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The Best Articles of the Week – 06/17/16

Food for Thought:

  1. Wired – Only the Onion Can Save Us Now.   After last weekend’s horrific events, it’s comforting to know that there are people who not only share your frustrations, but who can articulate them in a way you can’t. And often, the best vehicle for that rage is the kind of distilled, to-the-point satire that only the Onion can provide.
  2. WSJ – Public Radio’s Existential Crisis.  With both its stars and audience aging, NPR is struggling to adapt to the digital age: ‘The most innovative people are doing podcasts’.
  3. WSJ – Siblings Matter More as We Grow Older. Two sisters grow up, grow apart and finally grow close; ‘now, we like each other’.
  4. PE – The Ad Campaign that Convinced Americans to Pay for Water – Credit TP – Even if they could afford it, many people would balk at the thought of paying $10,000 for a sandwich. And yet the majority of Americans pay a similar markup, essentially, for a bottle of water.
  5. WSJ – In Pursuit of Political Equality. Political theorist Danielle Allen worries that Americans aren’t being properly educated for citizenship.
Business/Economics:

  1. WSJ – Birchbox, a Pioneer in Subscription Beauty Sales, Scales Back. Beauty-box provider suspends plans for stores; talks with potential suitor failed to result in a deal.
  2. Mashable – How Yahoo Derailed Tumblr.  After Marissa Mayer promised ‘not to screw it up.’
  3. WSJ – That Coffee Taste Stale? It Could Be Nine Years Old.  Value of premium arabica beans in storage is deteriorating, becoming more attractive to certain buyers that typically favor a lower quality variety.
  4. WSJ – Online Lender’s Secret to Success: Past Failure.  Founder of MyRichUncle, which closed in the crisis, applies lessons learned to new mortgage site.
  5. BusinessWeek – Life in the People’s Republic of WeChat. My full (and mostly successful) immersion in China’s everything app.
Culture/Tech/Science:

  1. BusinessWeek – How Intel Makes a Chip.  The development of a microprocessor is one of the riskiest, costliest, and most technically complex feats in business.
  2. BusinessWeek – The Ex-Con Inventor Disrupting Underwater Energy. Turbine tech is tough, because water is 800 times denser than air. Herbert Williams got rich engineering a brand-new approach.
  3. WSJ – The Dirty Secret of Yoga Pants: They Smell.   Wicking technology that keeps athletic clothing dry also makes it retain sweat.
  4. WSJ – Under Armour’s New Steph Curry ‘Chef’ Shoe Gets Cooked.  ”He’s the MVP of the NBA, the crème de la crème in the flashiest sports league in the world, and he’s got these bland sneakers,” he said. “If I were given these for free, I probably wouldn’t wear them.”
  5. GuardianUK – Why is everyone covering up their laptop cameras?  Stickers and slides serve to ease concerns that spooks could be watching our every move, as even the FBI director says he puts tape on his camera

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