My end-of-week morning train WFH reads:
• 10 Breakthrough Technologies: Here are the advances that we think will drive progress or incite the most change—for better or worse—in the years ahead. (MIT Technology Review)
• $25 Billion. That’s What Trump Cost Detroit. It is pretty difficult to futureproof your company against stupid. This is exactly what the American automobile industry is facing as a result of President Trump’s gratuitous war against electric vehicles, which is forcing manufacturers to return to an increasingly outdated past. (New York Times) see also EVs grew more in ’25 than ’24, despite constant lies saying otherwise. In 2025, the world sold 20.7 million EVs – 3.6 million more EVs than it did in the previous year, according to a new report by Rho Motion. That’s a larger increase than last year’s 3.5 million increase, which was also higher than the previous year, showing that EVs keep growing despite unprecedented attacks against them by governments, media and even by automakers themselves. (Electrek)
• The YouTube Vibecession: By the numbers, everything is going great for creators. So why are so many of them scared it’s all about to fall apart? (New York Magazine)
• Steak Is Expensive, and Now It Rules the Food Pyramid: New dietary guidelines raise affordability concerns, but some US officials say customers have choices. (Businessweek free)
• The Oligarchs Pushing for Conquest in Greenland: Trump’s fixation on filching the island territory from Denmark may seem like the demented ravings of a mad king. But to a cohort of plutocrat weirdos, it makes perfect sense. (New Republic)
• Inside the Mad Dash to Save Saks, America’s Last Luxury Retailer: Putting Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus together was supposed to create a luxury powerhouse. Just over a year later, unpaid debts triggered its bankruptcy. (Wall Street Journal)
• The secret to being happy in 2026? It’s far, far simpler than you think … Stop stressing about self‑improvement or waiting until you’re on top of everything. This year give yourself permission to prioritise pleasure. (The Guardian)
• Trump Has No Plan for Venezuela: How the Trump administration’s contempt toward planning all but ensures a mess in Venezuela. Plus: Donald Trump’s predatory worldview and Rudyard Kipling’s “Recessional.” (The Atlantic)
• Life Under a Clicktatorship: What happens to government when everything is content? (Can We Still Govern?) see also What We Choose to Nazi: The Department of Labor is posting Heroic Realism propaganda. What, exactly, are they telling us? (The Bulwark)
• The untameable Victor Osimhen: The volcanic temperament and irresistible brilliance of the footballing star converge as the Super Eagles close in on continental glory. (Africa Is A Country)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Nobel laureate Richard Thaler and his University of Chicago Booth School colleague Alex Imas on the update and reissue of his classic book The Winner’s Curse.
Exxon CEO Calls Venezuela ‘Uninvestable’
Source: Bloomberg
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