kenny

What have I read, watched, listened to, and considered this week? Here's a selection:

Books:

• Stephen King's 11/22/63. No progress this week.

• Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction by Samir Okasha. No progress this week.

• Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West by William Cronon. This week I finished Cronon's section on another commodity: lumber. From its founding until the 1880s, Chicago was the major midwestern hub for the lumber industry. The city's position on Lake Michigan made it well-suited to receive white pine lumber via the rivers of Wisconsin and Michigan. Railroads were also incentivized to offer low rates westward-bound lumber so that their cars weren't empty after depositing eastward-bound grain. The Chicago lumber trade ultimately declined in the 1880s as the spread of railroads made water transport obsolete, the most productive areas (and largest trees) in Michgan and Wisconsin were overharvested, and lumbermen looked previously untapped areas in the South and Pacific Northwest. Next week's section: the meat industry.

Podcasts:

• Henrik Karlsson on the How I Write podcast. At first I was put off by Rubin's seeming ignorance, but I actually started to enjoy his honest questions--markedly different from a typical Tyler Cowen podcast. I also enjoyed the bonus episode with Tyler creating a playlist with Rick.

• Nate Silver on the Conversations with Tyler podcast. A solid episode, but I wish Tyler would've reviewed some of Nate's predictions and then pressed him to make a few new ones for whenever they get together next.