Behind the scenes of the delivery wars
+ Ambition gap, Monocausotaxophilia, š§āāļø (#356)
Welcome to issue 356 of theĀ Weekly Filet, the newsletter forĀ people like you who have taste, but little time. As usual, IāmĀ David, your diligent curator of the world wide web. Thank you for being here.
As Iām sending this, Iām almost off to a short summer break. For you, that means two weeks without a Weekly Filet.Ā Howeverā¦I would never let you go two weeks without some proper things to read, watch and listen to. So, Iāve built this littleĀ gem shuffle machine. Push the button, discover something great from the past 10 years. Enjoy!
Speaking of enjoyment: If you enjoy this newsletter, Iād appreciate if youĀ supported it with a subscription, monthly or annual, whatever fits you.
And with thatā¦letās have a look at this weekās recommendations.
1. Delivery Wars
Even if you tried really hard, it was almost impossible to get through this pandemic without increased reliance on food delivery (your Friday delivery of a delicious Filet not included). The Land of the Giants podcast which I have recommended before, has just completed a super interesting miniseries of 6 episodes on the food delivery industry ā youāll learn about early movers, shady tactics, cloud kitchens, and why even in 2020, none of the big players made a profit. Start listening now. (the overview page is a bit confusing ā you can start with the trailer, called Ā«Delivery WarsĀ», or the first episode, Ā«The Cost of ConvenienceĀ»).
2.Ā The Gap ā Ira Glass on Storytelling
Weāve all been there: Youāre passionate about something, you work hard, and you start realising that what youāre making isnāt as good as you want it to be. Thereās a gap. A gap between your abilities and your ambitions. Now what? Listen to Ira Glass. Itās a mere 2 minutes ā but Iām sure it will resonate much longer. Watch it now.
3.Ā Want to make an impact on climate change? Focus on elections.
Election matter ā that much we knew. But how much, exactly, when it comes to an individualās actions to mitigate climate change? I am equal parts intrigued by the attempt and wary of what looks like false precision in this article. Based on research for Canadian elections, the median emissions responsibility of a voter who selected a winning candidate was 34.2 tons of Co2 equivalents ā way more than the average person emits per year. Read it now.
4. Thereās Nothing Adam Ondra Canāt Climb, but Is an Olympic Medal Out of Reach?
The story of the worldās best climber, for whom at the Olympics at medal might be out of reach. Jaw-dropping athleticism, and from a journalistic perspective, an awe-inspiringly beautiful piece. Watch and read and be amazed.
5.Ā What is Pegasus spyware and how does it hack phones?
Missed this weekās big revelation about spyware Pegasus and not sure where to start? I recommend this video summary by The Guardian. Scroll down a bit to get to the video. Watch it now.
What else?
Perspective matters: 100 views of Earth.
A term that does not explain everything, but a lot: monocausotaxophilia ā the love of single causes that explain everything. (via)
Photographer JR rips open old buildings. Stunning.
Fascinating animation: You start with a world map and hundreds of cities. Then each gets swallowed by itās larger neighbour, and on and on and on, until only one is left.
If you like newsletters, you might want to give this a try: the meta-newsletter that always forwards you a new interesting newsletter.
Thanks for reading. Iāll be back on August 13. Until thenā¦happy gem shuffling.
ā David š