Sunken Gold of A Cursed Ship & Baby Formula
Much needed distractions from the news cycle for the elections
Featured Articles
A Cursed Ship and the Fate of Its Sunken Gold
One reason to like Mondays is that we get to see the new articles from The New Yorker in their weekly issue. This week, we have a treat from Lauren Collins: A captivating read on the history and fate of the French East India Company ship Prince de Conty, which sank off the coast of Brittany in the 18th century, and the various people obsessed with recovering its lost cargo of gold. Follow the Prince's curse as it leads to the unraveling of lives and relationships.
One day, looking for distraction, Gay and Phil visited the Fitzwilliam Museum. Practically the first thing they saw when they walked into the gallery was Monet’s 1886 painting of a lion-shaped rock on Belle-Île. The Courters had never even been to the island, but now it seemed inescapable. It was as if the curse of the Prince de Conty were taunting them from a gilded frame. They wondered whether Monet had ever felt the ship’s intense aura. “We like to think of the gold under the sea while Monet painted without knowing about the wreck . . . or maybe he did,” Gay wrote to me one day.
U.S. Government and Baby Formulas Sold Overseas
I am cheating a little bit with this pick. It's not just one article but the latest in a series by ProPublica investigating the U.S. government's efforts to protect the formula industry's interests abroad despite public health concerns.
The latest installment is titled The Biden Administration Says Its Trade Policy Puts People Over Corporations. Documents on Baby Formula Show Otherwise. However, I recommend reading the article The U.S. Government Defended the Overseas Business Interests of Baby Formula Makers. Kids Paid the Price first, alongside Documents Show Internal Clash Before U.S. Officials Pushed to Weaken Toddler Formula Rules. The latter is also beautifully presented when read in a browser.
The United States cast the sole “no” vote against the international code, with the Reagan administration citing First Amendment protections on advertising. The Washington Post quoted a senior federal official who resigned over the decision, saying it would be “seen in the world as a victory for corporate interests.”
Other Articles Worth Reading
How to Pinpoint the H5N1 Mortality Rate in Humans
As concerns about the avian flu's potential impact grow, this article looks into the difficulties of determining the human mortality rate for H5N1. It highlights researchers' challenges navigating conflicting data and the uncertainty surrounding this virus. This is a timely read for anyone interested in public health and pandemic preparedness.
Outbreaks are like an iceberg where serious infections are immediately visible, but the larger numbers of mild infections are out of sight below the water line. . .
The Rich History of Ham Radio Culture
In this excerpt from Kristen Haring's book “Ham Radio’s Technical Culture,” we journey into the personal stories and communities that shaped these hobbyists' experiences. It's fascinating how these “hams” navigated the airwaves and their identities in a tightly-knit community. Maybe this story will interest you enough to buy the book.
“Code operators quickly learn one another’s ‘touch,'” wrote an Army radio specialist. “The way a person sends code is almost as distinctive as his voice.” Hams referred to this human accent detectable in code transmission as the sender’s “fist.”
Read it on The MIT Press Reader
Costco in Cancún
In what could be the most amusing read of the week, the author reflects on their experience at a Mexican resort booked through Costco Travel. It's an original, thoughtful, and witty look at how Costco's approach to savings shapes even the most indulgent escapes.
This is the Costco psychology: quality over brand; value over status. To be ripped off is to be taken for a sucker. It is to have your resources wasted, your hard-earned cash sucked into a delusion of taste, timeliness, or class. It is to be left with nothing; or worse, to be haunted by an alternate timeline in which you saved more money. Costco is a fortress against this loss, and the only vacation that my parents would allow is one that safeguarded against that mentality.
Simon Wu writes in The Paris Review
Online-gambling giants conquer U.S. with tactics deemed too tough for Britain
This Reuters special report explores the stark differences in customer protection measures between the U.K. and The United States. It raises important questions about accountability in an industry where the stakes are high—and so are the risks for vulnerable gamblers. It is a fine piece of investigative journalism, focusing on hard facts.
Another role for U.S. VIP managers is to “reactivate” high-spending clients who have stopped betting, industry insiders said. Josh Giaramita, a former BetMGM VIP manager, said measures included sending emails to inactive clients and on occasion, crediting their betting accounts to encourage them to play again.
Giaramita said he looked out for signs of problem gambling. But he added: “There's a very fine line between VIPs and someone with a gambling problem.”
