Digital Nutrition

Yesterday was the wrap for this year’s Tournament of Books, presented by Field Notes, which means we need to take a nap. See you Monday.

After a winter of low snow, more than half of the Western United States is now experiencing drought conditions. / Inside Climate News

The number of National Science Foundation grants that mentioned “climate change” fell from 889 in 2023 to 148 last year, part of the so-called “climate hushing.” / Grist

A big legislative push finds blue states “that once served as bastions of anti-nuclearism” are embracing atomic energy. / Canary Media

Meanwhile, Japanese construction firms are ramping up acquisitions of US home builders, and soon will own six percent of the business. / The Wall Street Journal [$]

Following up on last week’s photographs of bike-friendly Paris: a professional walker reports on what makes the city’s recent improvements “so astonishing.” / Torched

Sweden reintroduces physical books to its classrooms, looking for every student to have a physical textbook for each subject. / Undark

Cal Newport says we should consider taking as strong a stance against ultraprocessed content as we do against ultraprocessed food. / The New York Times [$]

See also: “As Slow As Possible.” / Pippin Barr

Beijing becomes the first Chinese city to launch commercial insurance for self-driving vehicles. / Sixth Tone

An outage at Baidu means dozens of self-driving cars suddenly stopping on busy highways. / Semafor

“Is there any tool as ubiquitous and yet so unloved?” Recalling how the spreadsheet changed corporations. / David Oks

Headline of the week: “All of Humanity’s Problems Stem From Marc Andreessen’s Inability to Sit Quietly in a Room Alone.” / Kottke

An interactive companion to David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest is full of lovely data visualizations, including a fascinating dive on all those footnotes. / Infinite Digest

A popular party in San Francisco involves digging a big hole and filling it back in. / The San Francisco Standard

As we head off to nap, we want to say a huge thank you to all of our Sustaining Members. It’s because of you this newsletter persists! xo Andrew & Rosecrans

In the members area, unlocked links from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times ↓