kenny

I'm experimenting with a slightly different format than usual: an entire month of reading rather than the usual week. I've been tracking (some) of my reading/listening in the Notes app on my iPhone. Any accompanying notes can be disregarded. I only write them in an attempt to digest and retain a little more of what I consume. HTML for this post was generated by Claude using my reading notes.

February 1

• On Windows (Humanities Library): Paris spleen quote was especially good.
• Ice storm (Henry Oliver): Henry reflects on the intensity of American weather following a blizzard.
• International financial anarchy (Noahpinion): On the surge in gold prices, the dollar as a reserve currency, and China's currency policy.

February 2

• Moltbook: after the first weekend (ACX): Highlights from the Reddit-style site for AI agents. It reminds me how much of the content on "real" social media is already bots. Despite the hype by some, I just don't feel the emergence in my bones.
• Notes on Mexico (Rohit Krishnan): Mexico travel notes. Made me add the Museum of Anthropology to my "must see" list.
• What a liberal immigration enforcement policy might look like (Noahpinion): Noah on how Democrats are rightly decrying ICE, but need to consider actual immigration policy/border security too. I also agree with his take that land acknowledgements aren't useful.

February 4

• Good Old Neon (David Foster Wallace)

February 5

• The two kinds of desire (Sasha Chapin): Sasha draws a distinction between tanha (scarcity-based desire) and chanda (whole-being desire). He thinks that tanha tends to manifest based on particular environments while chanda is only discernible as a deeper pattern.
• Review: The Everlasting Empire (John Psmith)
• Links for February 2026 (ACX)

February 6

• Andrew Ross Sorkin podcast (CWT): On the Great Depression, banking, and the question: was it really a bubble?
• Things that connect us to ourselves, and things that don't (Henrik Karlsson): On disconnecting from the internet, art as guided meditation, and a report on Henrik's trip to Malaga. I'm always touched by the time he spends with his kids.
• Contra Brian Potter: why TVs actually got cheap (and so few other things did) (Daniel Frank): Goods only become really cheap when they're no longer status symbols.
• Elon Musk (Dwarkesh Podcast): Elon wants to build data centers in space. He also (maybe) believes only the wildest simulations survive, so he's doing his best to make ours interesting.

February 8

• Confederate flags and Shenandoah's timelessness (Henry Oliver): Henry Oliver visits Shenandoah. I can imagine how puzzling it would be for a Brit to see confederate flags, especially in a region so close to Washington.

February 9

• Tyler Cowen (NJ Exit Interviews): Tyler Cowen on the location-dependence of culture within New Jersey.

February 10

• Why America's extremes will both fail (Noahpinion): Extremism has been driven by closed primaries, social media, and ideological staffers in Washington. MAGA is destroying its shaky coalition through racial attacks. Progressives have eroded the cities and institutions built by the liberalism that their movement grew out of.
• The Takaichi Era begins for real (Noahpinion): After a resounding victory in a snap election, Sanae Takaichi can begin to reshape and remilitarize Japan. I want to do a bit more research into the LDP's dominance after reading this one.

February 11

• Political Backflow From Europe (ACX): Scott Alexander examines how the American discourse on boomers and immigration/crime has been influenced by Europe, even when the situations are quite different.
• The singularity won't be gentle (Nate Silver): Nate thinks the potential political impact of AI is currently underrated. He believes Silicon Valley is inept at political maneuvering, the left doesn't (want to) understand the technology, and the "creative class" that will be most hurt by AI is highly political.
• Tyler Cowen (TBPN): On Warsh, AI, mentorship.

February 12

• Do Less. (Cate Hall): Cate Hall on turning off your "inner project manager" and finding atelic (without an end goal) activities as essential for truly resting. It's hard for me to tell if I need more true rest, more true work, or both.
• Is China Cooking Waymo? (Nick Corvin on Chinatalk): A good comparison of autonomous vehicles in the US and China.
• The Hour of the Star (Clarice Lispector)

February 13

• Distributed Liability (Sahaj for Manifold Markets): An update on the fallout from the Epstein case. It is interesting how the impact has seemed more serious in UK politics than in the US. Trump's seeming immunity despite his close ties to Epstein baffles me.
• Situate Your Essay (Robin Hanson): Public intellectuals should adopt the academic practice of placing their essays in the context of prior literature.
• Dario Amodei (Dwarkesh Podcast): He's better than Sam Altman.

February 16

• Speculating on the Origins of Elon Musk's Impulsivity (Desmolysium): A laundry list of substances that might have heightened Elon's impulsivity over the last few years.
• Summarising data and evaluating suppliers (KQR): Evaluate suppliers on the basis of past performance. Ask to see historical data.
• Pricks, Devils, and Phlegm. John Aubrey and the Fertile Facts of English Biography (Henry Oliver): On John Aubrey, English infovore of the 17th century. Oliver mentions two strains of biographies: those focusing on facts and those focusing on personality.
• Presidential democracy was a mistake (Matt Yglesias): Matt Yglesias on how most countries with parliamentary systems have separate heads of state and heads of government. Trump has been especially bad at his role as head of state.
• Which one is man's best friend? (Scott Sumner): On dogs, AI, and ethical knowledge. Scott seems refreshingly distant from the AI hype/fear nexus.

February 18

• The Obscure Media Theory That Explains '99% of Everything' (Derek Thompson and Joe Weisenthal): Derek and Joe theorize about the shift from oral to written culture and play with the idea that we're entering a third stage that combines the immediacy of oral culture with the individual immersion of text. Politicians' slogans and nicknames as a throwback to the bards of oral cultures; or, Trump as a modern Homer.
• On the compulsion to make art (Henrik Karlsson): An account of a sculptor irresistibly drawn to creating erotic forms out of granite.
• How Francis Bacon read books (Henry Oliver): Francis Bacon read intensely, but took regular breaks for walks. I need to learn more about him with the 400 year anniversary of his death this April.

February 19

• Ricardo Haussmann Explains How the Venezuelan Economy Collapsed (Odd Lots podcast): Haussmann recounts Venezuela's decline and argues that free elections must be held sooner rather than later. He says comparisons with the Middle East aren't relevant because Venezuela has a long history of political organization.
• Joe Studwell on Africa, Asia, and What Development Actually Requires (Conversations with Tyler): A middling CWT episode. Studwell said almost nothing to support his thesis that a lack of population density is the greatest hindrance to African development.
• Crime As Proxy For Disorder (ACX): It feels like there's more disorder, but it's hard to show. Scott argues that we shouldn't allow perceived disorder to lead us toward increasing authoritarianism.

February 20

• Jared Sleeper on Which Software Companies Will Survive the "SaaSpocalypse" (Odd Lots podcast): An investor's look at the state of the SaaS industry.
• Replacement anxiety (Scott Sumner): Scott believes that the 21st century's defining trends are a decline in fertility and the rise of AI, and that these trends share one thing: replacement anxiety.
• Walking Duluth (Chris Arnade): Chris Arnade experiences the winter wonderland that is Duluth.

February 22

• In Conversation with Tyler Cowen (Gaurav Ahuja)

February 26

• What Holds America Together? (Chris Arnade): On what he calls thick vs. thin culture. This piece caused me to reflect on whether the US truly has a single culture, and I'm just not sure.
• A Travelogue from India and China (Arjun Ramani and Charles Yang): Comparisons between tech, politics, and society in India and China.

February 27

• Mayors need to understand the problem (Matt Yglesias): A reader question roundup from Matt.
• Getting Back To It (Sarah Constantin): Life update and 25 miscellaneous opinions.
• Roundup #78: Roboliberalism (Noah Smith): Noah on AI productivity effects, America's wealth relative to Canada, and questionable work by George Borjas.