." / The Economist
Yesterday, Democratic Senate candidates outperformed Harris—or, put another way, Republican Senate candidates are doing worse than Trump. / Vox
California plans to lead "the liberal resistance" against the new administration. / The Los Angeles Times
Heather Cox Richardson recalls the pamphlets supplied to soldiers in WWII explaining fascism. / Letters From an American
See also: Remembering the Guerrilla Girls' call for a return to "traditional values" on abortion. / Guerrilla Girls
Recent studies suggest the presence of armed officers has no impact on school safety or day-to-day crime. / Undark Magazine
A study finds cancer cases and deaths are expected to rise by 77% and 90% in 2050, respectively. / JAMA Network
Interviews with more than 100 older Japanese women and men suggest working less during your life leads to a much better retirement. / The Conversation
Scientists find that rainforests can rapidly regrow if left alone. / Grist
Some thoughts on what people lose by no longer relying on their memory. "I suspect we're losing a lot." / The Base Camp
Researchers spot a black hole that appears to have been "feeding" at 40 times the theoretical limit for millions of years. / Ars Technica
A diminutive Japanese satellite made of wood makes it into space. / Quartz
For some weekly wanderlust, TMN's Rosecrans Baldwin bike-tours an island off southern Japan. / Travel + Leisure
Do dogs know what art is? "Canine perception is collaborative. Dogs are pack animals; they are always among." / The Paris Review
An exclusive Italian club devoted to Verdi requires a member to die before a new one can join. / The New York Times [+]
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Wednesday headlines: Morning portrait
Also, some fashion illustrations from the roaring twenties in Très Parisien magazine. / Flashbak
(Fwiw, today's clothes are made using enormous amounts of petrochemicals and fossil fuels.) (Clothes have long been political.) / The Walrus, X
Donald Trump wins the American presidency despite a 34-count felony conviction and two assassination attempts. / Politico
Susan Glasser: Rule number one in politics is never underestimate your enemy. / The New Yorker
Trump is also the first Republican to (likely) win the popular vote since George W. Bush's reelection in 2004. / The Hill
Unrelated: Let's begin by assuming that "no 'cosmic purpose' or divine intention is at work." / Plankton Valhalla
Non-white non-college-educated voters moved 13 points toward Trump. It was the GOP's best presidential performance among Latino voters in modern times. / ABC News, Slate
The new president will have a Republican Senate, and possibly a GOP House. / BBC News, The New York Times
Meanwhile, a right-wing site allows anyone to search for a voter's physical address and party affiliation. / 404 Media
Seven ballot measures protecting abortion rights also won. For Democrats, six reasons to feel hopeful. / Vox, The Cut
See also: A few short fantasy stories about strangers joining forces to save each other. / Metafilter
Tuesday headlines: Kiss or cut bait
A fascinating story about an Israeli college student who wound up in a prisoner swap because of her Instagram stories. / The New York Times [+]
The United States is spending an estimated $1.7 trillion to advance its nuclear arsenal. / Undark Magazine
See also: A pair of physicists and an animator have created a new way to visualize the atomic nucleus. / Kottke
A guide to poll closing times, vote counting, and races to watch in US elections. / 538
A layman's guide to being a political junkie today. "Do not—under any circumstances—turn on a TV prior to 6pm." / Matt's Five Points
Something we didn't know: The only major social media platform with an explicit ban on phony voter fraud posts is Snap. / Platformer
New York Times reporters recently accused their editors of "sanewashing" Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the editorial board embraces "hypertextual writing." / Semafor, Kottke
Unrelated: A cruise ship medic fact-checks Ryan Murphy's new series Doctor Odyssey. / The Points Guy
A longstanding survey in Japan finds a record fall in teenagers having their first kiss. / BBC News
"Longevity concierges" are said to be trending in Silicon Valley. / The San Francisco Standard
Half a dozen innovative products—a solar cow, a trash can that sterilizes itself—from Seoul Design 2024. / dezeen
Making the argument that a muralist in Sussex, England, was a bit of a 12th-century Ai Weiwei. / Keith McGowan
An aerial depiction of the (maybe someday) Los Angeles-San Francisco high speed rail route. / YouTube
Some examples of "camera trap photography" in Southern California. / My Modern Met
Related: Photographer of the week, simply because we like her work: Patricia Voulgaris. / Patricia Voulgaris
"It's always hot girl summer at Jacksonville Zoo and Garden." Museums and tourist attractions are marketing themselves to Gen Z. / artnet