Sand of nod
Australian leaders vow to further strengthen their gun control laws after a mass shooting targets a Hanukkah celebration. / The Associated Press
How journalists covered a weekend of mass shootings on two continents. / Poynter
In 1965, the CIA lost a nuclear device in the Himalayas that people now worry may leak into the Ganges River. / The New York Times [$]
Summarizing the many ways the Trump family enriched itself this past year. / The New Yorker
See also: In Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia, scamming compounds “make little effort to disguise themselves.” / The London Review of Books
Japan loses its two remaining pandas—to be returned to China—as tensions simmer with Beijing. / The Japan Times
Billionaires like “China’s first father” are quietly having large numbers of US-born babies through surrogates. / The Wall Street Journal [$]
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links.
Older people complaining about young people using “aesthetic” in new ways are about eight years late to the realization. / The Washington Post [$], Odyssey
Some theories on why Olivia Nuzzi’s new memoir is tanking. “It’s inconceivable that people working at the publisher couldn’t anticipate this.” / The Biblioracle
Allowances for children, averaging $37 a week, are said to be “supercharged for the era of finance capitalism.” / The Atlantic [$]
An experienced hiker explains what it’s like to be rescued from quicksand in Utah’s Arches National Park. / Reddit
Drawings of country cottages from a lover of traditional British building techniques. / Live From California With Lloyd Kahn
For your weekly wanderlust: A trio of videos that feature the black sand beaches of Iceland. / Kottke
And now a brief chat with a new sustaining member, Lisa R.!
Lisa, thank you for becoming a supporter! You are most welcome!
If you don’t mind us asking, what led you to support today? I am a new discoverer of the Tournament of Books and was moved to help support the project. I like to say I am supporting the publishing industry and that I am an intellectual, but really I am just a shopaholic who loves to read. I saw an article yesterday about the ToB and said, “why have I never heard of this?" I did a bit of research and decided to chip in.
Wow! Well, we really appreciate it—thanks again. Thank you for inspiring people like me who love books and bookstores with even more to add to our leaning TBR stack. Happy holidays!
In the members area, unlocked links from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the Atlantic ↓