Societal Transformation

The world is being reorganized: how will we create meaning, and define ourselves, across changing ecosystems for commerce, connection, and communication?

A world turned upside-down

Coronavirus clarity, Ben Thompson (April 2020)
Inside the Dystopian, Post-Lockdown World of Wuhan, Sharon Chen et al (April 2020)
This is going to kill small-town America, David Gelles (April 2020)
The pandemic will change American retail forever, Derek Thompson (April 2020)
The coronavirus crisis is devastating the news industry, WaPost (April 2020)
Bear Stearns and the Narratives of Systemic Risk, Ben Hunt (April 2020)
Why farmers are dumping milk down the drain…, Elizabeth Ransom et al (April 2020)
Hidden Video and Whistleblower Reveal Gruesome Mass-Extermination Method for Iowa Pigs Amid Pandemic, Glenn Greenwald (May 2020)

Reorientation and apprehension

Inside the strip clubs of Instagram, Taylor Lorenz (April 2020)
The Failed State of America, Jeremy Scahill and Seth Ackerman interview (April 2020)
Nonvoters are Not Privileged…, Glenn Greenwald (April 2020)
First the People, Rusty Guinn (April 2020)
Steak-umm’s Twitter Account Is a Brilliant, Bizarre Voice of Reason…,  Kaila Hale-Stern (April 2020)
Fuck the Bread. The Bread is Over., Sabrina Orah Mark (May 2020)
A Looming Financial Meltdown for America’s Schools, Cory Turner (May 2020)
From Story to Setting, Venkat Rao (May 2020)
How U.S. cities lost precious time to protect black residents…, R. Samuels et al (June 2020)
Coronavirus Depletes the Keepers of Europe’s Memory, Jason Horowitz (June 2020)
Fundraising in the Age of Coronavirus, Lisa Houston (June 2020)
Big Moods, Little Moods, Venkatesh Rao (June 2020)
Journalism and the Pandemic Survey, ICFJ (June 2020)
There is no getting ‘back to normal,’ experts say., Nick Palton Walsh (September 2020)
I lived through collapse. America is already there., Indi Samarajiva (September 2020)
“I have a feeling in the next decade, there is going to be so much grift in the general economy…” – Venkatesh Rao [a thread] (November 2020)
2020 Taught Us How to Fix This, David Brooks (December 2020)

Reimagining and reprioritizing

From the Covid-19 Crisis to Rebuilding our Public Technology Infrastructure in Local Government, Hollie Russon Gilman (April 2020)
The Next Experiments in Elitism, Venkatesh Rao (July 2020)
Let’s Not Get Sentimental, Benjamin Fife and Taylor Hines (October 2020)
Technology, Data, and Design-Enabled Approaches for a More Effective, Responsive Social Safety Net, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation (October 2020)
As Relief Payments Decline, Community-Based Mutual Aid Expands, Steve Dubb (October 2020)
The Ministry for the Future, Kim Stanley Robinson

Zoom living

Another pandemic woe: Zoom fatigue, Scott Rosenberg (April 2020)
The reason Zoom calls drain your energy, Manyu Jiang (April 2020)
Lockdown was supposed to be an introvert’s paradise. It’s not., Abby Ohlheiser (April 2020)
What we can learn from coziness culture about the art of staying home, Linda Poon (April 2020)
What comes after Zoom, Benedict Evans (June 2020)
We’re All Socially Awkward Now, Kate Murphy (September 2020)
“You have to stop saying…” – @notalexmyers on TikTok
“Let’s hop into a zoom to circle back…” – @jonthewiggles on TikTok
“Just to piggyback…” – @theethanfields on TikTok