my week summarized by the best content i consumed (in no particular order)
“In the lingo of the Having Conversations Industrial Complex, companies are “listening,” “learning,” and striving to “do better,” without doing much beyond posting a black square or a vague statement about racial justice on social media. But brands are not the only ones “having conversations” right now. Educational institutions that spent the last several decades harming and policing students and faculty of color are suddenly recommitting to “diversity” and “dialogue,” absent any material, structural changes. School boards are ostensibly ready to learn about the dangers of racism, even as they’ve been ignoring evidence of racism for years. Even police departments are “listening” as well. Politicians are excited to have conversations, too, so long as those conversations don’t require them to take a stance. The conversation is continuing, with no end in sight.”
2. Will Plant-Based Protein Save the World?
“I counter that not all livestock is bad for the environment; in fact, some of it is quite good. Consider Chris Newman, a member of the Choptico Band of Piscataway Indians and cofounder of Sylvanaqua Farms in Montross, Virginia. […] It’s a thriving and interconnected landscape, managed according to a system of indigenous ethics called ehakihe-sakamink. And it works. […]
Indigenous peoples around the world are protecting 80 percent of the earth’s remaining biodiversity. Even the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agreed last year that indigenous agricultural knowledge is what will help us overcome the challenges of climate change, food security, and biodiversity conservation. And farmers like me are following their lead, stewarding ecosystems that mimic our planet’s natural patterns instead of fighting them.”
3. My Perfect Impossible Cottagecore Dream
“Interestingly, the brand of femininity that the aesthetic is advocating for, one of a hyper-domestic woman who spends her time baking or luxuriating rather than working, is entirely antithetical to the third wave feminist principles that young people are taught to aspire towards under capitalism, once more demonstrating the inherently anarchical values that cottagecore is championing. Cottagecore further destroys typical notions of land ownership and heteronormative family structures through its rejection of individual property or resources: cottages, and the land and vegetation that surrounds them, are meant to be shared amongst loved ones. The aesthetic has been particularly popular among lesbian and queer folks, further illustrating the lifestyle’s appeal to those most in need of community.”
4. These Two Last Suppers Are My Quarantine Obsession
“Even so, we are struck by Leonardo’s gigantic leap of painterly faith. Unlike almost any Last Supper before it — which tended to be flatter, more grounded in symbolism and part-by-part narrative — Leonardo’s work was meant to be grasped simultaneously in a whoosh of emotion. The artist wrote that all the component parts of his work should be “seen at one and the same time both together and separately.” […]
This isn’t a style of the Church, Italy, a patron, or a doctrine. It’s a personal style, the work of a self-taught 40-something gay man who devised ways to dye one’s hair blond as well as build bridges. Art history has been going through regular stylistic shifts ever since. This is what a social revolution looks like.”
5. How Costco Convinces Brands to Cannibalize Themselves
“Kirkland’s success defies our intuition and experience. Shouldn’t lower prices lead to lower quality products? How can they offer rock-bottom prices but still have some of the best products around?
The answer is this: they get the best manufacturers in the world — who already have products on Costco shelves — to make Kirkland products. Yeah, you read that right. While customers might not know it, Kirkland products are often made by the same manufacturers who make the branded products that sit next to them on the shelves.
And not only that, but according to a Reddit user who worked at a Costco supplier, Kirkland products have to be at least 1% better than the equivalent branded products (on some metric of their choosing). Costco forces manufacturers to compete with a better version of themselves.”
6. Robinhood and How to Lose Money
“In fact, I remember Fidelity making it a pain in the ass to start trading options and being on the phone with customer service for an hour about some missing form. There were guardrails and friction in place. No one encouraged any of it and I got to make my own mistakes.
That’s the part that really worries me about Robinhood. Every non-finance friend of mine is sharing screenshots of options trades. This is a company that built a reputation on their UX prowess and I do believe they can influence behavior. And trading options can be really exhilarating. It gives you much more of the casino rush than buying and holding stocks, or even buying and selling stocks.”
