The Monday Mix (10/10/2022)
Hi friends,
Not much to report this week and I’m late in sending this out so I’ll get to what I want to share this week.
What If We had Limitless Clean Energy?
The transition from fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy is one of the biggest challenges humanity faces in the next few decades, if not the biggest. Changing the whole structure of society to shift from oil, gas and coal to wind, solar and if we finally make a breakthrough, nuclear fusion will require a lot of work and a lot of money. But what will that world look like when, or maybe, if we do get there? This is the premise of this intriguing article that offers some tantalising possibilities.
The Gangland Killings That Rocked The Netherlands
When you think of the Netherlands, one of the things that don’t come to mind is gangland murders. When I was there in August, the country felt idyllic, peaceful and more at ease with itself than a lot of other countries I’ve visited and the one I currently live in. So it was a surprise reading the grisly detail in this shocking piece about how deep the gangland influence is entrenched in the Netherlands. It just goes to show that no matter how well-run countries are, and how open they appear to be, there are always problems lurking beneath the surface waiting to explode.
The Trauma Zone
This isn’t some kind of esoteric piece I’m sharing, rather a new documentary by one of my favourite filmmakers, Adam Curtis. I love his documentaries, as they make excellent use of archive footage and provide interesting historical insight on big topics of our time. His new series looks at the fall of Soviet Russia, the subsequent plunge into chaos and then the emergence of Vladimir Putin. It’s going to be different to his other films, without his unique style of narration and instead immerses the viewer in the ‘trauma’ of that period. It’s a timely piece which will try and explain why Russia has become the country it currently is and why Putin has been in power for so long.
It airs on the BBC iPlayers streaming service, so if you don’t live in the UK, you’ll need to use a VPN. Curtis’ films are popular so it’s likely they’ll be uploaded to YouTube or Thought Maybe more or less after they’ve been aired.
Book I’m reading - The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow
After reading Wengrow’s excellent What Makes Civilization? last week, I’ve started his book with David Graeber which touches on more of the stuff in his previous book. It’s a fascinating read, that challenges a lot of your preconceptions. One is about Native Americans and how they were much more politically imagined than we realise. I can’t recommend this book enough, even if it is 600 pages long!
Quote I’m pondering: – “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” – Albert Camus
That’s all for this week.
Until next time,