Hello friends,

I hope you’ve had a great week and are in good health and spirits. Things are crazy over here in the UK at the moment. The virus is out of control and cases, hospitalizations, and tragically, deaths, are at an all-time high. Right now, staying healthy and staying at home are the main priorities.

Hopefully, the vaccine rollouts around the globe and start to turn the tide on the virus and some form of normality can be restored.

In that time, I’ve been going a lot of writing and reading. One of my latest articles on Medium has been about the role of surveillance in society today and whether it’s impacting our behaviour for better or worse, you can read about by clicking the link below.

Is Surveillance Altering Our Behavior For Better Or Worse?

An unnoticed environmental problem

I came across this article on Medium the other day and was left perplexed and intrigued. Firstly, I had no idea there was an issue in relation to phosphorous. Secondly, if it’s as bad as the article suggests, it could add another layer to an already dangerous situation.

The next ten years are going to be critical for the planet. We’ve pushed the boundaries of what the Earth can tolerate for the past 150 years and those chickens are now coming home to roost. You might find a lot more stories like this making an appearance in the years to come as the effects of climate change start to be seen.

Peak Phosphorus May Be More Alarming Than Climate Change

How The Individual Came to Prominence

Adam Curtis is one of my favourite filmmakers. He has a unique way of making obscure and seemingly unrelated issues merge together in a way that makes you think how you didn’t see the connection yourself.

His finest work is arguably The Century of The Self, released in 2002. This four-part series looks at how individualism and those in power tried to use Sigmund Freud’s theories to control the crowd in an age of mass democracy.

The beauty of the documentary is that it shows the origins of the consumer culture that has become so pervasive now and how Freud’s theories were used by his nephew, Edward Bernays to change culture from a needs-based culture to one based on desires.

The series is four hours in total, but it’s well worth your time. It was originally released on the BBC, but you can watch all the episodes on YouTube for free. The first is below.

Tips for a better life

I came across this post the other day, and although it’s short, it has a lot of value. Have a read through and see which of these tips you can apply to make your life better!

100 Tips For A Better Life

Until later,

Tom