Hello again email friends, I hope all is well. Have you ever had the misfortune of encountering someone who’s been to Peru and sampled the psychoactive effects of ayahuasca? It has the curious side-effect of making the participant bore on about it to everyone, forever.
Fortunately, but not for you, I already have various subjects to bore on about (veganism; panel vans; cats) which saves me going all that way just to get shitfaced. But to this list I can now add first-hand experiences of life beyond home shores. I snuck out, see, to remind myself what fully-stocked supermarkets look like. To remind myself how societies can unite in the welfare of all. And to remind myself what sunshine is. Don’t set me off; for I shall be boring.
Anyway later this week, antigen testing and Border Force permitting, I’ll sneak back in. But should either refuse, would it really be so bad? The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that when I waked I cried to dream again. Meanwhile, here’s some interesting things just for you:
🖼 How did two Dutch twentysomethings become leading art-world disruptors? While Betteridge’s law works well for headlines that beg a yes/no answer, I propose an adage that states all remaining headlines-as-questions can be answered: “because you deemed it so”. Here as proof is the FT, which doesn’t often feature here, looking at the blurring of art and entrepreneurship in this highly commercialised age. For how can things have value anymore unless measured by the price at which you can sell them?
👋 Signs It Might Be Time to Change Jobs: The economic, personal and professional of the last couple of years have not been felt evenly. But for some, it has opened a window of sorts to reconsider what life and work should look like and the ability to make intentional choices about the future. This article argues the world of work didn’t change suddenly, but that it’s been changing for decades and the smart professional knows when to stay and when to leave.
💣 Inside the rise and fall of The Jeremy Kyle Show: ‘It was a ticking timebomb’: Fuelled by conflict, the programme ruled daytime TV. Two years after it was taken off air, former staffers reflect on a toxic culture that ended in tragedy. It also forces the television business to consider what other programmes are build on exploitation—both of on-screen guests and a young workforce.
🤝 How Friendships Change Over Time: Friendships are unique relationships because, unlike family, we choose to enter into them. And unlike other voluntary bonds, such as romantic relationships, they lack a formal structure. You wouldn’t go months without seeing your significant other, but you might go that long without contacting a friend. Still, surveys show how important people’s friends are to their happiness. And though friendships tend to change as people age, there is some consistency in what people want from them.
📉 It’s Not in Your Head: The World Really Is Getting Worse: The fierce optimism of the late 1960s felt at the time like the foothills of a continuing trajectory. In fact, it was something of a peak. Since the 1970s, wages, infrastructure, and the pace of technology have all stagnated. Can it be reversed?
🎳 No, You Can’t Recycle Bowling Balls, But People Keep Trying and as such, 1,200 balls end up at New York City’s main recycling plant each year. I should confess this article caused me to fall down a rabbit-hole—not an easy thing to do with a bowling ball. So see also: Every Sport a Bowling Ball and How Bowling Balls are made.
🧱 The beauty and history behind London’s bricked-up windows: What began as a visual fascination with London’s bricked-up windows morphed into an interest in their social and historical contexts. As part of an ongoing collaboration with British Journal of Photography, Andy Billman discusses his series on these unique features that remain in many of London’s houses today.
🤔 TV’s Most Confusing Episodes From Doctor Who to Westworld: Complicated TV is good. But baffling TV less so. This article picks out the TV episodes that left its authors scratching their heads.
☕️ How Caffeine Addiction Changed History: 90% of the world’s adults consume some form of caffeine everyday, making it the most widely-used psychoactive drug on Earth. Michael Pollan, author of “This Is Your Mind On Plants,” explains why. Michael goes into the history of coffee drinking, breaking down its origins and how it benefits humankind.