Five Links for October 2024
Every month, the five most mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen. If you find these interesting, please do share with your friends.
Here are five links worth reading…
Why Does Ozempic Cure All Diseases? by Scott Alexander
There’s an increasing body of research that shows GLP-1 agonists are effective against stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, alcoholism, and drug addiction. The next question is why.
An amazing profile of Palmer Luckey, who built the first Oculus (sold to Meta for $2.7B) in a camper trailer in Long Beach when he was 19 years old.
The Secret to Tom Wolfe’s Irresistible Snap, Crackle and Pop by David Brooks
On Tom Wolfe’s inimitable writing style and his process of “turning sociology into art.”
Bonus (Listen): Bjorn Lomborg - A Data-Driven Approach to Global Issues on World of DaaS podcast
A very data-driven conversation about making the world a better place. Bjorn and I discuss the most cost-effective, evidence-based strategies to save lives and improve wellbeing. Bjorn is an unconventional thinker with a unique approach to global problems.
listen on Spotify / Apple Podcasts or watch on YouTube
Why Levittown Didn't Revolutionize Homebuilding by
It’s worth asking why we don’t build houses the way we build cars (and pretty much everything else). William Levitt actually succeeded, briefly, in mass-producing homes, but the reasons his company failed after a good window into the market.
Why toilet paper keeps getting smaller and smaller by Mark Dent
Everyone knows shrinkflation is happening, but it’s hard to understand just how pervasive it’s become. For example: A roll of Charmin toilet paper had 650 sheets in the early 1970s. Today, it has 56 sheets.
Bonus (Success Story): Argentina Scrapped Its Rent Controls. Now the Market Is Thriving by Ryan Dubé
No surprises here: Argentina scrapped rent controls, and rental supply in Buenos Aires has increased 170%.
More reading links at https://twitter.com/AurenReads
All the Books I read last month (not all are recommended):
No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War Through Afghan Eyes by Anand Gopal (Must Read)
If you want to be really depressed about our adventures in Afghanistan, read this
Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis by Scott Patterson
Dear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism by Jeff Gramm
You Can Be a Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt
Get Together: How to Build a Community with Your People by Bailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh, Kai Elmer Sotto
HT: Sriram Gollapalli
Recommended TV/movies:
Movie - The Outpost
if you want to be really depressed about our adventures in Afghanistan, watch this
Graph of the Month:
"the more EQ the better" is not true.
reality: EQ is like sunshine - you want a good amount of it but too much will give you skin cancer.
Auren Hoffman is CEO of NQB8, Chairman of SafeGraph (geospatial data on physical places), and GP at Flex Capital ($200M VC firm). Engage on X: @auren
and please share Five Links with your friends and allies.