Each week, BIV staff will share with you some of the interesting stories we have found from around the web.
Kirk LaPointe, editor-in-chief:
Do we live in political bubbles, unaware of what others think? An innovative interactive map explores the politics of the United States, down to the districts, and examines where one’s allies and adversaries are living. There is surprising evidence of a lack of self-awareness. - The New York Times
It is not a given that Artificial Intelligence will kill jobs. It may create just as many. - Quartz
The growth of the “intellectual dark web” professes to overturn convention and eschew political correctness, but it has its critics and is not particularly new. - The Los Angeles Review of Books
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-intellectual-dark-web-is-nothing-new/#!
We’d likely want to think that co-ed sports are truly co-ed sports, but writer/athlete Catherine LeClair begs to differ. - Deadspin
https://deadspin.com/why-co-ed-sports-leagues-are-never-really-co-ed-1827699592
Timothy Renshaw, managing editor:
Driving school for flying cars: Google co-founder Larry Page’s Kitty Hawk company for training new flyers; get ready for airborne traffic jams - BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44881678
Emma Crawford Hampel, online editor:
Was Facebook inevitable? When the social media platform brought the news feed to life, many users claimed to hate it – but they kept using it.
Alexis Madrigal interviewed Siva Vaidhyanathan, the author of a new book, Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy, and asked the question: were we destined to live in a Facebook world?
“Behaviorism is embedded in Facebook,” Vaidhyanathan said in the interview. “They’ve been clear about this. Facebook is constantly tweaking its algorithms to try to dial up our positive emotional states, otherwise known as happiness.” - The Atlantic
Silicon Valley’s elite are planning for the apocalypse – which could come in the form of an environmental collapse, social unrest, a nuclear blast or an unstoppable virus – and when it comes, they are planning to leave the rest of us behind.
“It’s a reduction of human evolution to a video game that someone wins by finding the escape hatch and then letting a few of his BFFs come along for the ride. Will it be Musk, Bezos, Thiel … Zuckerberg?” - The Guardian
Anna Liczmanska, editorial researcher:
According to NGO Global Witness, 207 environmental and land defenders have been killed in 2017. - Global Witness
Glen Korstrom, reporter:
Was engrossed with this data-driven expose that attempts to determine the extent to which there are empty homes in Vancouver. – Mountain Doodles blog
https://doodles.mountainmath.ca/blog/2018/07/22/fact-checking-vancouver-s-swamp-drainers/
Carrie Schmidt, editorial researcher:
Taffy Brodesser-Akner is currently one of my favourite writers on all things pop culture. Here, she eviscerates Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop. - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/magazine/big-business-gwyneth-paltrow-wellness.html
Hayley Woodin, reporter:
A great long-read that lays the groundwork for understanding how Facebook became embroiled in political advertising, privacy and fake news fiascos. Set aside some time, and take a dive into the two years that shook Facebook – and the world. - Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-2-years-of-hell/
For the first time in history, The Guardian is making more money from its digital operations than its print ones. Its future is now dependent on 10 million online readers. - The Guardian
Albert Van Santvoort, reporter:
While all the surface level economic metrics are pointing to a booming economy, a deeper look into what is behind the numbers reveals what is the source of the growth. A look at the data shows that the poorest two thirds of Americans have been responsible for most of the consumption growth through increased debt. Rising interest rates and prices raise concerns about how sustainable this growth is. - Reuters
What happens to a local economy when Wall Street shows up? The following bloomberg piece explores the economic story of a small Kentucky county after private-equity deals came to town. - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-subprime-counties/
Nelson Bennett, reporter:
Why the U.S. should build a fast nuclear reactor, and do it fast. As Forbes points out in this story on next-gen nuclear power, “every leading climate scientist from Jim Hansen on down knows that we will not achieve any of our climate goals without a dramatic increase in both nuclear and renewables.” - Forbes
Getting your science from non-scientists is a bad idea. Chemist Blair King on “chemophobia” and how Maple Leaf succumbed to the FoodBabe crowd and dumbed down its ingredients list because they sounded too scary. - A Chemist in Langley
https://achemistinlangley.net/2018/07/24/on-using-chemophobia-to-try-and-sell-hot-dogs/
Overcoming the imposter syndrome. Hootsuite founder Ryan Holmes finds himself in a room with a Nobel prize winner and accomplished scientists to receive an award and wonders if he is worthy of the acclaim. - Ryan Holmes via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/overcoming-imposter-syndrome-entrepreneur-ryan-holmes/
Tyler Orton, reporter:
Foreign Direct Investment in Canada – The Case for Further Openness and Transparency: New report from C.D. Howe think tank breaks down Canada’s trouble attracting FDI and the easy steps it can take to attract more foreign investment. - C.C. Howe Institute
