ITK Sunday | May 14

Global Street Smarts.

Happy Sunday.

Here’s today’s ITK Sunday.

To be ITK, know this

Look out for my forthcoming book...

Always Be Communicating | How To Be A World-Class Geopolitical Business Communicator 

Dropping Q4 2023.

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How the World Really Works by Vaclav Smil — what powers our economies: From fossil fuels to food production: the Canadian scientist on the fundamental importance of energy in human affairs. FT

Ursula von der Leyen forged a bolder, stronger EU. Can she keep it? How the compromise candidate few thought much of drastically expanded the European Union’s power and ambition. FT

The twilight of the Anglosphere Newgeography

World's 10 biggest economies in 2028, projected by IMF:

 United States: $32.3 trillion

 China: $27.4 trillion

 India: $5.5 trillion

 Japan: $5.3 trillion

 Germany: $5 trillion

 United Kingdom: $4.2 trillion

 France: $3.3 trillion

 Brazil: $2.7 trillion

 Canada: $2.6 trillion

 Italy: $2.4 trillion

What really divides America Newgeography

A brief history of tech skepticism: Writing off emerging technologies too soon is a centuries-old practice. Are we right to be so dismissive? James Clive-Matthews

‘A race it might be impossible to stop’: How worried should we be about AI? Scientists are warning machine learning will soon outsmart humans – maybe it’s time for us to take note. Guardian

Miami’s love affair with crypto is souring as Bitcoin faithful flock to the city: On the eve of the annual Bitcoin conference, the city and its mayor have mostly moved on from crypto. WSJ

Tales from the crypto winter: Some acolytes lost faith, others blamed devils—and some went even harder. An essay exploring what happens when the prophecy of blockchain fails. Bloomberg

Top 10 lithium reserves:

 Bolivia: 21 million tons

 Argentina: 20 million tons

 Chile: 11 million tons

 Australia: 7.9 million tons

 China: 6.8 million tons

 Germany: 3.2 million tons

 Congo (Kinshasa): 3 million tons

 Canada: 2.9 million tons

 Mexico: 1.7 million tons

 Czechia: 1.3 million tons

How winning (or losing) a Grammy changes the music artists make Behavioral Science

Understanding neighborhoods and architecture as foundation of understanding preservation Newgeography

Savile Row is back in style — so why is the street so empty? Tailoring’s most famous destination has spent 50 years grappling with the existential threat of ready-to-wear. FT

An interview with Charlie LeDuff: Part Howard Stern, part Hunter S. Thompson, the Pulitzer winner-turned-local TV news performance artist no longer has corporate media overlords to please. Can he — and we — handle that? Hour

Michael J. Fox looks back on Hollywood triumphs, setbacks, and why ‘Parkinson’s is the gift that keeps on taking’ Variety

Julia Louis-Dreyfus on smoking weed, staying married, and bitching with Larry David: Star of You Hurt My Feelings opens up about everything from her hatred of Real Housewives to how she and Larry David connected on SNL. Rolling Stone

What’s the deal with adulthood? 25 years later, ‘Seinfeld’ feels revelatory. The show about nothing ended in May 1998. But in an era when priorities are being re-evaluated, the sitcom has taken on new relevance. NYT

Chores: The truth is that if we stop doing chores, we have to do real work instead. The things that aren’t repeatable or proven. The things that are emotionally difficult, creatively challenging or simply requiring exploration and guts to pursue. If we succeed at this work, there will be plenty of money to pay to get the chores done. Seth Godin

Smile, tell the truth, and have a good time doing it – the Glen Plake interview Source Magazine

Olympic swimming in the Seine? How Paris is remaking a river. Organizers of the 2024 Summer Games promised a waterway clean enough for Olympic swimmers and then Parisians to swim in. The job was bigger than anyone knew. NYT

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc 

Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal


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