Consolidation and Near Monopolies Are Making Everything Terrible
Andy Rooney was a national treasure. We need truth tellers like him for the busted moment we’re all trapped in. This may be the edition of the newsletter...
Armenia: An Ancient People with a History Marked by Tragedy
The Goshavank Monastery in Gosh – Photo by Hope Barev dzez (Hello in Armenian), This week’s newsletter is coming on Tuesday because I was in transit back...
An AI in Every Email, DM, and Groupchat—Zuckerberg's Vision for the Future of the Internet
Subscribe now Today's newsletter is my attempt to triangulate two points of view articulated by people with very different takes about the future of the...
The Trial of the Tacoma Police Officers who Murdered Manuel Ellis
Happy Sunday, Over on the podcast this week, we have a conversation with Brian Lettinga from Search Associates. He’s a recruiter/matchmaker for educators...
When Schools Grieve
Subscribe now The typical American high school is the size of a small town. My old school, Lincoln, floated between 1500 and 1800 students in my decade...
There’s a Wave of Hacks Coming, Thanks to LastPass
Photo by Franck on Unsplash Today we are touching on a topic I wrote about in March, online security. There’s been some developments this week that warrant a...
Losing Friends: Reader Mailbag Edition
Someone put this sign on my door at work this week. Oh, y’all got jokes. I felt seen this week. In last week’s newsletter, I opined about what it feels like...
Losing People to Nuttery and Conspiracies
The emotional labor of caring for other adults is real and taxing | Photo: Pexels Hey folks, A warm welcome to new subscribers. This week’s edition is a...
Finding Time and Balance, Far from Home
Hope and I served as emcees for the schools Spirit Night last week, a giant grade-level scavenger hunt throughout the campus (Photo: Tony Murray) Friday...
AI is Democratizing and Democracy is Famously Messy
This is an AI image I created using Night Cafe, depicting people working in a call center. Subscribe now I am not going to pretend to be an expert in...
Signal vs Noise, American Serial Outrage, and the Law of Large Numbers
Hey folks, thanks for making July our most popular month since we started the newsletter. We had more readers and more new subscribers last month than ever...
There and Back Again - A Final 2023 World Cup Dispatch
Our view of the tournament opener in Auckland, where the host Football Ferns upset Norway I really hate when I am right when I wish I was wrong. I ended last...
These Sheep Ain't Gon' Shear Themselves - A 2023 World Cup Dispatch
The Running of the Sheep I bring you greetings from a rented farmhouse in the sheep shearing capital of the world, Te Kuiti, New Zealand. Te Kuiti used to be...
You Owe it to Yourself to Watch Women's Soccer and the World Cup
Trinity Rodman is a player to keep your eye on this tournament Jet lag is real. At some point yesterday, I looked at Hope and realized I had no idea what day...
The Myth of the Great Wealth Transfer
“Succession” was four seasons of prestige television about four terrible people seeking to inherit their father’s empire - Photo: Warner Bros Pressroom...
The Able-ism of Our Aging Infrastructure
They see us rollin', they hatin' In the summer of 2018, I nearly came to blows with a TSA agent. My dad was a disabled Vietnam veteran. He had lupus and the...
The Case for Banning Phones in School
This week’s newsletter will be brief because your boy has a flight to catch. If you’re a Tacoma based reader, you may see me around town for the next few...
Taking Notes on Criminal Crypto Conspiracy
Stringer’s sage advice to “never take notes on a criminal conspiracy” is worth heeding, especially if you’re knowingly running an unlicensed securities...
The Lack of Housing is a Generational Crisis
The US spent the last forty years building less housing than the prior forty years and the consequences are predictable and dire I've been baffled by the...
Sorry, Wrong Number: the Lowdown on Pig Butchering Scams
The most prominent form of SMS text spam is Pig Butchering, a social engineering con targeting the 55+ crowd Off the top, I want to welcome aboard folks that...