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:
In 2015, Americans spent 9.78 billion hours filling out federal paperwork. The “sludge” of forms, waiting in lines, and dealing with government administrative burdens has taken its toll on us, as this review of a fascinating book on the subject reveals. - The New York Review of Books
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/04/04/paperwork-wading-through-sludge/
Baseball season has started, but it’s not the same game of happenstance it once was. Analytics and athletics have married into superior development of a wider pool of players near and far. - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/27/sports/baseball/mlb-preview.html
Sure, it had the future of the country in its hands, but this is a nice, lighthearted take on the Mueller report, written as would be a break-up letter. - Vanity Fair
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/03/thank-u-next-i-am-so-done-with-you-robert-s-mueller-iii
Mark Falkenberg, deputy managing editor
This sober dissection of U.S. Attorney General William Barr’s Mueller report summary makes plain that it’s premature for Republicans to gloat over Donald Trump's apparent skate on criminal charges - Washington Post
Ruben Bolling is the smartest cartoonist in the universe. Don’t believe me? Check out his latest ‘Super-Fun-Pak Comix.’ His gag about Schrödinger’s Cat had me laughing so much on the train this morning I got the fisheye from more than a few fellow passengers - Daily Kos
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1844394
Glen Korstrom, reporter
Here’s an interesting piece that underscores how consumer protection laws are much better for air travellers in the U.S. than in Canada. The opinon piece by a passenger explains how that person got a US$10,000 voucher for air travel after being bumped off an oversold flight. This would not happen in Canada, however, where passenger rights legislation is yet to be passed - NBC News
Navigating social media can be challenging for adults, but this extremely well-written piece from a 14-year-old girl reveals what it is like to finally be old enough to be allowed to join social media only to learn that she could not start with a clean slate. Her mom and sister had already documented who she was - Fast Company
https://www.fastcompany.com/90315706/kids-parents-social-media-sharing
Here’s a good long read on how cannabis companies are pitching Canadian doctors to prescribe their products, and with less oversight than Big Pharma companies are – Global News
https://globalnews.ca/news/5081814/marijuana-pot-companies-pitching-to-doctors/
Nelson Bennett, reporter
Global carbon emissions increased at a record pace in 2018, according to the International Energy Agency. Despite trillions of dollars of investments in renewable energy globally, carbon emissions have not decreased commensurately. This piece by Technology Review explains how the decreased emissions resulting from renewable energy investments got cancelled out. - Technology Review
Tyler Orton, reporter
A quarter of Europeans want AI to replace politicians. Is AI really as objective as people think? Here’s how biases can leak into machines, too. - Vox
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/3/27/18283992/ai-replace-politicians-europe-survey
Let’s pretend James Comey and Robert Mueller traded places in this universe — here’s how the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election may have played out different. - Al Jazeera
Hayley Woodin, reporter:
An international publication’s take on Trudeau, and how the Canadian public views him near the end of his firm term - The Economist
https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2019/03/23/voters-are-cooling-towards-justin-trudeau
The Canadian division of Philip Morris is hardly bankrupt, but it is claiming creditor protection as it tries to resolve pending litigation in Canada. The Canadian Cancer Society is not happy. The country is trying to recoup healthcare costs from Big Tobacco. - Bloomberg
