The novelist manifesto

A study finds that 98% of Europeans live in areas with highly damaging fine particulate pollution. / The Guardian

A climate research firm says 39 million homes in the United States are at risk of losing their insurance. / Axios

More than a year ahead of its deadline, California installs 10,000 fast chargers for electric cars. / Grist

An interview with a developer behind one of the government's favorite tracking tools. "Don't be surprised when people are going to investigate you because you made their life difficult." / 404 Media

A repeated mistake in popular science is the idea of an empty atom—molecules are actually packed with stuff. / Aeon

A round-up of some of science's biggest mysteries yet to be solved. / Vox

Jeffry Ricker: One of the biggest challenges in becoming blind late in life is overcoming sighted people's negative assumptions. / Psyche

Apple's iPhones aren't sold legally in Cuba, so iPhone experts in Havana are local legends in high demand. / rest of world

Unrelated/related: The magical Japanese art of luggage forwarding. / Ridgeline

Three tattoo experts describe styles that are big with Gen Z (e.g., astrology tattoos) that likely won't appeal to Gen Alpha. / Business Insider

Partly due to generative artificial intelligence, Amazon limits authors to self-publishing no more than three books a day. / Publishers Weekly

Related: AI developers are hiring novelists to improve their models' creative writing skills. / rest of world

---

We're just two dudes with day jobs. If you enjoy this newsletter, please consider supporting by becoming a Sustaining Member or making a one-time donation. Thanks!

🎁  Gift links to paywalled sites are marked with a [+].

✔️  Got a correction or a link we should consider? Email us or just reply to this newsletter.

Your headlines are sourced and composed by Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack, Monday through Saturday. View this edition and the latest headlines at TMN.