Brigadoon Daily | Global Street Smarts

Your daily dose of the emerging issues + independent thinkers shaping commerce + culture

January 17, 2022


Steez + Flow

TOP FIVE

1. ‘Crypto colonizers’ in Puerto Rico

2. Can Detroit build a fashion industry?

3. Is Boris Johnson finally sunk?

4. Edison's bizarre soup-based interview technique

5. Why is LinkedIn so cringe?

GLOBALIZATION + STATECRAFT

‘Crypto colonizers’ in Puerto Rico try to sell locals on the dream: A new wave of wealthy investors is moving to the island. Locals are greeting them with excitement — and suspicion.
WP

Venezuela’s environmental crisis: ‘The beginning of a wave of destruction’: An ecological disaster is threatening parts of the Amazon as the Maduro regime seeks to exploit the country’s natural resources.
FT

Bloomberg: Tanzania, Burundi sign $900 million railway deal to boost trade

Mali's ex-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita dies: DW reports the former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who led the country until he was ousted in a 2020 coup, has died at the age of 76.

What the Royal Family could learn from Apple: Nevermind the Queen’s platinum anniversary, another epoch-defining figure is turning 15.
FT

Albania diary: From hermit state to haven: It is 30 years since Alec Russell’s last visit to the country — and the welcome extended to Afghan refugees shows how far it has come since the fall of communism.
FT

Sweden sends troops to Gotland as Russia ups activity in Baltic Sea: FT reports the non-militarily aligned country has stressed it retains the option to apply for NATO membership.

How serious is Vladimir Putin about launching a major Ukraine offensive?
FT

The great Japanese toaster problem: It is an article of national faith that manufacturers of domestic appliances should be able to have a crack at mobile phones.
Leo Lewis

Expats eye escape from Hong Kong as China’s COVID restrictions bite: Tough travel restrictions and quarantine requirements are pushing long-standing expats towards the exit.
The Times

Biden, Japan PM Kishida to hold bilateral talks on Friday: Nikkei reports the virtual meeting will cover economic and security issues, climate change, and more.

Imagining the unimaginable: The US, China, and war over Taiwan: One way to avoid conflict may be to understand just how destructive it would be.
Grid

Ascension — eye-popping portrait of China’s production and consumption: Jessica Kingdon’s sharply observed documentary may unnerve those who believe the market is a seedbed for democracy.
FT

DISRUPTION + INNOVATION

My first impressions of Web3
Moxie Marlinspike

An NFT restaurant opening in New York will serve up status with a side of seafood
WP

Banking on Bitcoin
YouTube

Bitcoin’s dominance of crypto payments is starting to erode
Bloomberg

Thomas Edison's weird job interview trick is actually backed by modern science: Edison's bizarre soup-based technique for screening job candidates illustrates an essential truth about effective interviewing.
Inc.

London named best city in the world to be a young entrepreneur, ahead of NYC, San Francisco, and Moscow
City AM

Detroit built the automotive industry, but can it build a fashion industry? Is Detroit the next New York, Paris, or Milan of fashion? What will it take to develop the talent and ecosystem toward a socially and economically sustainable fashion industry?
Detroitisit

Nike and Adidas are dipping toes into the NFT market. The sneakerheads are into it. Virtual shoes don’t weigh apparel brands down with inventory or supply-chain snags. They do come with other risks, though.
WSJ

Futurist Amy Webb says babymaking could get crazy and the smartphone will die: The influential thinker has some bold ideas. Why shouldn’t 70-year-olds have children?
WP

Why is LinkedIn so cringe? The answer is in its business model and algorithm.
Trung Phan

Corporate America is coming around to remote work. But more big changes lie ahead. Flexible work is here to stay. But the shape it will take is up for debate in virtual board rooms around the world.
WP

POLITICS + CAMPAIGNS

The week Biden’s agenda hit a wall: President has little room to maneuver after setbacks on voting legislation, vaccine rules, economy.
WSJ

Americans say they need to earn $128,000 to feel financially OK: Bloomberg reports the average amount adults said they’d need to earn to feel in good financial shape is far higher than the median US household income.

+ The median US household income in 2020 of $67,521, according to the US Census Bureau.

Is Boris Johnson finally sunk? Adrift on an ocean of illicit booze and with his authority ebbing, the prime minister is fast losing support among MPs. His instinctive response? To blame the team around him and launch a blizzard of crowd-pleasing policies. Will it work?
The Times

Who could be the next prime minister if Boris Johnson falls?
The Times

Intoxicating, insidery, and infuriating: everything I learned about Dominic Cummings from his £10-a-month blog: Since he left Downing Street, Boris Johnson’s former adviser has been setting out his worldview – and settling scores – on his Substack. Could it help us understand the most notorious man in British politics?
David Runciman

We’re all ‘experts’ now. That’s not a good thing.
Tressie McMillan Cottom

PERFORMANCE

You’re not rich (if you’re constantly doing this)
RAD

CULTURE

AFP: Jeff Goldblum takes to catwalk for Prada in Milan

The Atlantic’s nervous breakdown
Christine Rosen

The sublime beauty of my friend Bob Saget’s filthy comedy
Penn Jillette

An evening with Bob Saget moderated by John Oliver
92Y

SPORT

21 levels of dunking: Easy to complex
Wired

Approaching outdoor sports with steez and flow: Fitness comes and goes. Allow Glen Plake to make a case for prioritizing style—that elusive athletic skill that endures.
Outside

Behind-the-scenes sports docuseries are everywhere, and the messiness is the best part
WP


Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

Curation and commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Brigadoon

Brigadoon is Global Street Smarts.