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Dear Friends,

I’ve just returned from a trip to my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. Besides seeing friends and family, which was life- and community-affirming, I was struck by how clean and orderly Madison seems compared to Portland. It just looks and feels less worn. I did see the (bigger) city trend of stickering lightposts creeping in to Madison, something that was virtually non existent a few years ago. Also, some sign-obscuring graffiti. I hope city leaders will take this seriously and address it now, before it gains some kind of acceptance, however reluctant (as per Portland).

Lots of interesting reading for you in this one, some serious bits, and some funsies.

Woo-hoo!

‘HIV-ending’ drug could be made for just $25 per patient a year, say researchers | Aids and HIV | The Guardian

As regulator prepares to approve Lenacapavir in the US, campaigners are urging the manufacturer, Gilead, to make it ‘available and affordable for all who need it’

Designer Mike Monteiro is internet famous for a brilliant speech/essay called “F*ck you, pay me”. His short essay is called “How to leave the house”.

Loneliness is an architectural problem.

We need places where people can come together, and we need those places to be accessible, and free. We need them to belong to no one because they belong to us. Living in a city, I’ve had my share of those places.

…

Having places where humans can congregate freely isn’t a privilege, it’s a right. And I think to often we call things out as privilege—as if they should be discarded, when the reality is that the real problem is that our rights aren’t evenly dispersed.

How to leave the house • Buttondown

A very stupid painting I’m in the middle of. Gimme $2 so I can buy a donut. This week’s question comes to us from Natallia Shauchenka: The internet and the...

Faster charging electric cars

I don’t currently have a car, so I don’t pay much attention to their manufacture, but the innovations coming fast and furious keep increasing the viability of electric models. Speaking of which, will the next entry in the Fast & Furious franchise feature electric cars? Fine with me, as long as the acting and plot continue to blow chunks, and Newtonian Physics continue to be ignored. Otherwise the movies just won’t have that same popcorn feel.

China's BYD Sets New Standard for EV Charging Speed - IEEE Spectrum

BYD's megawatt charging adds 250 miles in just 5 minutes. Is this the end of charging anxiety for EV owners?

The Who Cares Era

Earlier this week, it was discovered that the Chicago Sun-Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer had both published an externally-produced "special supplement" that contained facts, experts, and book titles entirely made up by an AI chatbot. There's been a lot written about this (former Chicago Reader editor Martha Bayne's is the best), and I don't need to rehash it all. But the thing that is most disheartening to me is how at every step along the way, nobody cared.

The Who Cares Era | dansinker.com

Suck it, other airports!

See, Portland can plan and execute complex projects with great results! Let’s hire the folks who built this expansion to take on some of the city & state’s other problems, please. Note, it really is a beautiful space. Also, no Muzak.

PDX is named the best airport in America. Is anyone shocked? - oregonlive.com

Travelers like ease, light-filled spaces and recent renovations. Guess who has all that (and more)?

Also occupying the overlap between air travel and Muzak: on seeing this while boarding a flight, I thought, “I knew it!” And I want to whisper in the flight attendant’s ear, “YOU HAVE A CHOICE. DO THE RIGHT THING.”

I won’t subject you to the boarding music, ‘cause I’m not that cruel, but just imagine a little ditty with no discernible emotion, or point, composed by someone who gave up a long time ago.

Talking bluntly

I’ve watched a few videos of Illinois House candidate Kat Abughazaleh, and I appreciate her unapologetic stance towards bigotry, and willingness to call out her right wing critics. Her campaign is based on the premise “What if we (Democrats) didn’t suck?” She is eschewing corporate donations, and turns her campaign events into opportunities to support her community (a canned food drive, for example).

Where did cringeworthy corporate jargon come from?

Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina writes thoughtfully about public health

I especially appreciate her for taking the time and effort to meet with a group of Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) folks, and to really listen to their concerns. As I’ve noted before, this is major emotional labor. And the folks in her comments section are quick to criticize the MAHA folks for their ignorance. (And to be clear, those criticisms are often accurate, but when did someone ever change another’s mind by telling them how ignorant they are?) Amidst the gutting of the NIH, CDC, etc., Jetelina’s expertise and outreach is invaluable.

What would making America healthy really mean?

Envisioning a better future

Another candidate speaking bluntly

This one makes me want to pump my fist and say “yeah!” Her framing is powerful, both showing how her opponent is not representing his constituents, but also lodging herself firmly in the political mainstream, to get ahead of the the inevitable claims that she’s some kind of radical socialist.

Hat tip to Aaron - this one’s just damn funny

“Superpowers,” a jazz cover

@Paul and I recorded a jazz style cover of this tune by indie rock band The Dismemberment Plan. I’ve had some writer’s block lately, but re-imagining others’ material is fun too, and keeps me moving in some forward direction with songwriting.

Here’s the original (listen on YouTube)

And the cover:

Superpowers, Jazz Cover

Closing quote

Progress isn't a rule, it's contested terrain, fought for daily by millions of people who refuse to give in to despair.

— Fix the News

Don’t forget to take 5 minutes to make 5 calls!