the weekly rundown

readers, we took a different approach to our hottake this week - less funny, more personal. it’s our thoughts on the role of american muslims in today’s divisive politics. we’re no experts, so take everything we say with a grain (or two) of salt, but we do hope it’s food for thought.

big idea: dems fall to friendly fire

1. amid continuing negotiations over a climate change and social welfare bill, dems are apparently starting to shoot each other in the foot. good ol’ Bernie decided that the best way to convince Joe Manchin, the party’s most conservative senator, to back the $3.5 trillion bill was to publicly attack him in an op-ed published in Manchin’s hometown newspaper. this is after a Bernie-allied group promised to aggressively go after Kyrsten Sinema, the second most conservative dem senator, which apparently includes following her into the bathroom to harass her. 
2. listen, we’re not masters of negotiation here, but common sense dictates maybe try not to piss off people you’re trying to win over. then again, Bernie did lose two consecutive presidential elections, so maybe he’s really not that smart after all.

story to watch: corporations rethink china

1. big news from two different tech giants this week - first, Apple announced that it had pulled a popular Quran reading app from its App Store in china, and second, Microsoft announced that it will be pulling LinkedIn from the country. both events demonstrate the complexity surrounding business in china, and how american companies are having to rethink their presence in the world’s largest consumer market.
2. Apple, which has a long and storied history of caving into demands of the chinese government and staying silent on chinese human rights issues, pulled a Quran reading app used by over a million people in china after the government asked it to do so. a Bible app was also pulled by its publisher this week.
3. Microsoft tried for years to satisfy chinese censors by limiting the content available on LinkedIn, but has apparently thrown in the towel by removing the platform. it was the only western social media network available in china, and will now be replaced by a simpler job hunting tool.
4. well, we’re standing here on our soap box wondering when american corporations will realize there are fundamental issues with doing business in an authoritarian regime which routinely tramples on human rights. we understand and believe that corporations are designed to maximize profits, but these huge multinationals need to take a side - money or human rights? now, please excuse us while we go watch TikTok on our iPhone.

this week’s image: one lucky canadian meteorite

• (NYT) a canadian grandma escaped death when a meteorite hit her house, went through her roof, and crash landed on her bed just inches away from where she was sleeping. the chances of that happening this year? one in one hundred billion, but who believes scientists anymore?

this week’s number: 1 in 4 americans quit their job this year

1. a new study found that an astounding quarter of all american workers quit their job so far this year, a few percentage points higher than even 2020, and several points higher than the pre-pandemic boom years. there are any number of reasons people quit, from work-life balance, to unfriendly workplaces, to realizing you work for a soul-sucking conglomerate which is destroying the world.
2. what’s surprising employers is who is quitting their jobs - it’s not entry level or young people, but employees with five to ten years of tenure, women, and those over 30. resignations from these groups can be particularly damaging to companies because of the amount of institutional knowledge that is lost with just one departure.
3. some economists are already predicting that the US labor force participation rate (the percentage of americans working) will never again reach pre-pandemic highs of 60%+. they cite many people choosing to retire early during COVID, starting their own businesses, and child tax credits for parents.

what we’re making: artery-clogging ribs

• we made bone-in English-style short ribs this week. do we need to say anything else?
• okay, fine...we cheated and used liquid smoke in an oven instead of hauling out the grill for the last time this season, but they still turned out finger lickin’ good. then again, you could shellac tree bark with barbeque sauce and it would probably be pretty darn good too.

and, in case you missed it:

• booster shots are coming for Moderna and J&J shot recipients, lest they feel left out
• the US will be reopening its land and air borders with canada and mexico to vaccinated travellers 
• the FDA put out revised sodium dietary targets for food companies
• a dead-end street in san francisco has been plagued by dozens of confused self-driving cars from Waymo trying to make u-turns. guess we don’t have to be too worried about robots taking over the world.

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!

readers, we’re sorry for a glitch that led to some of you receiving last week’s issue twice. it won’t happen again...we hope. you’d think that immediately after issuing a mea culpa we wouldn’t have the courage to ask you to refer a friend, and you’re right. we won’t. we’ll just point out your unique subscriber referral link is at the bottom of this email <3

big idea: an unsteady economic recovery

1. in case you thought you understood the economy, we’re here to break the news to you - you don’t, we don’t either. the september jobs report had anemic numbers despite a host of positive news over the past month. wages are skyrocketing, college seniors are being bombarded with job offers, COVID cases are decreasing, hiring in the hospitality sector is stabilizing, and schools have largely reopened.
2. despite all that, fewer than half the expected number of new jobs were created last month, and the number of people participating in the workforce fell in key demographics, like black men. we’re also seeing all sorts of labor strikes and walkouts, from food to hollywood, and supply chain issues continue to weigh on manufacturing and consumer goods. listen, we haven’t been this confused since the end of “Inception”.
3. so what’s our point here? well, last month’s jobs report could be largely explained by local governments failing to find enough people to drive buses and clean schools, or...it could be something else. the only thing which is clear is the unclarity surrounding our recovery from COVID. like anyone who has gotten it can tell you, you never really know when you’ll be back up to 100% again.

story to watch: china strikes at taiwan

1. china raised the temperature in eastern asia this week as it sent dozens of aircraft into airspace near taiwan continuously for days on end. the taiwanese airforce was overwhelmed by this show of strength. this record-breaking testing of taiwan’s defenses coincides with china celebrating its independence day. 
2. this also comes amid newly substantiated reports that last year the US has begun training taiwanse forces for the first time ever, an escalation of our involvement in the island’s defenses. taiwan, which historically has been part of china, broke off 70 years ago when the mainland became communist. it has studiously threaded the needle between autonomy and independence, knowing that a chinese invasion would be devastating.
3. what has changed in recent years is the calculation that such an invasion would likely result in a communist victory. chinese forces are now better equipped and trained than taiwan’s, and the island is increasingly seen as the main cause of tensions between china and the US, rather than an sideshow. Joe and china’s president Xi Jingping will be speaking with each other by the end of the year, so fingers crossed that our thanksgiving turkey isn’t radioactive.

this week’s image: nobel laureate 

• (BBC) does a photo of books really count as a notable image? anyways, join us as we celebrate the latest nobel prize in literature winner, Abdulrazak Gurnah, who has contributed more to post-colonial black literature than perhaps anyone else alive.

this week’s number: train capacity could increase by 50%

1. we know what you’re thinking - trains are awesome, and we should dedicate an entire issue to them. alas, the world is cruel to us ferroequinologists, and we have to pretend that not everyone is as into trains as they should be. anyways, train capacity within the US could increase by 50% if trains became fully autonomous. we keep hearing about autonomous driving, but in many ways, pushing the envelope on train technology would not only benefit society more, but would also be easier to do.
2. the reality is that the US has the world’s largest rail network, and it regularly carries nearly a third of all freight traffic nationwide. it’s four or five times more environmentally friendly than trucks, and of course, is way cooler. after all, there’s no such thing as scenic truck routes through the cascade mountains or along the pacific coast. 

what we’re watching: “The Closer”

• Dave Chappelle just released his latest Netflix comedy special, “The Closer”, and the internet is in an uproar. in typical Chappelle style, he explores controversial topics such as race, sexual orientation, and feminism. Chapelle relishes challenging his audience by presenting ideas that are taken for granted in a manner that illustrates their absurdity. 
• whether you enjoy the special or not though is most likely dependent on what your personal opinions are on the topics he talks about. however, even if you don’t agree with him, one can still appreciate watching a master artist perform his craft.

and, in case you missed it:

• updating you on last week’s big idea, the federal debt ceiling has been lifted until december
• the W.H.O. has approved the world’s first malaria vaccine, a disease which kills hundreds of thousands of africans annually
• a bloodthirsty dictator now runs not only saudi arabia... but also an english soccer club

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!

loyal readers, it’s the end of an era. our favorite blond-haired celebrity is free from over a decade of scrutiny and limited freedom. and before you say anything, no we’re not talking about #freebritney. the leader of free europe, the bastion of democracy in the era of You-Know-Who, the german chancellor with a PhD in freaking quantum chemistry, Angela Merkel oversaw elections this week to choose her replacement. we’ll dig into the details, but for now - shame on you for thinking we’d ever talk about britney spears on TWR.

big idea: drama on the hill

1. all sorts of drama has been unfolding this week on capitol hill, with Joe scrambling to fund the government, extend the federal debt ceiling, pass an infrastructure bill, and pass the biggest expansion of welfare benefits since the 1960’s. phew, let us catch our breath for a second.
2. what’s happening boils down to dems not being able to overcome the difference between the moderate and progressive sides of the party, while the republicans laugh on the sidelines. in the next few weeks, the government will both run out of money to spend and out of debt it can issue. dems need to pass a budget and a debt ceiling extension to solve these problems.
3. dems are hoping to attach an expansion of welfare benefits to the budget, since they won’t need 60 votes in the senate to do so, the only chance this year for a partisan bill to pass. moderates and progressives can’t decide which bill should pass first (the budget or the infrastructure bill), or what the total cost should be.
4. there’s many other sideshows going on, and quite a few details we’ve glossed over, but expect continuing drama on capitol hill for the next month. we don’t know when C-SPAN started running soap operas, but we’re loving it.

story to watch: auf wiedersehen Angela

1. we don’t do love poems on TWR, and even if we wanted to, we couldn’t without embarrassing ourselves - but if we could, and if we did, man would we write an ode to Angela Merkel, the outgoing chancellor of germany. one of the longest ruling european politicians in the modern era, she arose from humble beginnings as a physicist in communist east germany to the head of a unified germany. she led with substance, not style, competency not charisma, and gravitas not grandiosity. 
2. since 2005, Merkel has handled a series of problems, from the global recession, to the euro debt crisis, to the rise of neo-Nazism amid the syrian refugee crisis, to COVID-19. during the presidency of You-Know-Who, she took on the mantle of leader of the free world without hesitation, becoming liberal democracy’s foremost cheerleader. if only american politicians had Merkel’s principles, savvy, and courage.
3. we’re just getting started here, so check out this week’s hottakes on why we love Angela, and why her reign is coming to an end

this week’s image: decked out cat

• (The Atlantic) one groovy looking cowboy cat joins pro-democracy protests in thailand. and we thought our cat always looked judgey...

this week’s number: 62% of restaurant workers have been emotionally abused

1. a recent report found that 62% of restaurant workers have been emotionally abused or disrespected by customers, and 15% have been sexually harassed while on the job. this comes amid a huge struggle within the hospitality industry to recruit and retain enough workers while customers seem to be behaving worse than ever. 
2. employees have been verbally and physically assaulted for upholding minor rules, like mask or vaccine mandates or table reservations. higher wages can’t solve the problem of jerk customers, so the next time you go out - maybe tip well and turn that frown upside down ;) 

what we’re reading: “Nudge: The Final Edition”

1. an updated version of the groundbreaking book “Nudge”, first published in 2008 by our favorite nobel prize winner in economics, this is an absolute must read. the first edition brought into public consciousness the idea of behavioral economics - that people are not totally logical when making decisions, and there are subtle psychological methods to nudge people towards a given outcome. in other words, your econ 101 professor lied to you about supply and demand curves.
2. the updated edition has a bevy of new relevant examples and addresses a number of criticisms of the original theory. it also introduces the concept of ‘sludge’, life’s red tape which purposefully inhibits us from making the best decisions. a funny, mind-binding read which we cannot recommend enough.

and, in case you missed it:

• Dollar Tree announced it would begin selling items for more than $1 each, for the first time ever
• Disney and scarjo settled a lawsuit over “Black Widow”, something we discussed in issue 25
• TikTok passed the one billion active users mark
• a florida man discovered a piece of wood he was going to use to repair his gun with ...turned out to be a piece of moon rock collected during the Apollo missions

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!

we’re excited this week to welcome our first TWR contributor, Aziz! we’ll spare you the details - yes, he’s a nice guy, yes, and he’s single - but because of what must be some major childhood trauma, he’s really into canadian politics. so, despite basically no one in the US even thinking about canada this week, he’s bringing us the lowdown on what happened on monday in the great white north.

big idea: canada exists, and had elections

1. Justin Trudeau, canada’s prime minister and latest heartthrob named Justin, called for early elections last month, betting he could increase his party’s share of seats in parliament. canadians voted Monday, and decisively said…”eh?”, delivering an almost identical minority parliament to that before the election.
2. kabul fell to the taliban just hours before calling for elections last month (not a great look) and amid growing concerns over a fourth wave of COVID, Trudeau was and is in the middle of a self-inflicted political nightmare. despite holding onto power for at least the next year or two, his brand was seriously damaged for this miscalculation. how long does Trudeau want to remain at the helm of his Liberal party and will we start to see some leadership rumblings within his caucus?
3. now we know what you’re thinking - what aboot the losers? Conservative party leader Erin O’Toole pushed his party to the center, but still lost. the knives are being sharpened from within his caucus, with many socially conservative members furious with the sudden shift. the progressive party, the NDP, and the uppity french party, the Bloc Quebecois, will likely help Trudeau with key votes, so their leaders are generally assumed to be safe despite technically losing two elections in a row. but really - no one outside quebec really cares about the Bloc Quebecois anyways.
4. our contributor Aziz is just getting started here, so if you want to learn more about canadian politics or how Trudeau’s fortunes turned so quickly - check out his piece on this week’s hottakes

story to watch: booster seats shots are here

1. the CDC and FDA approved third booster shots for the Pfizer vaccine this week. the agencies disappointed Joe by making them available only to those older than 65, nursing home residents, and younger people who work in high risk environments (like health care employees, teachers, and other frontline workers). Joe had hoped the booster shots would be available to pretty much everyone, but there wasn’t enough scientific evidence to back that up.
2. people should get the shots six months after their last vaccine dose, which will be the next couple of months for most eligible patients. Walgreens and CVS are already preparing to ramp up their vaccine availability, with plans to offer the flu vaccine at the same time. of note, the CDC is not making the third shot required for anyone - people who just receive two shots will be considered fully vaccinated.
3. pundits across the political spectrum are applauding the CDC’s move amid continued strains on the healthcare system. ICUs and hospitals across the south are still overwhelmed, and some companies are resorting to hiring nurses from the philippines to fill staffing shortages.

this week’s image: <3 merkel

• (The Guardian) Angela Merkel, our celebrity crush, is preparing to step down after nearly 16 years as germany’s chancellor. we’ll spend next issue celebrating her reign, but for now - enjoy this compilation of her famous pantsuits and...unique hand gesture.

this week’s number: $9.2 billion in suspicious Medicare payments in 2017

1. an investigation by DHS, the governmental agency which oversees Medicare, found that the program made $9.2 billion in suspicious payments to insurers in 2017, the latest year which we have data for. UnitedHealth was called out for receiving about 40% of that sum, a staggering percentage considering they only insure about 20% of the private Medicare market.
2. the payments are suspicious, or at the very least controversial, because insurers use algorithms to read patient charts and identify additional diagnoses which hadn’t already been billed for. an algorithm essentially decides that a patient is depressed (or is malnourished, or bipolar, for example) and adds that diagnosis to the patient chart so the insurer can bill Medicare for its treatment.
3. federal prosecutors have become more aggressive in recent years in recouping taxpayer money for fraudulent insurer claims. the report recommends that Medicare look at UnitedHealth’s billing practices in depth, as it has recently with Kaiser Permanente, Anthem, and Humana.

and, in case you missed it:

• Costco is reimposing purchase limits on products in high demand, like toilet paper, due to continuing supply chain issues
• Microsoft unveiled its new lineup of Surface laptops and tablets
• federally-subsidized flood insurance is getting a makeover due to climate change, with premiums rising for beachfront property
• Facebook is giving up its veneer of impartiality and pushing pro-Facebook and pro-Zuckerberg content in people’s newsfeeds
• a widely used AI platform has been found to be islamophobic. great, now even the computers are scared of us... 

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!

we’re visiting our little brother this week and we couldn’t help but notice his attire when he picked us up from the airport. it’s almost as though he was trying to instigate us with a bright green Spartans shirt, knowing that we went to Michigan. alas, younger siblings are the worst, but they usually do take our recommendations to heart. don’t believe us? refer them to TWR and see what happens.

big idea: Facebook is worse than you thought it was...

1. we all know Facebook is evil, but chances are you didn’t think it was as bad as it actually is. leaked company documents obtained by WSJ demonstrate not only how toxic Facebook-owned Instagram is to teenagers’ mental health, but also how the entire company routinely breaks its own moderation rules if someone famous is involved. the reporting is already resulting in senators calling for additional hearings with Facebook leadership because of just how damning it is.
2. the internal data on Instagram users is particularly worrying. the company found that teens routinely and consistently blamed Instagram for anxiety and depression, and 40% of users said they felt “unattractive” after using the app. this is despite public and repeated denials by Zuckerberg & co that the company didn’t know this sort of stuff.
3. it was also revealed that Facebook has an internal list of 5.8 million users who can basically get away with posting anything without consequences. one example cited was the soccer superstar Neymar posting nude pictures of a woman without her consent, and the photos staying online for more than 24 hours. hey, we hate telling you we told you so...but there’s a reason we abandoned Facebook and Instagram years ago.

story to watch: australia buys some ‘murican nuclear submarines

1. the US announced wednesday that it would be selling top secret nuclear submarine technology to the land down under. this is technology and expertise the US has only ever shared with the UK before, so it’s a pretty huge deal. the agreement will no doubt mean bookoo bucks for the US, along with sending a strong message to the chinese that the US still views itself as a pacific power.
2. the deal made france all angry because the australians originally had a contract with them to build some old-fashioned diesel subs. nuclear submarines can travel longer, deeper, and more quietly than the old tech, explaining the switch. but really, making the french mad is just a plus. of note, the subs are only powered by nuclear reactors - there aren’t any nukes on board.
3. this will shift the balance of power in the region. this is the first real move the US has made in a decade-long “pivot to Asia”. it puts australia firmly on the side of america, despite its proximity to china, and is making europe’s pro-business stance with china increasingly untenable. both china and the US are trying to cage each other out in different parts of the world, and while europe has successfully kept both happy for the past few decades, that detente seems to be ending. 
4. the chinese response has been limited to economic warfare, perhaps signaling they do not want to further raise the temperature. they applied to join the free-trade pact formerly known as the TPP, which is currently made up of a group of dependable US allies. 

this week’s image: art is trash...or trash is art?

1. (The Guardian) an art display in indonesia includes 4,444 plastic bottles which were dumped as litter in a local river. one dude’s trash really can be another guy’s treasure.

this week’s number: 216 million potential climate migrants by 2050

• a newly published report found that under the worst case scenarios for climate change, up to 216 million people may be forced to move homes due to shifting weather patterns by 2050. even assuming the best possible conditions, 44 million will still likely have to move. the vast majority of these migrants currently live in north & sub-saharan africa and asia. 
• perhaps more worryingly, the report only tried to estimate the number of people who would stay within their country - there undoubtedly will be countless more people who will become climate refugees

reader mailbag:

• we got quite a bit of mail on our negative feedback on florida last issue. readers R.F., M.H., and A.A. all felt compelled to either agree wholeheartedly with our complaints, or say that comparing the state to an elbow (instead of...well, other body parts) was too generous. in any case, we’re coming for you next, ohio.

and, in case you missed it:

• Wikipedia shut down an extensive effort to insert a pro-china bias into articles
• Apple and Google removed pro-democracy apps from their app stores, caving into Russian government demands
• a socialist was somehow okay attending a gala which costs $300,000 per ticket because her dress had words on it

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!

we're in florida this week, and we're not ashamed to say this is our first time visiting the wrinkly elbow joint of america. who knew there was a state where alligators were the most sentient inhabitants? it's not that we're surprised that there's a state where there are more swamps than people, but having to keep our windshield wipers constantly on due to the humidity is still crazy. anyways, we'll be back to civilization by monday, but until then - enjoy our in-depth hottake on Jacob Zuma, the "florida man" of south africa.

big idea: nanny Joe is here to rescue us all

1. Joe unveiled his newest plan to beat COVID thursday, which basically boils down to...get vaccinated and quit the shenanigans. the highlights include requiring either vaccination or weekly testing for all employees who work for large businesses, all government contractors, and nearly all federal employees. that’ll cover an estimated 100 million people, or two-thirds of america’s working population.
2. this comes amid the delta-spike in cases, with 1,500 people dying daily from COVID and a new CDC study which found unvaccinated people are eleven times more likely to die from COVID than vaccinated smartie pants. it also comes after months of Dems essentially begging Joe to screw his critics and go full nanny state.
3. what finally changed Joe's mind? more than likely, his dropping poll numbers combined with a fully FDA-approved vaccine. his team finally realized that his critics were going to compare any move he made to an overbearing, interfering nanny state, so why not take actually effective policy steps to end the pandemic? states with higher vaccination rates clearly have fewer outbreaks and deaths, and it is time to replicate that success nationally. we'll have to wait and see though, if you're crazy enough to refuse the vaccine, you're probably crazy enough to quit your job over it too.

story to watch: TikTok beats YouTube in minutes used

1. a new report adds to the growing evidence that TikTok is the new social media app to beat. Android users in the US and UK spent more average time on TikTok per month than YouTube. in 2020, TikTok beat Facebook’s Messenger app to become the most downloaded app of the year, and now earns more money than YouTube per user. 
2. that’s phenomenal performance for an app which is barely five years old, especially when considering TikToks are three minutes long at most. because YouTube has more than double the number of users (two billion versus 700 million), it still has more time spent on its platform. to put things in perspective, 44% of all time on smartphones is spent on social media apps, so TikTok is at the very top of the app game.
3. like all the other massive social media platforms, this crown will no doubt shed more light on the shadiness of TikTok. its corporate owner is ByteDance, a chinese company which claims there is a firewall between the communist party and the massive amounts of data it collects on TikTok users. there are also growing concerns that TikTok’s content recommendation algorithm is incredibly addictive and essentially autoplays it into our youths’ hearts.

this week’s image: Lee finally surrenders

• (The Atlantic) a statue of Robert E Lee is dismantled in richmond. turns out the Civil War is the longest american war, not the Afghan War.

this week’s number: triple the number of women volunteer for office housework than men

1. a study found that women were nearly three times more likely to volunteer for non-promotable workplace tasks than men - 7% versus 2.6%. essentially, women are being forced into "office mom" roles which are critical to company culture but do nothing for the individual women's careers. 
2. the study is back in the news because of (of course) COVID. bosses are worried that their company culture is going down the drain, but as workers return to in-person work, some women are refusing to work for free. everyone loves the administrator who takes care of office birthdays, helps out new employees, and supervises the interns, but if none of those are part of her job description, why should she continue doing them? 

what we’re making: carrot halwa

• we usually stick to strictly american foods, but we recently tried to make some carrot halwa - and it was delicious. think carrot cake, just without the flour aka gluten-free before hipsters ever existed. we highly recommend serving a warmed scoop of halwa with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. it's like a brownie sundae, just...browner.

and, in case you missed it:

• teachers are working to undo months of QAnon and antivax brainwashing among students by their parents
• smoking pot has been found to be linked to higher rates of heart attacks in young adults
• this week, we’re the florida man - we flew to florida in the middle of hurricane season, and were surprised that it was rainy

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!

we were asked by our brother to recommend a new smartphone to buy - and we were stumped. on the one hand, we love our latest galaxy #android4life but that’s a pretty major life decision, up there with whether to buy or rent your first home or deciding if you’re team iron man or captain america. luckily, referring a friend to subscribe to TWR isn’t a huge deal at all! it’s free, and you’ll earn some swell prizes.

big idea: most abortions are outlawed in texas

1. we’re delving into a hot button social issue this week, which is unusual - really, who wants to hear three brown guys’ opinions on abortion anyways? but, this is big news so here we go: a 5-4 late-night supreme court ruling upheld a law banning most abortions in texas. this is no doubt the conservative court’s first step towards dismantling the right to a safe, elective abortion.
2. the supreme court originally enshrined that right into law nearly 50 years ago in a case called Roe v Wade, and conservatives have been attempting to erase that precedent for decades. the texas law, which is already being replicated by state legislatures around the south, seems to have done just that.
3. the law effectively bans all abortions after six weeks of pregancy, which accounts for 85% of all abortions in texas. Roe v Wade permitted abortion up until 22 weeks. the law was purposefully written to avoid court battles by leaving enforcement up to citizens rather than state authorities. instead of the state AG suing abortion clinics, an anti-abortion activist could round up a gang of friends to sue clinics instead, resulting in a potentially crippling number of lawsuits.
4. there’s a ton more to unpack here, from how the supreme court issued this ruling, to how John Roberts has effectively lost control of the court, to how big business is reacting to the ruling. you can read all that, and more, on this week’s hottake.

story to watch: Ikea pivots to sustainability

1. a year after introducing a furniture buyback program in most of the countries in which it operates, Ikea is piloting a similar resale operation here in the US. it’s part of Ikea’s efforts to become a more sustainable business, with the hope being consumers sell used furniture back to Ikea for store credit instead of just throwing out that $10 lamp.
2. Ikea is hoping customers will be okay with returning products for up to 50% back, and that other customers will be willing to buy those same products for a slight markup. this is a remarkable turnaround for a business which is almost defined by the disposable nature of its products, an incredibly environmentally-unfriendly practice. 
3. we’ll see how Ikea’s pilot goes, but other businesses known for their expendable products, like fast fashion brand Gap, are getting into the secondhand market too. we guess if you’re willing to buy a used t-shirt, a used mattress isn’t a huge stretch either...

this week’s image: raccoons gone wild

• (The Guardian) a finalist for this year’s comedy wildlife awards, a raccoon in france is caught trying to jump through a window. even the raccoons in france are just a little off, huh?

this week’s number: 235k jobs added last month

1. employers added just 235,000 jobs in august, well below expectations of over 700,000. the overall unemployment is 5.2%, while the black unemployment rate actually increased from 8.2% in july to 8.8% last month. the black unemployment rate is now almost exactly double the rate of unemployed whites, which is 4.5%. 
2. clearly, employers are simply propagating institutional racism. white high school drop-outs have a lower unemployment rate than black community college graduates, so the argument that more education means more jobs isn’t really holding true. the poor jobs report also comes as expanded unemployment aid ends this week for 7.5 million americans.

what we’re watching: “Only Murders in the Building”

1. this Hulu-exclusive premiered tuesday, and stars comedy icons martin short & steve martin and introduces an up-and-coming new actress, selena gomez. it’s either an homage or parody of true crime shows (depending on your perspective) but either way - it’s thrilling, funny, and perfectly paced.
2. the show has all three main characters start a podcast investigating a supposed suicide in their building, with every neighbor a suspect and every podcaster with a hidden backstory. email us if you know who the murderer is, because we think we figured it out...

and, in case you missed it:

• increasing its crackdown on what it views as undesirable social activities, china banned online gaming for minors on weekdays and “effeminate” men on TV
• Apple is delaying its spyware program after an outcry, which we covered in issue 26
• new jersey officials are denying rumors of a mass zoo escape after a text was sent claiming lions, bears, and gorillas were on the run. as if we needed another reason to avoid jersey...

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!

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amid the haze of dehydration brought on by the unforgiving august sun, we began to ponder life’s big questions. which came first, racoons’ bandit masks or their reputation for banditry? why does hollywood keep casting british actors despite their terrible american accents? what the heck are carbon tariffs and why should I care? well, we don’t have answers to the first two, but we did a deep dive on that last question in our weekly wednesday segment, hottakes. check it out before racoons steal your internet too.

big idea: afghanistan falls apart

1. a suicide bomber ripped through a crowd at kabul’s airport this week, killing nearly 200 afghan civilians and american soldiers. Joe’s argument that afghanistan is no longer a haven for terrorists is kaput - but the withdrawal continues. Joe resisted pressure to extend the withdrawal date beyond august. for once, we have a ‘murican foreign policy decision based on logic, not fear.
2. in response to the attack, a drone strike took place in eastern afghanistan, reportedly killing the planner of the operation. notably, the attack was organized by an offshoot of IS, perhaps the taliban’s most potent rival in the region.
3. more than 100k people have been airlifted out of kabul in recent days, with the massive operation already slowing pace. the europeans have more or less completed their evacuation, and the americans are not far behind. the taliban have increasingly cut off access to the airport to native afghans, who are now attempting to flee the country via its porous borders with iran and pakistan.
4. the taliban continues its PR offensive with the west, condemning the suicide bombing, allowing female civil servants to continue working, and meeting with american leaders, including the CIA director. 75% of the afghan government’s budget comes from foreign aid, so the taliban are more than willing to play ball.

story to watch: another tesla competitor is going public

1. Rivian, an EV startup based in michigan and california, filed paperwork for an IPO late this week. it’s clearly trying to capitalize on a booming stock market and the frenzy over electric vehicles. in many ways, Rivian is the anti-Tesla - it’s notoriously secretive, initially plans on making money with delivery vans instead of consumer products, and has major corporate investors like Amazon.
2. the company is aiming for an $80 billion valuation, well above the market caps of GM ($72 billion) and Ford ($53 billion), and almost double the $43 billion valuation another EV startup, Lucid, earned in july
3. this comes amid other big moves in the EV market. Waymo, Google’s play in the auto industry, recently replaced its CEO to speed commercialization efforts, a chinese EV company raised $500 million in a funding round, and Ford is doubling production of its EV truck amid higher than expected demand. who knew EVs could prove to be so...electric.

this week’s image: bear gone rogue

• (CNN) a bear in california attempts to break and enter. in his defense, some little blond girl broke into the bear’s house last week and ate a bunch of porridge. 

this week’s number: 1.6% of corporate giving targets criminal justice reform

1. a recent analysis found that of the $4.2 billion pledged by 50 of america’s largest companies in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the BLM movement, only $70 million, or 1.6% of that total, was given to charities involved in criminal justice reform. the vast majority of the money went instead towards education, health, and economic inequality causes.
2. while those latter causes are no doubt worthy endeavors, corporations are clearly afraid to touch the politically-sensitive issue of justice reform, despite an unjust system being most directly responsible for Floyd’s murder. we suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that big business is more scared of rich WASPs than your average black consumer.

what we’re reading: “Where You Are is Not Who You Are”

1. a brief memoir by the first-ever Black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Ursula Burns shares intimate details about her rise from summer intern to head honcho at Xerox. she discusses her upbringing in new york city’s projects, her turnaround of Xerox, and her mother, who inspired the book’s title.
2. Burns is now a corporate director at Uber, and it’s clear she’s not through with public life. what shines through her storytelling is a resiliency forged in the fires of overt sexism and racism she faced, a grit and unwillingness to quit which is hard to find these days.

and, in case you missed it:

• a 21-year-old kid turned out to be the hacker behind stealing data on 50 million T-Mobile customers
• the supreme court struck down Joe’s latest national eviction moratorium, while just 11% of rental aid has been distributed
• a florida family bought a house for 900k - despite there being an enormous oak tree growing out of the middle of the kitchen floor

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!

we’re continuing our new, wednesday deep dive articles called hottakes on our website at theweeklyrundown.us. we’re continuing our discussion of the origins of the arab-israeli conflict - this week, how a protest over the Wailing Wall led to the end of an uneasy peace after the british had taken over palestine.

big idea: afghanistan fell...already

1. well, that was quick readers. last week we cited US intelligence reports that kabul would fall to the taliban within 30 days, and it fell within 30 minutes of our issue’s publication. remind us again, why do we trust the US intelligence services?
2. anyways, afghanistan is in total chaos, with tens of thousands attempting to flee the country via land and air, its former (and cowardly) president in exile in the UAE, women afraid to venture outside their homes, helicopters ferrying americans from around kabul to the airport, billions of dollars of abandoned american military equipment being seized by the taliban, or really anyone who happens to be walking by.
3. this has turned out to be a huge mess for ol’ Joe, who was counting on at least a month to evacuate the thousands of american diplomats and contractors still in afghanistan. instead of an orderly sulk out the back door, he got a stampede at the kabul airport, live streamed for the world to see. Joe didn’t exactly handle things well once the taliban took kabul either, taking days to speak to the nation, and even then, mostly blaming others instead of taking responsibility for the loss of the capital.
4. it’s entirely unclear what’s going to happen now. no one really knows if the taliban will stick to its promises to not aid terrorists anymore and allow women in the public sphere. the afghan people have protested in a number of cities against the taliban takeover, and there are reports that opposition leaders are regrouping in traditionally anti-taliban ethnic areas. Joe’s approval numbers have hit an all-time low, and polling shows americans don’t know what the heck to think of the situation either. this was a quick, but not altogether surprising, end to the american occupation of afghanistan, where it’s pretty clear the afghan people have lost the most.

story to watch: will ‘murica learn from afghanistan?

1. we know, we know, talking about afghanistan for both our big idea & story to watch is cheating, but it’s the end of a generation-long war - what lessons (if any) ‘murica draws from this conflict is incredibly important. the intelligence failures from the start to end of this whole quandary were and are staggering, yet it’s unclear if any heads will roll in Joe’s administration.
2. the state and defense departments are already publicly pointing figures at the CIA and the rest of our alphabet soup of spy agencies, even though there’s plenty of blame to be spread around the whole bureaucracy. it’s alarmingly clear that we had literally no idea what was happening on the ground in much of afghanistan, let alone kabul itself. the taliban took over afghanistan quicker than NATO forces did after 9/11, which means the taliban had spent years negotiating and strategizing with local leaders to take control.

this week’s image: time for profanity

• (The Atlantic) public health posters on a subway station in new york city exhorts people in...profane terms to get vaccinated

this week’s number: Amazon sales total $610 billion

1. sales on Amazon totaled $610 billion from June 2020 to 2021, surpassing even Walmart, whose sales were $566 billion. this is the first time Amazon sold more stuff for more money than Walmart, which is the largest private employer in the US. sales at Amazon are difficult to calculate since most items on their website are sold by third party sellers, so that $610 is an estimate.
2. this comes even as Walmart had tremendous sales growth during COVID, and amid news that Amazon is planning to build department stores...hold on, we gotta get our checkbooks to pay the cashier

what we’re making: lemon olive oil tart

1. it’s summer, and if you’re desperate for a refreshing and tangy dessert, look no further - this lemon olive oil tart is just what you’re looking for. the combo sounds odd, but the olive oil keeps the tart light and crisp, not heavy.
2. you can serve it with some lightly sweetened and freshly whipped cream, but we’d recommend eating the tart as it is, straight from the fridge. it’s fruity, lip puckering, and bright, perfect for these muggy august days.

and, in case you missed it:

• china reportedly has a secret jail, or black site, in dubai for uyghurs and foreign dissidents
• facebook’s most popular post in the entire first quarter of this year was an anti-vaccine news story
• two lads found a note from a canadian fisherman in a bottle off the coast of ireland. the canadian apparently did not realize that mail, email, or carrier pigeons would’ve been faster.

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!

dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this email newsletter with its newly revamped website and expanded blog called hottakes. sorry guys, it’s summer and love is in the air. for real though, our new weekly deep dive into topics of import is going strong, and we’re continuing to look into the origins of the arab-israeli conflict. this week - how the british made conflicting promises to the arabs, zionists, and french after WWI. we’d say that’s surprising, but the english are pretty dumb.

big idea: afghanistan is falling to the taliban

1. the taliban has taken control of the majority of afghanistan, winning a stunning series of battles over this past week, just three weeks after the US military withdrew from the country. taliban forces took over the second and third largest afghan cities, most international border crossings, and are just seven miles south of kabul. american intelligence agencies predict they could militarily take control of the capital within a month.
2. Joe is scrambling - no one expected afghanistan to fall so quickly. the US embassy is being evacuated, with sensitive documents being destroyed. the US is trying to convince the taliban to spare our embassy when their inevitable attack on kabul begins. the afghan government is reportedly trying to reach a last-ditch power sharing agreement. so far, there is no indication that Joe will backtrack and send american troops back in.
3. the taliban has a clear military strategy. they’re funneling refugees into kabul to overwhelm the government, and are systematically surrounding the city to increase pressure. the government...doesn’t really know what they’re doing, despite $88 billion spent on training them over the past 20 years. reports indicate villages have surrendered to the taliban when as few as 10 militants show up.
4. there’s no sugar coating this - afghanistan will fall to taliban rule as inevitably as Mitch McConnell is slowly turning into a turtle. the taliban’s end game is unclear though - do they intend to take kabul by force, or are they betting they can force the government into surrender? 

story to watch: the SEC’s flexing

1. earlier this month, the SEC approved a NASDAQ proposal on corporate board diversity, and last week, the SEC chair said the commission is working on disclosure rules for carbon emissions. along with reports that the SEC will start monitoring private equity more closely, it’s clear that the investment regulation commission is stepping up.
2. the diversity proposal will require all companies which want to sell stocks on the NASDAQ to report the diversity of their corporate boards, and explain themselves if they don’t have any women or minorities in these leadership positions. the environmental disclosures being discussed would require corporations to publish climate-related risks and how much carbon they emit.
3. the SEC is clearly empowered under Joe and has been given a mandate - rein in the excesses of the markets and big business, and move the ball forward on important societal issues. who knew such a boring sounding commission could put out such exciting news?

this week’s image: school bus

• (The Guardian) children laugh in a literal school bus - a mobile classroom on wheels for poor indian communities. we’re pretty sure the teacher’s name is ms. frizzle.

this week’s number: only 57.8% of ‘murica is white

1. detailed data of last year’s census was released this week, revealing that the US is increasingly less white, at just 57.8% of the population. the hispanic population boomed, increasing by 25% since 2010, with the asian population also jumping by about a third. the number of americans identifying as multiracial also skyrocketed, mostly due to changes in how the census asked about race.
2. despite the growth in minorities, and as we discussed in issue 12, the US is still facing a baby bust and the resulting slower economic growth

reader mailbag:

1. reader S.R. reached out about our story last week on progressives losing big in recent elections, including a special house race in ohio. we pointed out that the progressive outraised the moderate (who won) by a 2:1 margin, but S.R. argued that was a moot point because super PACs, including the Democratic Majority for Israel, poured millions in on the moderate’s side.
2. even including that super PAC money though, the moderate still was at a cash disadvantage, and still won. if progressives want to elect dems who don’t unconditionally support israel, they should choose people who can actually win, not the most controversial person on twitter.

and, in case you missed it:

• the senate passed a bipartisan $550 billion infrastructure bill, which will now go to the house for approval
• Uber & Lyft prices continue to rise despite additional drivers on the services
• the olympics drew to a close, with NBC ratings falling to record lows
• a Canadian woman set an unofficial world record for speed...crawling, going 100 meters in 23 seconds

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!