Strum as you are
In Gaza, where Israeli strikes have destroyed most banks and there are no working ATMs, some residents are now repairing damaged banknotes. / BBC News
Sally Rooney’s support for Palestine Action, a nonviolent protest group proscribed under anti-terror laws, means she may not publish in the UK for publishers’ fear of being labeled accessories. / The Independent
Selling citizenship has become a way for countries to attract wealthy investors, but fickle political winds could mean a passport that’s valid one day could be revoked the next. / Jacobin
An interactive tour of the surge in office-to-residential conversions in Manhattan. / The Wall Street Journal [$]
An explanation of the “animal spirits” driving AI investment, by comparison with Money, Emile Zola’s classic novel of financial speculation. / crow’s nest
Doing the math on how an actual Labor Party in the US could win over multiple states that went for Trump in 2024. / How Things Work
Public health and farm worker groups in the US want to ban spraying antibiotics on crops, which they say is contributing to superbugs and harming workers. / The Guardian
Notoriously difficult to grow, Yukon Gold potatoes may soon see their exalted place in kitchens usurped by other yellow varieties. / Serious Eats
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“Adorno never had the experience of going to an emergency room that was always open to the public, or of taking a life-saving antibiotic.” Why we’re better off than a century ago. / The New Atlantis
With more people flying at cheaper prices than ever before, the golden age of air travel is now. / Travel + Leisure
Unrelated: Voyager 1 is now less than a year away from being a light-day from Earth. / ScienceClock
A classical guitarist explores the many expressive possibilities his instrument is capable of and shows how he’s able to “sculpt with sound.” / Aeon
Men using deepfakes of sex workers to create AI porn are said to be “trying to get the means of production back from women.” / Dazed
The general manager of the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder details how Robert Caro inspires his team, and Caro reciprocates the feeling. / ESPN
Sociologists find that train passengers exhibit prosocial behavior when there’s a person dressed as Batman nearby. / Futurism
An advent calendar of Christmas movie dress, starting today with Donna Reed from the climax of It’s a Wonderful Life. / Tom and Lorenzo
“Americans have been shrinking since the early 1980s.” Tom Whitwell’s always fascinating annual list of 52 things learned over the previous year. / Medium
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