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This is exceptionally solid reading about the attention/information economy and how and why it debases us, assuming you're not too exhausted to keep reading about how the internet is wreaking havoc. If so, totally understandable!

I love non-fiction book reviews like this because then I don't need to read the actual books and can focus my "book time" on fiction, classics, and stuff that has stood the test of time.

I wonder what will happen first: Phelps-Roper joining Readup or Marantz writing about Readup. Probably the latter, but I hope that both happen sooner than later. Very interesting people with interesting perspectives.

This article far exceeded my expectations, just as Stouffer's mac and cheese always did when I was young.

Now sometimes I pretend like I'm fancy by pairing my frozen Amy's burritos with a blob of sour cream whipped with sriracha and slicing an avocado on top, if I have one and it's ripe. Life is better with a dash of intention, but more importantly, when we don't take ourselves too seriously. Seriously.

🍦✨💕

Eerie and fascinating! Stranger than fiction.

Anybody wanna talk about the 1619 Project? I'd rather talk about the actual thing than all the drama that surrounds it, but alas, here we are. I managed to avoid the headlines that surrounded this kerfuffle for quite some time, but I am glad that I read this piece. It's a case study in everything thats wrong with the media today and lays everything out in a pretty clear, fair way. I really wish this whole thing wasn't thing at all. And there's precisely one reason that it is a thing: Twitter.

Hannah-Jones is undeniably a rabble-rouser on Twitter. That's her game and that's what works on Twitter. Still, I don't think she deserves even a tiny fraction of the flack she's getting.

I thought the 1619 project was wonderful. I read it in print when it came out. The error (around the Revolutionary War) is indeed, a blemish. The Times (and Hannah-Jones) should have made a faster, bolder correction. But to expect news outlets to be flawless is absurd. That's an impossible standard.

The really bad actors here are the fools who started this bogus "1620 Project" (are you kidding!?) and obviously Tom Cotton, who I really wish would disappear.

Silver lining: I have a more nuanced understanding of this one particular aspect of American history.

I deeply believe that if we can save reading -- deep, thoughtful, critical reading -- we can really create a new and better media landscape, and a more sane world. In a brighter future, projects like the 1619 Project still exist, and they are the catalyst for meaningful, productive conversation. In that future, we all ignore the buffons at the ends of the spectrum who say "throw it all away!" and "don't you dare challenge this; it's perfect!" Our unfortunate reality is that those are the only people we hear from. Again, thanks for nothing Twitter.

I remember being very intrigued (and skeptical) that this poem is just called “Poem” and the way it made my heart sped up and up and up right until the finish and I thought “Ahh!! I'll never forget that!" and now, sure enough, almost a decade later I still very much remember that experience and I love to re-read it.

Ok, so I'm pretty sure I've said this before but I'll say it again: I need to read every single thing that Lauren Oyler writes. This is a spectacular gem of a review about a writer I had never heard of and who I now feel like I already know and love. You better believe I'll be posting some of Hazzard's short stories on Readup in the coming days. What a blast of fresh air.

The United States would have been lucky to have Emmanuel Ngu. RIP.

Wow. Some small part of me wanted to give Jonathan the benefit of the doubt. I don't know why. Maybe because I'm a guy. Maybe because I'm borderline obsessed with seeing "both sides." But this passage absolutely floored me:

(When the fact-checker I worked with on this story reached out to Jonathan about what happened that night after the shoot, he said my allegations were “too tawdry and childish to respond to.” He added: “You do know who we are talking about right? This is the girl that was naked in Treats! magazine, and bounced around naked in the Robin Thicke video at that time. You really want someone to believe she was a victim?”)

He must just be a full-on sociopath.

Also, Emily's a great writer.

Oh, and PS, thanks for nothing, Instagram. It's absolutely astounding just how many tragic stories of our day start and end with this one nightmare company.

Powerful.

Perfect. Poignant. If, like me, you love (but sometimes hate) words and language, this beautiful piece was written for you. 10.

Huh! A unique and thought-provoking little fable.

The book Be Here Now by Ram Das has played a big role in my spiritual development, so I will forever perk up when I read any iterations of those words -- Here and now.

A good, human story about one North Korean's struggle to adapt to capitalism and consumerism. Also, a wild reminder that so much can change so fast; it only took a couple of decades for North Korea to turn into full-on dystopia:

From 1945 — when the Korean Peninsula was split by the U.S. and the Soviet Union following the Japanese occupation — until the 1970s, North Korea was the richer of the two nations. The communist North enjoyed a better infrastructure and a stronger economy than the democratic South; some Koreans living abroad who had the choice of either country, including So Won’s grand­father who’d moved to Japan, opted to claim citizenship in the North.

Wrong choice, man.

I love big ideas, so this was fun to read. My opinion here is solidly split though - I'm strong positive on ramped up (common sense) immigration, and strong negative on government-sponsored incentives to increase the size of families. Regardless, it's a coherent, interesting argument.

I was raised in the Clinton years, so I cant even remotely imagine hearing a US president speak the way that JFK spoke.

These easy things feel hard only because we've become accustomed to a political culture that can barely do anything at all.

Exactly.

This is a refreshing thing to read in an era where it seems like lots of journalistic writing is trying hard to be "winning" or even "right" (emphasis mine):

What follows are three second-order predictions—for our economy, our workforce, and our politics. Because predicting the future is, like dart throwing, easily done and often misdirected, each prediction ends with the best argument I can think of for why it won’t actually come true.

My own situation directly relates to the third prediction, although I take some silly pride in the fact that I fled the city several years ago. Still though, I just registered to vote in rural New Mexico (where I now live) and it feels way more meaningful than voting in NY or SF as I did in my 20s. I'm not a Democrat, but I I am young(ish?) and progressive/radical, and I work in tech. People like me are usually in cities, but now we'll be voting "out in the country" this time around.

This is an 11. Truly sublime. Wow. Now I see why Lorrie Moore is such a huge name in the literary world.

I laughed out loud at times, but some scenes were painfully sad. Serious Infinite Jest vibes with those brutal video chat scenes. What horror. Mind-bending stuff.

youtube plays the most horrifying role in this story, fanning the all of the worst flames: mobilizing knuckleheads, literally spreading the virus, and polarizing millions of people far beyond this one quirky town.

The Private Equity San Franciscan mom turned rural cult (?) leader (lol) is one of my favorite characters in this zany story, which includes many crazies and funnies. i want to know that grim reaper.

lets not shame people for talking openly about the Bible and their faith in public forums. thats a beautiful thing to do.

practical and adorable

Wow. A lot to chew on. Excellent.

To possess true consciousness is the biggest and indeed the only responsibility in the known universe. AI promises a break, as it were, from the colossal burden of being the only show in town.

powerful writing about a powerful storm. worthy read.

I wanted to like this, but I didn't. I cant explain why though without saying disparaging things about the author, and they seem like a nice person who doesn't mean to cause harm. Therefore, I think that the problem is with me, not the author.

lol - i dug this one

With Karp, as with Palantir, it’s often hard to know what is real and what is mythmaking. It’s often repeated in articles, for example, that Karp studied in Germany under Jürgen Habermas, perhaps the most influential living philosopher. “The most important thing I learned from him is I couldn’t be him, and I didn’t want to be him,” Karp confided on a recent podcast with a sort of knowing intimacy. In fact, as Moira Weigel, a historian of media technologies, has pointed out, Karp not only didn’t do his dissertation under Habermas, he didn’t even study in the same department.

As always, the personal parts are more interesting than the political. Parts of this are really charming.

👏👏👏👏👏

Yes!! Watching The Social Dilemma was a powerful experience for me. Overall definitely positive, but also conflicted. This is the article I've been hoping to read. Jay and I see eye to eye on almost all of this stuff.

Everyone needs to look within and the work is hard and deep and personal. Theres no pill we can take and no law thats going to save us. WE need to save us.

Just had a great coffee break with this great poem. 😌

Hot off the presses, I did an interview with our very own Kelly about social media, reading, and where Readup's heading for her weekly newsletter. More Kelly -->

Has everybody seen The Social Dilemma? It's still trending on Netflix which is super good news for Readup. The movement is growing!

PS Free is Evil on track to AOTD. Gogogo!

CLARITY

So next level. I love that he flew coach!

“Chuck was a cornerstone in terms of inspiration for the Giving Pledge,” says Warren Buffett. “He’s a model for us all. It’s going to take me 12 years after my death to get done what he’s doing within his lifetime.”

Great. I wonder what it would have been like to read this particular sentence in 2017, when it was published:

SARS got more attention than the massive decline in HIV mortality.

Optimism FTW

👍👍🆙 Meanwhile, Readup is building algorithms that are non-addictive, 100% transparent, and legit really good for your mental health.

Love this. Lots to think about. I’m a free-for-all eater and my life is a free-for-all. 🤪

Love this article, love the comments.

I recently met a teacher who teaches Javascript in a high school and told me that he basically just puts the students in front of computers on some "Learn Javascript" program while he's in the corner available to admin everything and troubleshoot problems. He doesn't know Javascript and has never built anything in Javascript. The whole thing sounded fake, sad and weird. We need real teachers teaching real things. This work can't be outsourced to robots.

In the US, the entire education system is in disrepair. Alt titles for this article include:

• Robots Are Coming For Your Children
• Don't Let Screens Destroy Your Soul
• Creativity Itself Is Under Attack

:P