Happy long weekend and thanks for being here! I so appreciate the feedback and suggested articles people have been firing through. A quick note on paywalled articles, as sometimes I link to articles that people want you to sign away your life, finances and a kidney in order to read. There are a few handy tools that you can copy and paste the article into to remove the paywall. This one here is quite good.
The Trash And Treasures Of Temu - How Are These Headphones $4.98? And Every Other Question You Have About The Chaotic New Everything Store by Natalie So for New York Magazine. A great breakdown of the gamified retail giant and courier drivers worst nightmare. It’s light on the environmental impacts of the double plastic wrapped plastic junk we’re buying, but does a great job of explaining how everything is almost free.
My Father’s Love Of Rugby Left Him With CTE; All Players Should Know The Risks by Geoff Cooper for The Post. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a devastating form of dementia caused by countless undetected head knocks. As we confront its reality, it becomes imperative to re-evaluate how we engage with contact sports, ensuring that players at all levels are informed of the risks of showing up on a Saturday.
AI Has A Hotness Problem by Caroline Mimbs Nyce for The Atlantic. An important discussion on why AI seems to constantly spit out images of really pretty people. Is it built that way or an emergent property of the model because it knows that’s what we want?
Have You Eaten? by Lucinda Bennet for The Spinoff. A beautiful piece on how we feed ourselves and our loved ones when we’re grieving. I first read this in my learned friend Ben Stubbing’s weekly newsletter, it’s brilliant and so is he.
Your Boyfriend Isn't Your Camera Man by Freya India for the After Bable (I can’t recommend After Bable highly enough.) While the occasional photo is harmless, the reality is that the pressure to present a perfect online life can make social media seem more important than what’s happening around you, turning loved ones into tools for content creation.
Tax Calculator by Nicola Willis for The Government, I suppose. Not a read, merely a fiscal treat for your long weekend. And for a further breakdown of the budget, this shameless plug for a podcast I recorded on it alongside my work pals Jesse and Henry.
Podcast of the week
Zion Armstrong: From West Auckland to Adidas President from the Between Two Beers Podcast. A longer listen but a gripping story of a high school dropout who climbed to become one of New Zealand’s most influential expats - Thanks Brigitte for the recommendation!
Fact of the week
Most ginger cats are male. There are roughly three ginger male cats for each ginger female. This is because the ginger gene is found on the X chromosome, meaning female cats would require two copies of the gene to become ginger whilst males only need one.
Happy reading,
Maddy x