1. How prominent historians are exploring the role of climate change in world history.

"All are conversant in conventional explanations for the various rises and falls, crises and expansions that pepper their pages. Up to this point, all have contented themselves by tinkering with those conventional explanations, offering new ideas within the traditional comfort zone of professional historians, where human affairs change because of human initiatives, arranged as social and political forces. So why are they all writing differently now, challenging readers to consider climate shifts as central to the course of history?" [Pocket]

2. The inside story of Uber's negotiations with Portland.

"For one side, then, it’s about democracy and protecting vulnerable members of society. For the other side, it’s about letting consumers pick the way they want to travel and trusting the market. But what if the people really do want both Uber and the city to protect their fellow citizens and maintain democratic order? It’s a sadly precise incarnation of Robert Reich’s theory of Supercapitalism in which he argues that our consumer and citizen selves are increasingly at odds with one another. And yet, although it may be an ideological collision of epic proportions, the Uber/Portland battle has been built on a basic foundation of lack of communication and simmering distrust." [Pocket]

+ This one's by me.

3. The ruble's collapsing, which may mean some Russians buy into bitcoin or other crytpocurrencies.

"A cryptocurrency exchange based in Bulgaria, called BTC-e, is known in the industry as being the most Russian-friendly despite bitcoin being made illegal in Russia. The exchange allows users to trade in rubles and its website can be displayed in the Russian language alongside Chinese and English. Data from bitcoinity.org shows that the exchange has seen a modest spike in ruble transactions in recent weeks. The flow into bitcoin echoes a similar move seen in Cyprus in April 2013 when capital controls were placed on citizens who tried to take large sums of money out of the embattled euro zone nation. The restrictions were seen as one of the key factors behind a rally in the price of bitcoin as Cypriot investors tried to shift money beyond its borders." [Pocket]

4. What unanticipated effects will result from these levels of inequality?

"A new Pew Research Center analysis of wealth finds the gap between America’s upper-income and middle-income families has reached its highest level on record. In 2013, the median wealth of the nation’s upper-income families ($639,400) was nearly seven times the median wealth of middle-income families ($96,500), the widest wealth gap seen in 30 years when the Federal Reserve began collecting these data. In addition, America’s upper-income families have a median net worth that is nearly 70 times that of the country’s lower-income families, also the widest wealth gap between these families in 30 years." [Pocket]

5. This text toy can generate an essay about anything, by 5IT favorite Darius Kazemi.

"Got some time to kill and want to read a meandering essay by an algorithm with a short attention span? Tell us how many minutes you want to spend reading and a starting topic, and we'll whip something up." [Pocket]

crisis. A stage or state of affairs, lit. or fig. at which a decisive change is imminent; a turning point. Loosely overused for any serious situation.

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Tinkering With Those Conventional Explanations