November Links
What I'm reading
I apologize for the sheer amount of stuff in here about the US. Like many, I was trying to understand how 74 million Americans could vote for a con artist/convicted felon/rapist who attempted (pathetically) to overthrow the lawful government of the US and how another 100+ million could just not participate in the election. Jenn has said many times that none of this analysis will really be good enough and I agree. I think mostly it’s very hard to see the forest for the trees when you are in the forest and it takes time to leave said forest.
But, at the moment, I guess the answer is “It’s the economy, stupid.” (Despite the economy being good.) If, in 2028, there is a free and fair election and Trump does not run in said election, this will all look stupid. If, however, in 2028, something else happens - Trump has become President For Life as just one example - anyone who voted for this particular regime because of mild inflation back in 2022 and 2023, well, they deserve what they get. The problem, as always with electing potential dictators, is that everyone who didn’t for him who doesn’t deserve it.
What I’m Reading:
Blair Braverman: Small Game (2022): A novel about reality TV show.
Adam Miron, Sébastien St-Louis, Julie Beun: Billion Dollar Start-Up (2021): I don't know how this ended up on my list. I read the forward and then read two pages and stopped. This is propaganda, folks. It is written by the guys it purports to be about, with a marketing person. On the second page of the book, the "authors" are glowingly describing themselves: "Admirers often describe Sebastien "as a Young Tom Cruise." That's on the second page! Run far away from people who talk this way about themselves. At the very least they will not give you anything approaching the truth. At the worst, people like this are hucksters. (I have no idea if these guys are or not, but my alarm bells were ringing extremely hard.) Then, in April 2023, this "billion dollar start-up" sold: "Tilray also announces today that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire HEXO Corp. (NASDAQ: HEXO; TSX: HEXO) for an aggregate purchase price of approximately US$56 million, to be satisfied through the issuance of 0.4352 of Tilray Common Stock for each outstanding HEXO share."$56 million is not $1 billion, even given our terrible dollar.
Laura Spinney: Pale Rider (2017): I meant to read this book about the Spanish Flu for 4 years. Now I’ve read it.
Paul Beatty: The Sellout (2015): A satire of race in America that is often so far from my own personal experience it feels like the novel equivalent of listening to hip hop. I laughed a bunch, sure, but I also was wondering about whether or not some things were jokes. And I really couldn’t tell whether he doesn’t understand how the US legal system works or he was making fun of other people not understanding how the US legal system works.
Carmen M. Reinhart, Kenneth S. Rogoff: This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly (2009): Despite the snappy title this is meant for economists, not the general public. I’d only recommend it if you are really interested in reading about macro data about economic crises.
“Read Another Book: The Power Broker at 50”: I have never read The Power Broker in part because I am Canadian and, well, Canadians just don’t care about this book like Americans do. I have seen a documentary about Caro recently. Anyway, nobody should read only one book on a subject.
“The Ottoman Origins of Modernity”: Did the Ottoman expansion into Europe save Protestantism from suppression?
“The Crash of the Hammer”: The eternal question of liberalism (or at least one of its eternal questions) is, do we tolerate the intolerant?
“Selected Amazon Reviews”: I’m not going to read this book but the fact that it exists is something.
“On the Occasion of This Election, Let Me Talk to You About Bill Clinton”: When I was young (and supposedly a right-wing anarchist then libertarian) I would tell anyone who listened that the Democrats and Republicans were functionally the same. My views changed for many reasons but one of the main ones was that I believe with nearly 100% certainty that Al Gore would not have invaded Iraq if he had been president on 911. And the thing is, that would have spared the world so much misery it’s hard to even put it into perspective. (For one thing, there’s no ISIS.) So I do think there are material differences between the two American parties and, if I had my US citizenship, I would have voted for Harris. I don’t agree with everything he says - perhaps I agree with little of it - but I think this piece is a good reminder that the Democrats and Republicans are not far enough apart on many issues and that the centre in the US is far right of the centre in many liberal democracies, and that is to both the US’ and the world’s detriment. And a follow up the next day, right before the election. (Note: I did share the opposite point of view about the Democrats in the last newsletter.)
“And Yet It Moves”: Hyperbolic, sure. He probably overstates the threat (though who really knows, right?). But it was nice to read in the moment; to read rage instead of Monday morning quarterbacking. It made me feel better that there are Americans like him, if only for a moment.
“"Keep Buggering On"“: Very different than the above but hopeful.
“Confessions of A Poll Worker”: “This is how fascism works: Not the sudden monstrosity of your neighbors but the moment when your neighbors are presented with the chance to choose monstrosity, because some of them always will. It’s such a small, private, irrevocable thing. These people are kind and generous and love babies and take care of their cats. And they are the bedrock of fascism. Not “but,” “and.””
“Americans enjoy conflict”: It feels that way.
“Relax - America Will Probably Just Collapse Now”: I enjoyed this.
“Signing Off”: One of the scam newsletter writers I follow is so depressed he seems to be quitting writing his newsletter about scams. [Narrator: He didn’t.]
“Lawyers are bad actually”: I’m sure all the lawyers I know will love this. I don’t agree with 100% of it of course but I generally agree that there are many instances where the incentives are for things to take longer and that is bad. It’s quite bad, actually. It might be one of the roots of threats to liberal democracy, dare I saw.
“Book Review: The Rise Of Christianity”: Fascinating.
“This American Recrudescence”: A Canadian weighs in on the US election.
“How Steve Bannon baited the American left into overplaying its hand”: I think you can safely ignore the title as I don’t think he really fully connects it and I’m not sure the argument is really there. But this is a fascinating discussion of an idea that Bannon is widely credited with popularizing and that is probably almost entirely wrong - the idea that culture dominates politics. It’s an interesting discussion of why Brokeback Mountain was popular in the US but so much other “liberal propaganda” has failed. “One of the charming things about Americans is that they’re only good at making propaganda when they don’t realize they’re making propaganda. As soon as they try to do it intentionally, they suck.”
“Don’t Panic”: Against performative freaking out and, more importantly, the idea that this is The Worst of Times when nothing has even happened yet. (Bush was a terrible president.)
“Turning Everyday Gadgets into Bombs is a Bad Idea”: “Not all things that could exist should exist, and some ideas are better left unimplemented. Technology alone has no ethics: the difference between a patch and an exploit is the method in which a technology is disclosed. Exploding batteries have probably been conceived of and tested by spy agencies around the world, but never deployed en masse because while it may achieve a tactical win, it is too easy for weaker adversaries to copy the idea and justify its re-deployment in an asymmetric and devastating retaliation…Bottom line is: we should approach the public policy debate around this assuming that someday, we could be victims of exploding batteries, too. Turning everyday objects into fragmentation grenades should be a crime, as it blurs the line between civilian and military technologies.” A-fucking-men.
“Interpreting ‘Suzanne Delage’ as Dracula”: Spoiler in the title, sorry. This is…a lot.
“All the Little Unborn Babies”: An atheist, trying to be provocative, once said “God is the greatest abortionist of all.” That offends believers so much but, of course, if “God” existed, it would be true.
“Manliness Is Next To Godliness?”: I think this is pretty dead-on.
“The Disease of the Powerful”: Just because you are rich and/or powerful does not make you smarter than anyone else. In fact, it might make you biased.
“The optimal amount of fraud is non-zero” [2022]: For business owners but relevant to discussions on government “efficiency” that seem unavoidable lately.
“Why are we putting up with clickbait?”: Amen. Installed the extension mentioned in this.
“Against The Generalized Anti-Caution Argument”: So I’m skeptical (very skeptical) that LLMs could possibly turn into the “singularity” but I don’t really see a flaw in this reasoning.
“Revolt and the Reversal of Trust”: I have been meaning to read the book this references.
“The Invisible Man: A Firsthand Account of What Homelessness in America is Really Like”: This guy has a GoFundMe and will get (at least some) help. The problem is that 99.9% of homeless people don’t get the opportunity to write for Esquire. There are two people in my neighbourhood who I used to see regularly who I could something for but normally don’t for the stupid reasons. (I am conditioned to ignore homeless people due to growing up in a big city, for one. I basically never have cash on me any more for another.) I should be a better person but, as a society, we should do much, much more. UBI now.
“Maculate Conception Redux”: On the contemporary art market and Jasper Johns.
“The Way You’re Making Fresh Pasta Is Needlessly Fussy”: I don’t make pasta from scratch but this just fuels my resentment about the Italian/Italian American culinary fetish: “Grandi…has argued that many Italian traditions are newer than they’re made out to be, says adherence to (or creation of) these traditions is about bolstering nationalism.”
“Enough Wealth to Warp the Universe”: Like so many critiques of billionaires, this confuses wealth with income, and it also assumes Trump and Musk will get along. (And it forgets Trump’s age, at least in terms of the future.) And it doesn’t give voters much agency. But I still think there’s something here.
“Anatomy of an Internet Argument”: This is a series on arguing well on social media. I (mostly) stopped doing it (mostly) years ago but I do find it inspiring that someone is trying to get people to do it better.
“The Rise of the NormieNet”: I shared this on Bluesky to revel in being a Bluesky cliche. (Everyone on Bluesky has to post at least one article defending Bluesky. It’s the law.)
“Bad influence”: I guess this was inevitable. I don’t know how you can successfully sue over this, though. I don’t know being an influencer in 2024 is original.
“The New New Class?”: I think this is really perceptive. On influencers potentially replacing the “meritocratic” professionals as the new political elites.
“Prison And Crime: Much More Than You Wanted To Know”: A thorough review on the evidence of whether prison prevents crime. The answer? It depends.
“Fire Sale at the End of History”: Trump is above the law so why doesn’t anyone want to say so?
“No, you are not on Indigenous land”: So this title is likely offensive to some of you. I suggest reading it before you get mad at me. I don’t agree with some of it. For example: I have zero problem with land acknowledgements. Even though I don’t think they do anything to help any indigenous people at the very least they make us think about indigenous people and we urban white people in Ontario basically never do. I also think you can rightfully get annoyed that this is a (Jewish) white guy once again discussing the affairs of someone who is not like him. But I think his overall point is pretty valid: everyone (at least all liberals) should be against determining ownership of land by ethnicity.
What I’m Listening to:
Behind the Bastards:
“The Satanic Panic: America’s First QAnon”: I lived through the Satanic Panic but was too young to understand what was happening. I now know a fair amount about it but that doesn’t stop me from listening to these episodes.
“The Jordan Peterson Episode” [2020]: Full disclosure: I have a quote from Peterson in my first book, back from when he was on The Agenda all the time and just seemed like a thoughtful psychologist. I long imagined that if I had to explain to right-leaning (or, um, “centrist”) friend my problems with Peterson they were at least threefold: a) He’s a Jungian and I believe that Jung was fundamentally wrong about reality. (Not to mention he wrote before the cognitive revolution in psychology.) b) His own personal bugbear of Cultural Marxism is not a real thing - where are all the Cultural Marxists, anyway? - and, far worse, is a dog-whistle for some, meaning left-wing Jews (or even just Jews). (I do not know if he is aware of this.) c) I think I forgot the last one but it might have been that he’s deliberately obscurantist. Apparently his books are extremely dense and some of the time he’s just saying obvious things like it’s good to treat yourself and your home with self-respect. Anyway, they don’t really get into this stuff so much as they get into how he’s really into some mystical shit that a lot of Fascists and Fascist-adjacent people have also been into. And that he’s really inconsistent in his thinking.
“How Nice Normal People Made the Holocaust Possible”: On the average Nazi party members.
Canadaland:
“What Comes After Woke”: A brief discussion from two left-wing people who think “woke” went too far. (To be clear, I don’t necessarily endorse the premise. Ever since human beings have existed, we’ve tried to control what others say. One difference with “woke,” as I see it, was that it came from minority groups, rather than from the majority, and was embraced by young people. And young people are always a threat to the established order. Just look at the reaction to rock and roll.)
“Doug Ford’s $200 Bribe”: Since I listened to this, of course, Trudeau is now also going to bribe voters.
Commons: I listened to the first season of this whenever it premiered. I then spent years listening to the entirety of certain podcasts and never got around to listening to more. So now I will be listening to it again. Starting with season 2:
“Crude”: About oil and Canada.
“Smell This Town”: About the first oil well in North America and an oil operation that is still operating in the same town, with 19th century equipment.
“Bombs, Blood & the Battle of Trickle Creek”: I had no idea about this. It is wild. If you listen to one episode of this season, listen to this.
“Let the Bastards Freeze in the Dark”: Why does Alberta hate us?
Darknet Diaries:
“Chris Rock”: An Australian if you’re confused. I think he might be full of shit but I have no idea.
A Degree Absolute: I finished all the Prisoner episodes and haven’t seen enough of McGoohan’s filmography to listen to the others.
Dwarkesh Podcast: I found through someone sharing an interview with a pseudonymous blogger I’ve read off and on over the years. This guy interviews some people who I think are, like, actively bad for society too (Andreessen, Zuckerberg). And his interview style is more process- than idea-focused. (Well, he is here to interview not really engage much.) But I did find something in these two that was valuable:
“Gwern Branwen”: I used to subscribe to his newsletter (somehow I got knocked off the list) and he is the inspiration for this particular monthly post you are currently reading. But I think he is quite wrong about AGI. (He is most famous for being right about AI so far.) Anyone know where I can bet against him?
“Lars Doucet”: I was vaguely aware of Georgism and LVT before I read Doucet’s now famous book review of Henry George’s book but that review convinced me, as it did so many others. I have fully drank the LVT Kool-Aid at this point. Unlike the Gwern episode, Dwarkesh actually asks some hard questions so it’s a better interview.
Lowe Post alternatives:
The Big Number
Dunc’ On: This is the one I’ve settled on. (Along with the affiliated Hollinger and Duncan.) They have a weekly “15 in 60” where they talk about half the league which is a good way of keeping up on the NBA for me.
Game Theory
Hollinger and Duncan
The Kevin O’Connor Show
No Dunks
Panic World: “How QAnon Changed American Politics”: From the man behind Garbage Day. At least two really interesting ideas:
Every time there is a massive change in accessible communications technology, fascism flourishes because the world is flooded with all sorts of nonsense that gatekeepers used to prevent.
QAnon is a little like shipping because it involves people reading signs into Fox News or MSNBC broadcasts instead of reading signs within Taylor Swift’s lyrics or Sherlock.
Reply All:
“Friends and Blasphemers”: Live Journal vs. Putin.
“Black Hole, New Jersey”: A really interesting one on a Poshmark scam.
“Fog of Covfefe”: Yup, somehow I listened to this around the election.
“What Kind of Idiot Gets Phished?”: We all could.
“The Secret Life of Alex Goldman”: What someone can find out about you if they hack your phone.
Science Vs.:
“Pssst! The Science of Gossip”: Yes, men gossip too. Yes, gossip serves a social function.
“When Your Eyes See Lies”: A live show that I wasn’t super enthusiastic about that then had some pretty cool segments.
“Sleep: How Do We Get More?”: Unfortunately there is no magic formula here.
What I’m Watching:
“Investigating MrBeast”: Does monetary success in the US inevitably lead to one becoming a grifter? Sometimes it feels that way. It’s probably more likely that some people get used to a lifestyle and when the tap slows down or shuts off and they can’t come up with good enough ways to maintain their success, they get to grifting.
“The Cryptocurrency Industry's Unprecedented Election Spending”: If the SEC chair is replaced, the lawsuits probably stop and crypto maybe becomes legit.
“Populism, Media Revolutions, and Our Terrible Moment”: “Populism isn’t an ideology, it’s a marketing strategy” and “the internet is a machine that devours trust” which is the quote that got me to watch it.
Last Week Tonight:
“Trump’s Businesses”: His businesses are even more of a conflict than last time! Hooray! Saudi Arabia can just threaten to sell some shares to destroy his net worth. Seems fine.
“Election 2024”: I watched it before the election.
“Lee Greenwood”: This one is great. I didn’t know there was a Canadian version of that terrible song! (When I shared it on Facebook a few of you liked it and I couldn’t tell if it was ironic.)
Thanks for this comprehensive list, Riley. How did you like Pale Rider by the way?