I had to the good fortune of reading an early copy of Andrew Chow’s smartly researched and brightly written new book, Cryptomania (which I always say to the tune of “Lisztomania”). It joins Zeke Faux’s Number Go Up as one of the great chronicles of the crypto boom, and it’s out this week.
Is the new Jamie xx single about KOSA? Probably not, but it’s a bop.
Maybe the fears around AI are overblown, but if you’re going to argue that the human mind is more creative than a computer, then maybe you want to write sentences that are less embarrassing than what GPT might spit out.
As a copyeditor would say: watch for repetition.
but what about her favorite record?
Sure, the Brat summer memes might be the most prevalent ones for the new Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign. But I think this charming Kamala Holding Vinyls generator has the legs for great group chat fodder for weeks to come.
Director Gary Hustwit tells us about his living documentary and the technology that changes it for every screening.
Don’t worry, the new Floating Points single is here to give you a mid-afternoon jolt of throbbing electronica — perfect as you bop your head gently at your desk, gazing blankly at your email.
If you’ve been wrestling with the recent revelations about Alice Munro, Michelle Dean might have put it down best over at The Cut.
This piece is many things: a close reading of Munro’s work, an argument for what we can separate between an artist and their art, and ultimately a personal struggle evoked with lucidity in the face of moral ambiguity.
The sleepy town of Granbury, TX was in for a rude awakening when Marathon Digital Holdings opened a bitcoin mine — an operation that not only draws a lot of energy, but creates a tremendous amount of noise:
“We’re living in a nightmare,” Sarah Rosenkranz says... As rock music blares from the speakers and other patrons chatter away, Rosenkranz pulls out her phone and clocks 72 decibels on a sound meter app — the same level that she records in Indigo’s bedroom in the dead of night. In early 2023, her daughter began waking up, yelling and holding her ears. Indigo’s room directly faces the mine, which sits about a mile and a half away. She soon refused to sleep in her own room. She then developed so many ear infections that Rosenkranz pulled her from school in March and learned how to homeschool her for the rest of the semester.
This feature in Time by Andrew Chow is expertly reported. It’s difficult to prove a casual link between the mine’s constant racket and the town’s health, but it’s hard not to be alarmed by what Granbury residents are suffering from: migraines, vertigo, nausea, leaking ear fluids, and a number of other horrifying ailments.
In his new podcast Shell Game, journalist Evan Ratliff uses AI to clone his voice — and that AI clone tricks his friends and family, shows up to meetings, and even makes small talk with scammers. The show launches July 9, but you can listen to a trailer now.
Criterion Channel’s new film series spans four decades, featuring ‘70s conspiracy thrillers, (Night Moves and Blow Out), both Bad Lieutenant movies (Keitel and Cage), ‘90s favorites L.A. Confidential and Out of Sight, as well as the deeply underrated Coen brothers’ The Man Who Wasn’t There. There are plenty of others, too — perfect viewing if your summer is feeling a little too sunny.
[The Criterion Channel]