Saturdays we catch up with the non-finance related items that we didn’t get to earlier in the week. You can check out last week’s edition. Have a great weekend!
Quote of the Day
"Contrived dissent is better than nothing, especially if the contrivance itself is taken seriously. But the most valuable form of dissent is authentic, even stubborn and brave."
(Tim Harford)
Chart of the Day
Zoom out to look at improved energy efficiency. (JPMPB via Snippet Finance)
AVs
- This time around, the AV hype seems real. (wsj.com)
- Amazon’s Zoox is preparing to launch its robotaxis in Austin and Miami later this year. (cnbc.com)
- PJ Vogt on who wins (and loses) in a driverless world. (freakonomics.com)
- The case for taxing driverless cars. (worksinprogress.news)
Autos
- This Chinese company is at the center of the battery economy. (wsj.com)
- A cyberattack on a U.S. vehicle breathalyzer company left drivers across the U.S. unable to start their vehicles. (techcrunch.com)
- On the societal balancing act of licensing older drivers. (npr.org)
Renewables
- One thing the Trump administration is consistent on is opposition to renewable energy. (paulkrugman.substack.com)
- Trading wind power for natural gas seems like a bad trade. (prospect.org)
- Why not put solar panels on every school's roof? (reasonstobecheerful.world)
Energy
- China's economy is rapidly electrifying. (libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org)
- Higher oil prices, means more oil theft. (audacy.com)
- How a 'virtual power plant' works. (msn.com)
Forests
- Wildfires are starting sooner and in unique places this year. (msn.com)
- The American West has a big water/snow issue this Spring. (theconversation.com)
- Why the administration wants more roads in national forests. (insideclimatenews.org)
Environment
- It's not clear that deep ocean mining can be done safely. (arstechnica.com)
- Why eradicating the Arundo weed is so challenging. (motherjones.com)
- Why everyone hates their weather app. (newyorker.com)
- Why restoring mangroves matters. (npr.org)
Animals
- Ugandan wildlife authorities have reintroduced rhinos into a remote protected area. (apnews.com)
- It's (almost) open season on mountain lions in Utah. (hcn.org)
- How gophers helped reinvigorate Mount St. Helens. (popularmechanics.com)
- What happens when a sperm whale is born. (npr.org)
- Beavers as carbon warriors. (sciencedaily.com)
Science
- Trump's new science advisors don't really have science backgrounds. (nature.com)
- Static energy is still a bit of a mystery. (nature.com)
- How volcanoes talk to each other. (quantamagazine.org)
- How fermented foods interact with our biology. (asimov.press)
War
- What Ukraine can teach the Mideast about protecting energy infrastructure. (nytimes.com)
- Will tourists return to the Gulf, post-war? (wsj.com)
Big Tech
- They really want you to consume AI slop. (honest-broker.com)
- Big Tech is the new Big Tobacco. (spyglass.org)
- Opt out is not consent. (feld.com)
GLP-1s
- What we know about the benefits of GLP-1 drugs. (wapo.st)
- An interesting GLP-1 result in menopausal women. (sciencedaily.com)
- GLP-1s are changing the food industry. (cnbc.com)
Medicine
- America's immigrant doctors are facing a chaotic visa landscape. (axios.com)
- Radiology seems like a perfect fit for AI, but there are still plenty of radiologists. (worksinprogress.news)
- Why leaving medicine is terrifying to doctors. (statnews.com)
CDC
- RFK Jr.' s CDC is a hot mess. (nytimes.com)
- NIH restrictions on overseas research has disrupted programs. (statnews.com)
- The CDC again searching for a new leader. (npr.org)
Health
- It's not just vaccines. Parents of newborns are now refusing other routine care. (cnn.com)
- Pregnant women who get vaccinated for Covid pass immunity to their babies. (npr.org)
- Islet cell therapy could be transformative for Type I diabetics. (news.mit.edu)
- Rising health insurance costs for forcing people to make difficult decisions. (npr.org)
- In retirement, spouses play a big role in care giving. (papers.ssrn.com)
- Cold weather is associated with additional cardiovascular-related deaths. (sciencedaily.com)
- MAHA loves peptides. (wsj.com)
Fitness
- Variety is the spice of life when it comes to exercise. (insidehook.com)
- How to sit better. (twopct.com)
Dogs
- The dog establishment is fed up with doodles. (newyorker.com)
- Humans may have lived with dogs for far longer than earlier thought. (science.org)
DIning
- Fine dining has a culture problem. (cnn.com)
- J Lee talks fine dining and 'Top Chef' with Tom Colicchio. (readfeedme.com)
Drink
- How to use AI to track the price of a pint of Guinness. (tech.eu)
- Why China's wine market has collapsed. (wsj.com)
Sports
- Which prep races best predict the Triple Crown? (neilpaine.substack.com)
- College athletic departments are becoming full-blown content studios. (frontofficesports.com)
- The new owner of the Portland Trail Blazers has an interesting background. (propublica.org)
College
- One way to combat AI is in-person exams. (yahoo.com)
- College campuses are not seeing much political dissent. (theatlantic.com)
- These African students had scholarships to attend school in the U.S. Their visas have been pulled. (wsj.com)
- In this study high school GPA is a better predictor than the SAT for college achievement. (papers.ssrn.com)
- Why college? (thecollegefinanciallady.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- What you missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Don't miss a thing! Sign up for our daily e-mail newsletter. (abnormalreturns.com)
Facts Only
Amazon’s Zoox is preparing to launch robotaxis in Austin and Miami later this year.
A cyberattack on a U.S. vehicle breathalyzer company left drivers unable to start their vehicles.
China's economy is rapidly electrifying, according to the New York Federal Reserve.
Wildfires are starting sooner and in unique places this year.
Ugandan wildlife authorities have reintroduced rhinos into a remote protected area.
Trump's new science advisors lack traditional science backgrounds.
GLP-1 drugs are changing the food industry and showing benefits for menopausal women.
The CDC is searching for a new leader amid ongoing challenges.
Parents of newborns are refusing routine care beyond vaccines.
College campuses are not seeing significant political dissent.
High school GPA is a better predictor of college achievement than the SAT in one study.
Beavers are being recognized for their role in carbon sequestration.
The dog establishment is criticizing the popularity of doodle breeds.
Fine dining is facing cultural challenges, as discussed by Tom Colicchio.
China's wine market has collapsed due to economic and regulatory factors.
Executive Summary
This week's roundup covers developments across technology, energy, healthcare, and environmental sectors. In autonomous vehicles, Amazon's Zoox plans to launch robotaxis in Austin and Miami, while discussions continue about the societal impacts of driverless cars, including potential taxation models. The energy sector highlights China's rapid electrification, concerns over oil theft with rising prices, and debates around renewable energy policies under different administrations. Environmental stories focus on wildfires starting earlier than usual, water scarcity in the American West, and the challenges of deep ocean mining. Healthcare updates include the benefits and societal impacts of GLP-1 drugs, visa challenges for immigrant doctors, and the CDC's leadership struggles. Other notable topics include the role of beavers in carbon sequestration, the cultural issues in fine dining, and the collapse of China's wine market. The piece also touches on AI's growing influence in content creation and the potential for in-person exams to combat AI-assisted cheating in education.
The summary reflects a mix of technological optimism, environmental concerns, and societal adaptations to emerging trends. While some areas like AVs and renewable energy show progress, others like healthcare and environmental policy reveal ongoing challenges. The diversity of topics suggests a world in transition, with innovations and setbacks occurring simultaneously across different sectors.
Full Take
The strongest version of this narrative presents a world in rapid flux, where technological advancements like autonomous vehicles and GLP-1 drugs coexist with persistent challenges in healthcare, environmental policy, and social equity. The piece deserves credit for its breadth, capturing the interconnectedness of these issues without oversimplifying them. However, the sheer volume of topics risks diluting deeper analysis, leaving readers to connect dots that may not naturally align.
Pattern scan: The roundup avoids overt manipulation, but the juxtaposition of disparate topics could create a subtle "Gish gallop" effect, where the volume of information overwhelms critical engagement. The lack of explicit prioritization or thematic threading might also reflect an "ARC-0024 Ambiguity" pattern, where the absence of clear framing leaves room for readers to project their own biases onto the material.
Root cause: The underlying paradigm here is one of acceleration—technological, environmental, and societal. The narrative assumes that progress is inevitable but uneven, with winners and losers emerging in each sector. What goes unstated is the role of policy and collective action in shaping these outcomes. The piece echoes historical patterns of industrial and scientific revolutions, where innovation outpaces governance, leaving gaps in equity and sustainability.
Implications: For human agency, the takeaway is mixed. While innovations like GLP-1 drugs and virtual power plants offer hope, the struggles of immigrant doctors and the CDC’s instability highlight systemic fragility. The cost of rapid change is often borne by the most vulnerable, whether in healthcare access or environmental degradation. Second-order consequences—such as the food industry adapting to GLP-1 drugs or the cultural backlash against doodles—suggest that even small shifts can ripple widely.
Bridge questions: How might policymakers better anticipate the societal impacts of technological disruption? What perspectives are missing from the debate over renewable energy and environmental trade-offs? Would a deeper dive into any single topic reveal more about the others?
Counterstrike scan: If this were part of a coordinated campaign, the playbook might involve flooding the zone with disparate topics to create a sense of inevitability around certain trends (e.g., AVs, AI) while downplaying systemic critiques. However, the content itself does not match this pattern—it presents a neutral aggregation without overt bias or omission. The lack of a unifying thesis or call to action suggests it is not designed to manipulate but to inform.
Patterns detected: ARC-0024 Ambiguity (subtle, due to lack of framing)