Weekend Briefing No. 599
Local Kitchens in Gaza -- Chainsaw Economics -- New York's Underwater Gold
Welcome to the weekend.
Prime Numbers
3 — U.S. adults averaged 3 hours and 50 minutes of daily audio listening in Q2, with traditional radio still dominating at 64% of ad-supported listening time despite the rise of podcasts and streaming platforms.
15 — Geothermal energy currently meets less than 1% of global energy demand but could potentially reach 15% by 2050, though the industry faces competition for the limited pool of 264,555 U.S. geoscientists needed to achieve this growth.
13,326 — Los Angeles film production plummeted from a peak of 27,283 annual shooting days in 2021 to just 13,326 shooting days last year, with studio movies completely abandoning the city in favor of independent productions and other locations.
Local Kitchens in Gaza
Hot meals, not bulk food supplies, are the secret weapon against organized looting that's decimating humanitarian aid in Gaza. José Andrés, World Central Kitchen's founder, proposes abandoning the failed hub-based distribution system that forces starving families to walk miles through dangerous zones, replacing it with neighborhood-level cooking operations that deliver one million meals daily directly to shelters. The current Israeli-backed distribution model has paradoxically strengthened armed gangs who profit from stolen bulk supplies, while a blockade intended to pressure Hamas instead collapsed civil society entirely. This crisis demands immediate humanitarian corridors, five large cooking facilities in safe zones, and hundreds of community kitchens that transform food aid from a commodity worth stealing into prepared meals worth eating. New York Times (7 minutes)
Chainsaw Economics
Argentina's radical libertarian president, Javier Milei, just proved that sometimes the best economic policy is admitting your current system has failed spectacularly. Javier Milei slashed government spending by 31%, eliminated rent control, and devalued the peso by 50%, causing poverty to initially spike from 42% to 53% before dropping to 38% as growth returned and housing supply surged 195%. His success exposes the flaw in "macroleftist" thinking that treats deficit spending as a one-way ratchet, always fearing austerity more than unsustainable debt that fuels hyperinflation. The real lesson isn't that libertarian ideology always wins, but that countries should pragmatically swing toward whatever approach fixes their current problems rather than clinging to failed orthodoxies. Noahpinion (8 minutes)
Soulful Newsletters
Remember the last newsletter that actually made you pause and think? One that forced you to put down your morning coffee because the writing felt so…real, so human? The best newsletters tell stories that stick. Ideas that linger and stretch your brain. And they’re enjoyable to read. They enrich your day because you know another person invested time to craft something worth reading. If your newsletter isn’t doing this for your readers, check out this 10-step newsletter health check. If you’re looking for help, we’ve built Future Forest to make it effortless to write and produce newsletters with soul. Future Forest (Sponsored)
New York's Underwater Gold
Oyster farming has quietly become one of New York's fastest-growing industries, with 50 new farms sprouting across Long Island in just the past decade as the state pours millions into reviving what was once a $250 million annual business. These bivalve operations deliver a rare economic double-win: they're profitable businesses that actually improve water quality and create marine habitats, unlike traditional agriculture that requires pesticides and freshwater. Modern aquaculture innovators like Pico Oysters use vertical integration and gravity-fed algae systems to achieve 85% survival rates, while the global shellfish market is expected to grow by $20 billion over the next decade. Beyond commerce, organizations like Billion Oyster Project are using restaurant shell waste to rebuild reef ecosystems that protect coastlines from storms and support biodiversity throughout New York Harbor. Check out this video to learn more. Morning Brew (14 minutes)
Pentagon Goes Mining
The Defense Department just became a venture capitalist by purchasing $400 million in preferred stock to become the largest shareholder of MP Materials, a rare earth minerals company that's critical for manufacturing military weapons but currently depends on Chinese supply chains. This unprecedented move guarantees the Pentagon will buy 100% of the company's magnet production for a decade at $110 per kilogram, whether they need it or not, essentially creating a government-backed monopoly customer. The deal funds a massive $1 billion facility that will produce 10,000 metric tons of rare earth magnets by 2028, aiming to eliminate America's dependence on Chinese rare earth imports that are essential for defense systems. Rather than traditional procurement contracts, the military is now directly owning equity stakes in strategic supply chains, marking a dramatic shift toward state capitalism in critical industries. Quartz (4 minutes)
Robot Surgeons
A robot just completed an entire phase of gallbladder removal surgery without any human intervention, learning the procedure by watching surgical videos like a medical student cramming for exams. Johns Hopkins' SRT-H robot uses the same AI architecture as ChatGPT to understand and respond to voice commands during surgery, adapting in real-time when researchers deliberately changed its starting position and added fake blood to confuse its vision systems. Unlike previous surgical robots that followed rigid scripts in controlled environments, this system navigates the "messy, unpredictable reality" of actual patient care, performing 17 complex tasks with 100% accuracy across varying anatomical conditions. The breakthrough moves surgical robotics from programmed task execution to genuine procedural understanding, bringing autonomous surgery from science fiction to imminent clinical reality. HUB (4 minutes)
On Reading For Pleasure
A three-year-old can now read at the level of a nine-year-old after just one year of specialized tutoring that prioritizes reading for pleasure over traditional phonics drills. The secret weapon isn't flashcards or apps—it's treating books as entertainment rather than education, using spaced repetition through "spiral learning" that circles back to easier books while introducing harder ones. Neuroscience research on 10,000 children reveals that early reading for pleasure literally grows brain volume and correlates with better cognitive performance and fewer mental health issues, even after controlling for genetics and socioeconomic factors. This approach transforms parenting by creating an independent activity that replaces screen time: instead of iPads for long car rides or restaurant waits, young children carry books as their go-to entertainment. The Intrinsic Perspective (5 minutes)
Should We Work Together?
Hi! I’m Kyle. This newsletter is my passion project. When I’m not writing, I run a law firm that helps startups move fast without breaking things. Most founders want a trusted legal partner, but they hate surprise legal bills. At Westaway, we take care of your startup’s legal needs for a flat, monthly fee so you can control your costs and focus on scaling your business. If you’re interested, let’s jump on a call to see if you’re a good fit for the firm. Click here to schedule a one-on-one call with me.
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Weekend Wisdom
Books are a uniquely portable magic. — Stephen King