It’s a wonder we ever make it to the checkout aisle. Modern grocery stores stock around 50,000 items in the United States. That’s a lot of decisions for shoppers, and a big historical change. As recently as 1975, the average supermarket stocked just 9,000 products. That number has been on the rise ever since. What’s […]
Flexible ways to make more money
You don’t need an innovative, paradigm-shifting business idea to be successful. You can start small and find business everywhere. It’s called a side hustle, and our latest Instaread will teach you how to build one. Fringe Benefits There’s one obvious reason to take on a side hustle: money. But there are other mental, emotional, and […]
How to get what you deserve
With every breath, we become new versions of ourselves. Acknowledging this helps us put more emphasis on our present purpose instead of past accomplishments or some vague future goal. We achieve real fulfillment when the risks, choices, and efforts we make in each given moment align with a larger purpose in life. No Regrets Most […]
Let’s avoid another arms race
Max Tegmark is a professor of physics at MIT. He’s also the president of the somewhat sinister sounding Future of Life Institute, the group that authored the letter asking for a six-month pause on the development of advanced artificial intelligence. You know, to preserve the future of humanity. What Needs Sorting? It’s easy to get […]
The next best thing to the Zuckerberg-Musk cage match
In all the reporting about Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s promotion of conspiracy theories — yes, he thinks the CIA killed his uncle — it’s easy to forget that the long-shot presidential hopeful has a pretty normal day job. Kennedy draws on his background as an environmental lawyer to critique George W. Bush’s presidency in our […]
How soccer became big business
Twenty teams. Thirty-eight games a team. Billions of people watching. The Premier League, England’s soccer entertainment empire, has enormous global reach—and it’s expanding every season. Our new Instaread looks at how the game has changed since the league was established in 1992. The Birth of an Industry In the 1980s, English soccer was struggling with […]
The business brawl of the century
When it was built in the 1960s, Caesars Palace was designed to be one of the most opulent hotels in Las Vegas. But after the financial crisis of 2008, the whole operation—which investors had assumed was impervious to swings in the economy—was in dire financial straits. By 2012, the possibility of bankruptcy was growing by […]
How to play the long game
Dr. Benjamin Hardy says that it’s so hard to imagine yourself years down the road that your future self is basically a stranger. We have to adjust our mindsets to compensate for this quirk of human psychology. Our latest Instaread can help you bridge the gap between your envisioned future and your current reality. Do […]
The history of easy money
Before there were coins or bills, there was interest. Creditors have been lending money (and before that, seeds and animals) since the eighth century BC. The Mesopotamians recorded their loans on clay tablets, not unlike your credit card companies or the bank that services your mortgage. The First Financial Crises We don’t know exactly when […]
Do you care about the future?
Human civilization is relatively young—and it could last for a very long time. If humanity manages to persist for millions of years, it means that those of us living today will be considered the ancients, living at the very beginning of history. Choose Wisely Ask yourself, are you a good ancestor? Or the type whose […]
