Boxing, Celebrity and the Death of Mastery

Tam Hussein | New Lines Magazine | Jan 14, 2026

This piece references many boxers, but don’t let that stop you from reading it. Not knowing or caring about boxing doesn’t detract from the author’s message.

At heart, my problem with Paul is simple: An unlettered club fighter stepping into the ring with a master offends my sensibilities. It does so in a way that the Tate-DeMoor fight does not, because the latter bout was never about mastery. The Tate-DeMoor fight I can let stand, but the Paul-Joshua fight I cannot, because it demeans an idea I am trying to instill in my own children: the idea that mastery is worth it, that one should spend time becoming an accomplished writer, painter, carpenter, boxer, farmer, calligrapher, whatever it may be, that mastery is about character, that it does something to you. Paul offends that principle.

The danger is that a new generation will assume that Paul is the bigger draw — and that this “influence” alone has somehow earned him the right to share a ring with a former two-time world champion and an Olympic gold medalist.

Running on Empty: Copper

B | The Honest Sorcerer | Dec 07, 2025

Simply put, we are on a collision course between tightening global copper supply and demand fueled by electrification and most recently: AI data centers. Copper is an essential component in everything electric due to it’s high heat and electrical conductivity, surpassed only by silver. Copper wires can be found in everything from power generation, transmission, and distribution systems to electronics circuitry, telecommunications, and numerous types of electrical equipment—consuming half of all mined copper. The red metal and its alloys are also vitally important in water storage and treatment facilities—as well as in plumbing and piping—as it kills fungi, viruses and bacteria upon contact and conducts heat very efficiently. Thanks to its corrosion resistance and biostatic characteristics, copper is also widely used in marine applications and construction, as well as for coinage.