Weekly Filet #189: Terribly inconvenient. And more.
Welcome to 2015. Nice to have you on board as the Weekly Filet kicks off its fifth year. Starting with this issue, I'll have a guest curator in residence join me for one month each. In January, Erik Martin will contribute one recommendation to each issue.
Erik Martin is the former General Manager of reddit. He recently launched Assholes On Demand, a pro bono service that helps senior citizens and other underserved communities sort out customer service problems with big companies. Erik was born in Bern (yes, the Swiss one), grew up in Chapel Hill, NC and lives in Brooklyn.
1. Muslims in Europe - or Whose Enlightenment is it? (Die ZEIT)
In the wake of the latest anti-Muslim movements I turned to this 2010 essay by Carolin Emcke that I had re-read at least three times before. I keep discovering new things in it. And the one sentence that always makes me pause, is this one: «It used to be called racism when properties were ascribed to collectives, but today dim-witted prejudice counts as ‹fear that must be taken seriously›.»
2. Worth (Radiolab)
If you could buy one extra year of life, how much would you be willing to pay? That's the starting point of a thought-provoking radio piece on drugs, drone strikes and bees.
3. The News on Wikipedia in 2014 (Brian C. Keegan)
A thorough analysis of the biggest breaking news events of 2014, based on how they were covered on Wikipedia. Starts out a little technical, but it's worth it.
4. How to be an expert in a changing world (Paul Graham)
«When experts are wrong, it's often because they're experts on an earlier version of the world.» One of those thoughts that seem so obvious, but only after somebody else has uttered them. The more you think about it, the bigger it gets.
5. 78 drinks every bar person & party monster should know (Information Is Beautiful)
A beautifully illustrated cheat sheet for 78 cocktails.
Recommended by Erik Martin
The Top-Secret Food That Will Change the Way You Eat (Outside Magazine)
My favorite link of the week was the story of an entrepreneur trying to crack the riddle of decent tasting fake meat. This portrait awakened my dormant high-school-era vegetarianism and showed how old-fashioned for-profit businesses are trying to impact huge high-stakes problems like climate change. Good intentions and ambition won't matter much if they can't solve grim market realities like distribution and «mouthfeel».
The best of 2014
In case you missed it last week, here's my collection of the very best Weekly Filet recommendations from 2014.