Substack Library
GlossaryBehind Washington’s China Pivot
July 15, 2024China’s splendid isolation nurtured a particular Chinese self-perception. Chinese elites grew accustomed to the notion that China was unique—not just ‘a great civilization’ among others, but civilization itself.
Party Logic
July 11, 2024It seems to me the quality that makes any book, music paining worthwhile is life, just that. Books, music, painting are not life, can never be as full, rich, complex, surprising or beautiful, but the best of them can catch an echo of that, can turn you back to look out the window, go out the door aware that you’ve been enriched, that you have been in the company of something alive that has caused you to realize once again how astonishing life is, and you leave the book, gallery or concert hall with that illumination, which feels I’m going to say holy, by which I mean human raptness.
The Importance of Structural Give
July 4, 2024In structural engineering, the term “give” refers to the ability of a material or structure to undergo deformation under load without failing. This can include bending, stretching, compressing, or otherwise changing shape in response to stress.
A Macroeconomic Internet “Bakery”
July 1, 2024Oops…looks like I didn’t send out the link to the actual podcast. Sorry about that.
A Macroeconomic Internet “Bakery”
July 1, 2024We know the internet is simultaneously a recent invention, integrated into every niche of our lives, and difficult to understand fully. I like to anchor theoretical questions—how does the internet actually work?—in specific case studies. Today’s podcast guest, Lev Borodovsky, creator of The Daily Shot, is one of them.
The Power of Horizontal Thinking
June 27, 2024Because men, groping in the Arctic darkness, had found a yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies were booming the find, thousands of men were rushing into the Northland.
Disrupting Health Care
June 18, 2024Note to readers: I am offering a sale this week. I started these posts as an experiment three years ago. They have now grown into a conversation with thousands of unpaid subscribers and hundreds of paid ones. I am grateful for each subscription. A service that started at $75 now costs $700 a year. If I could offer a sliding scale based on need, I would. But I can’t. So this week, I am lowering the price to $500 a year, or $1.36 a day. Also, I’m at an investment conference this week and won’t be publishing on Friday.
The Degrees Matter
June 14, 2024After victory, we must at once put forward a new task. In this way, cadres and the masses will forever be filled with revolutionary fervour, instead of conceit.
Divergences–Geopolitical and Economic
June 7, 2024The real injustice, I said, beginning to get heated, is that an honest man must live a penurious life in our country.