Reading

We should notice when we feel guilty, and then ask whether the guilt is ours or whether we inherited it from somewhere.We should remember that almost everything about how software looks and feels is a choice that someone made, often quickly, often for practical reasons that may not apply anymore.And when we sit down with our phones or our computers, confronted with all those little numbers telling us how behind we are, we should feel free to ask the only question that really matters:Is anyone actually waiting?

Terry Godier's gorgeous essay on design choices of RSS readers - and "phantom obligation" via kottke.org

The resulting dataset of 139 instances where erstwhile democracies were gradually eroded also allows us to consider a crucial question: is the US under Trump’s second term hurtling inevitably towards the same destination as these other cases?...In Trump’s second term, by contrast, most of the action has taken the form of shocking acts or events that bypass rather than permanently corrupt institutions.

John Burn-Murdoch / Financial Gimes on backsliding from democracy and institutional resilience.

Crowd-sourced graphic design archive via wemadethis.co.uk

Defund Science, Distort Culture, Mock Education via kottke.org

Food Fight - a weekly digest of tasty food and drinks advertising and design.

GLP-1s could save airlines billions via Construction Physics

I am writing as an ordinary citizen of Minneapolis/St Paul ─ one of America’s 20 largest metro areas. I have kids in the public schools, own a house, go to work every day, pay taxes, volunteer in my community (e.g., coaching youth sports, helping in the schools). I am certainly not a radical of any kind. I had never done any community organizing work before last month.I am writing this to share with the outside world what is really going on ─ the terror being inflicted upon a U.S. city and state by our federal government.

First-hand account of federal ICE operations in Minneapolis.

Thread on NYC rent control policies and their impact on housing market dynamics via marginalrevolution.com

Many fake stories are not that hard to spot, but it requires a moment of time and effort to do so.This may explain why so much misinformation seems to favour populist viewpoints.

Tim Harford on populism.

NYT on congestion pricing finds fewer cars, less traffic, more public transit, less noise, more business, and fewer car related injuries.

Using lidar, scientists discovered a 400-foot-long wall composed of “60 massive granite...

Scientists used lidar to discover a 400-foot underwater wall made of 60 granite monoliths built 7,000 years ago in France. via kottke.org

The study, published Dec. 18 in the Journal of Marketing Research, links survey data on GLP-1 receptor agonist use – a class of drugs originally developed for diabetes and now widely prescribed for weight loss – with detailed transaction records from tens of thousands of U.S. households. ...Within six months of starting a GLP-1 medication, households reduce grocery spending by an average of 5.3%. Among higher-income households, the drop is even steeper, at more than 8%. Spending at fast-food restaurants, coffee shops and other limited-service eateries falls by about 8%.

Cornell research on the proader market impact of GLP-1 drugs.