Brigadoon Daily
Your daily dose of the emerging issues + independent thinkers shaping commerce + culture
November 1, 2021
‘Race is a spectrum. Sex is pretty damn binary’
TOP FIVE
1. Nuclear-powered submarines for Australia? Maybe not so fast.
2. Both parties await result in Virginia, and what it bodes for the battles ahead
3. Where computing might go next
4. What makes a potato chip crispy or iceberg lettuce crunchy?
5. China’s hockey team is so bad it might be dropped from the Olympics
GLOBALIZATION + STATECRAFT
G20 nations agree to speed up climate action, but fail to settle on targets: The meeting points to difficult negotiations at the United Nations-sponsored COP26 climate summit over the next two weeks.
WSJ
‘Greta Mania’ hits Glasgow as Swedish teen is mobbed upon arrival for COP26 summit
WP
Whatever happens at COP26, a message is getting through
The Times
The climate summit to nowhere: From awful timing to unrealistic goals, COP26 has it all.
WSJ - Editorial
Japanese election: The ruling Liberal Democratic Party was assured of winning a majority on its own in national elections Sunday, public broadcaster NHK said, allowing new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to build a solid foundation for a government tackling security threats from China and North Korea.
BBC: Japan election: Ruling LDP set for reduced majority - exit polls
Reuters: Japan's Kishida hangs onto control after his LDP battered in election
Xi hasn’t left China in 21 months. COVID may be only part of the reason. Xi Jinping’s lack of face time with world leaders signals a turn inward on domestic issues and a reluctance to compromise on the global stage.
NYT
+ Pro-tip: When Chris Buckley writes, you read it.
Origin of virus may remain murky, US intelligence agencies say: NYT reports a declassified report said a clearer answer would require more information from Beijing or new discoveries and reiterated divisions over natural causes vs. a lab leak.
China could invade Taiwan ‘soon,’ says former Australian PM Abbott
DefenseNews
+ Abbott reiterated his calls for Australia to take over one or more retiring US Los Angeles-class or UK Trafalgar-class submarines soon because the new nuclear-powered subs won’t arrive for years.
+ “We need better, bigger, faster more wide-ranging submarines, not in two decades time but now,” Abbot said, adding that “the challenges are pressing, the peril is not far off.”
Nuclear-powered submarines for Australia? Maybe not so fast. Australia’s plan to build the submarines with US and British help faces big hurdles. Supporters say they can be overcome. Critics say they may be too much.
NYT
Collapse: The fall of the Soviet Union by Vladislav Zubok review — was it inevitable? If Gorbachev and Yeltsin hadn’t hated each other, the Soviet Union might not have imploded.
The Times
Haiti’s powerful gangs hold country hostage over fuel: WSJ reports the country’s largest gang has blocked access to its largest fuel terminal, demanding the prime minister’s resignation.
Cortés must fall! Children of the Aztecs declare war on conquistadors: The home of the Spaniard who wiped out an empire wants his remains back from Mexico before they can be desecrated.
The Times
‘They lied.’ Inside the frantic days leading to Sudan’s coup: NYT reports the American envoy, Jeffrey Feltman, was given assurances that seemed to head off a military takeover. Hours later, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan made his move.
Qatar teams up with Rolls-Royce for fund to pump billions of pounds into UK green engineering startups
The Times
POLITICS + CAMPAIGNS
Both parties await result in Virginia, and what it bodes for the battles ahead: Republicans hope to hit on a recipe for renewal, while Democrats worry that a loss could force them to defend seats in blue states next year.
NYT
A fractured Virginia electorate prepares to pick a governor
Dan Balz
Trump looks to 2024, commanding a fundraising juggernaut, as he skirts social media bans
WP
God, Trump, and the closed-door world of a major Conservative group: What internal recordings and documents reveal about the Council for National Policy — and the future of the Republican Party.
WP
WP: House eyes votes as soon as Tuesday on infrastructure, spending deals
The party of ideas produces a frankenbill, but it just might work
Doyle McManus
+ Resistance from Democratic centrist Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia has forced their party to drop or modify several popular proposals.
The cannabis industry is rife with fraudsters. The FDA is AWOL. The FDA’s failure to regulate a multibillion-dollar market is a detriment to consumers and businesses alike.
Justin Singer
Big hires, big money, and a DC blitz: A bold plan to dominate crypto: The Silicon Valley firm Andreessen Horowitz, whose founders played big roles in the development of the internet, aims to own a huge part of the digital currency world — and set the rules for it, too.
NYT
‘The Last King of America’ review: The method and the madness: Seeing George III as a monarch of moderation.
WSJ
DISRUPTION + INNOVATION
Where computing might go next: The future of computing depends in part on how we reckon with its past.
MIT Tech Review
COMMERCE
Rebranding as Meta, Facebook emphasizes VR future over crisis-beset present
LAT
Facebook joins a crowded field in the race to build the ‘metaverse.’ Mark Zuckerberg’s new plan for Facebook is one of several competing visions for an immersive digital reality.
WSJ
The amazing things you will do in the metaverse: Class trips to ancient Rome? Walk on the moon in your pajamas? Technologists say the “metaverse” will make it possible.
WSJ
Mark Zuckerberg’s quixotic quest for the Facebook metaverse: The Facebook founder is assailed by scandals and a surging rival in TikTok, yet his total grip on power at the social media behemoth means he can shrug it off and spend billions on a quixotic metaverse quest. Shareholders can do nothing but watch.
The Times
‘The problem is him’: Kara Swisher on Mark Zuckerberg’s crisis and ours.
NY Mag
Microsoft eclipses Apple as most valuable company: WSJ reports the last time Microsoft had a bigger market cap than Apple was July 2020.
Journalists venture beyond their newsrooms to try to cash in: Substack, Facebook Bulletin pursue high-profile reporters and commentators, creating tension within news organizations.
WSJ
Billionaire Marc Andreessen buys Malibu mansion for $177 million, a California record: LAT reports the $177-million price beats out the previous California record, set last year when Bezos paid $165 million for David Geffen’s famed Warner estate in Beverly Hills. It’s also the second-priciest home sale ever in the US, behind Ken Griffin’s $238-million purchase of a New York City penthouse overlooking Central Park.
Big Tech, Big Oil—every industry is Big Tobacco now: At least US intelligence agencies offer a rare voice of realism about the climate blame game.
Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.
Consumers are wise to 'woke washing,' but truly 'transformative branding' can still make a difference
The Conversation
How venture capitalists think crypto will reshape commerce: From banking to gaming, investors are sending billions of dollars to crypto inventors who seek to disrupt industries. Here’s a look at some of those bets.
NYT
Allen Iverson and Al Harrington are ready to take over the cannabis scene in LA
LAT
How cheesecake to go saved the Cheesecake Factory: One of the world’s most complicated restaurants went all-in on takeout and delivery last year. These days, business is booming—and working there is crazier than ever.
WSJ
Eleven un-magical secrets I learned while working at Disney World: From parents leaving their kids with “Mary Poppins” to ladies lusting after Captain Jack Sparrow, the most magical place on Earth is also one of the most colorful places to work.
Bloomberg
Sikh drivers are transforming US trucking. Take a ride along the Punjabi American highway
LAT
Jamie Dimon: The secrets of America’s most powerful banker: The chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase is a modern-day Midas who thrived through the financial crisis. At 65 is there any stopping him?
The Times
MIT expert on work says any boss who thinks employees will return to offices is dreaming: A few companies will insist on a return to the workplace — to their detriment, says Thomas Malone.
WP
By Gieves, I haven’t got the time, or waistline, for Savile Row’s tailormade malarkey
Jeremy Clarkson
MARKETING + COMMUNICATIONS
95 brands that matter more than ever in 2021
Fast Company
SPACE + SCIENCE
Is it crispy or is it crunchy? What makes a potato chip crispy or iceberg lettuce crunchy? How do we parse the difference between the two terms? And does it even really matter?
Epicurious
PERFORMANCE
What I learned about my writing by seeing only the punctuation: I made a web tool that lets you spy your hidden literary style
Clive Thompson
CULTURE
Economist explained politics and traffic jams: Anthony Downs, who has died at age 90, studied real-estate markets and clogged roads. He found that voters’ ‘rational ignorance’ drove election campaigns.
WSJ
+ Downs—who shunned the honorific Dr. even though he had a PhD in economics from Stanford University—was best known for his doctoral thesis, published in 1957 as a book, “An Economic Theory of Democracy.”
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who described the ‘flow’ of human creativity, dies at 87: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a psychologist and best-selling author who coined the term “flow” to describe the sense of creativity that emerges from an intense absorption in a challenging activity, whether in the arts, sports, business or a hobby, died Oct. 20 at his home in Claremont, Calif.
WP
Richard Dawkins: ‘Race is a spectrum. Sex is pretty damn binary’: He was the poster boy for militant atheism but has cancel culture finally clipped his wings? Britain’s Darwinist-in-chief on self-censorship, the gender wars, and why he loves Elon Musk.
The Times
Richard Thaler: ‘I became an academic because I’m not good at taking orders’: John Morgan meets the Nobel prizewinning father of nudge economics, who believes that the dismal science can only be improved by taking account of people’s ‘predictable mistakes’.
John Morgan
Ai Weiwei traces a century of making authorities squirm: Chinese artist writes about his family’s history of political commentary in a new memoir.
WSJ
‘David Copperfield’s History of Magic’ review: Treasury of illusions: From the 16th century to the 21st, a backstage tour of stage magic from one of its most successful showmen.
WSJ
SPORT
China’s hockey team is so bad it might be dropped from the Olympics: Months ahead of the Beijing Games, hockey officials are trying to balance competitive concerns with fears about embarrassing the host nation.
NYT
The playbook for a more adventurous life, courtesy of “The Real Indiana Jones”: Catching up with longtime adventurer Rick Ridgeway, who recounts his best stories in the new book "Life Lived Wild"
InsideHook
Full circle: In Chilean Patagonia, four adventurers follow in the footsteps of their heroes as they attempt a rare ski descent of a volcano surrounded by savage jungle. A new short film documents their quest.
Red Bull
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Curation and commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Brigadoon
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