@Jake
I write about drinks, public policy, and other vices in Portland, Oregon. Co-founder of Seabird, the app you're using right now!
www.jacobgrier.comReads far and wide — 120 sources in 90 days
Also a writer — 5 original pieces this quarter
Chronicle of some weird scientific experiments: "What if McConnell really did manage to feed a memory to a worm?"
Are Memories Transferable — or Edible? | Quanta Magazine
In the 1960s, worm-training experiments and their strange implications captivated the nation. Columnist Claire L. Evans follows the neuroscientists who attempted to recapture the magic.
quantamagazine.org
We're in Sweden and trying apparently the hot new candy in America, Bubs. Not bad!
foodandwine.com
A short, fun post that's very relevant to my interests.
What People Buy at L.A.'s Only Magic Store
In Studio City, a last bastion of tricks, pranks, and Wonder Bubbles.
lamaterial.com
A case for not bringing optimization to flag design.
The flag stranglers - Works in Progress Magazine
Most flags used to be ugly. They were probably better that way.
worksinprogress.co
Neat profile of a man who's entire job is reading books to decide if they should be adapted into movies, written by one of his longtime bartenders.
The Man Who Reads Books For a Living (One Every Two Days)
When Clarke Speicher (spike-er) asked how I liked the screen adaptation of Train Dreams, Denis Johnson’s novella following the solitary logger Robert Granier in the early 20th-century American West…
lithub.com
I did not see this coming but I'm up to give it a listen.
Laura Marling Drops Surprise Raffi Covers Album
Laura Marling has always been good at covers, and in recent years she’s been indulging that talent a lot. The London singer-songwriter regularly records other people’s tunes and shares them on her Substack. As the great music journalist Will Hermes recently pointed out, those covers are mostly behind a paywall, and they include songs by…
stereogum.com
While I was in Warsaw this week for a conference on tobacco policy, the Australian government released its latest figures on the size of the illicit tobacco market. Its policies, often cited as world-leading, have led to illicit cigarettes encompassing 80% of the market, an incredible failure. Report here written by the host of the panel I was on.
Australia tried to tax smoking out of existence. Now 80% of tobacco Aussies consume is from the black market.
With cigarettes costing around $40 a pack, Australia’s war on smoking has become a case study in how prohibitionist policies create black markets, violence, and criminal power.
reason.com
An amazing cancer breakthrough paired with a warning that the US is losing ground to China in drug development.
The blood cancer that became solvable
Multiple myeloma is brutal. We may finally have a cure, but American regulatory inertia means that it was discovered abroad.
worksinprogress.co
Having followed coverage of this case for a long time, I'm happy to read this.
Richard Glossip on Life After Decades on Death Row
In an exclusive interview at home in Oklahoma City, Richard Glossip describes his first days of freedom in a world he hasn’t experienced for nearly 30 years.
theintercept.com
Easily the funniest thing I've read all week.
The 40 Most Rage-Inducing Problems in Tech
The bugs, broken apps, and nightmare customer-service bots we can't escape, presented as a blessed and sacred addendum to Pope Leo XIV’s new encyclical on AI
theringer.com
More bringing back the old web.
Meet Wander, a StumbleUpon-inspired tool for discovering the 'small web' | TechCrunch
This open source community project lets you create a StumbleUpon-like experience for recommending your favorite sites.
techcrunch.com
"Artists use dogs to do what both they and dogs are good at: telling us where to look."
Where Dogs Go On With Their Doggy Life
Why are there so many canines in fine art?
theatlantic.com
Ignore the headline (this has barely anything to do with AI), but it is an interesting Q&A if you're a fan.
‘AI isn’t going to have any beneficial influence on humans’: Beth Orton on creativity, craft and the inspirational power of David Bowie
Ahead of her new album, the singer-songwriter answers your questions on big 90s nights out, financial survival and the time a whole tube carriage serenaded her
theguardian.com
Interesting profile of possibly Japan's only woman yakuza and the decline of the country's organized crime syndicates.
‘The devil’s child’: the rise and fall of the only female yakuza
The long read: Mako Nishimura fought her way into the Japanese underworld, but drug addiction and the slow demise of organised crime gangs almost destroyed her
theguardian.com
Ok, one more link before I lose internet: on ramps, the taste of spring, and the tragedy of the commons.
It’s the Spring Vegetable That Makes Everyone Lose Their Minds. It May Not Be With Us for Much Longer.
This unassuming allium is a victim of its own success.
slate.com
One link before I board a flight to Amsterdam and may lose wifi: Taffy Brodesser-Akner, author of the excellent Fleischman Is in Trouble, profiles Tilly Norwood, as well as her creator.
I Profile Celebrities for a Living. Nothing Prepared Me for Tilly Norwood.
The A.I. actress on her craft, the future of film and how she definitely does not intend to murder us.
nytimes.com
This story on the gender politics in the Texas Senate race by a reporter with a long history of writing about the issue was unfairly maligned on Bluesky, not a great testament to how users on that site sometimes pile on things without actually reading them. It's actually quite a good and thoughtful piece!
npr.org
A bit of history and some very cool visualizations here on the long evolution of technology for observing the Sun.
How We See the Beautiful, Violent Sun | Quanta Magazine
Over hundreds of years, increasingly sophisticated instruments have revealed — and continue to reveal — the secrets of our star.
quantamagazine.org
A worthwhile post on the responses to Nick Kristof's recent reporting.
Israel Is a State Like Any Other, and Commits Atrocities Like Any Other Would
Israel acts like any other apartheid state, but receives a level of deference from the American government and press and public quite unlike any other.
liberalcurrents.com
Warzel on feeling like AI, and the experience of the web in general, is lacking human agency.
The Feeling of Control Slipping Away
AI is causing a crisis of agency.
theatlantic.com
New from me at The UnPopulist: on flavored vapes, RFK, and how Trump poisons everything, even the rare issue he gets sort of right.
Corruption Clouds the Administration’s Vaping Deregulation Push
Democrats should criticize not the policy but the motives behind it
theunpopulist.net
Big news in guitar circles: Following an unopposed court ruling in Germany, Fender is trying again to claim ownership of the Strat shape here in the US, potentially putting smaller makers out of business with legal threats.
Fender faces boycott after waging war on guitar rivals
The manufacturer is accused of seeking a monopoly by trying to stop others creating instruments with the same body shape
thetimes.com
On Portland's hot new sports team.
Falling for the Portland Fire
A thrilling arena, real money for the players, and (so far!) a winning record.
pdxmonthly.com
For the Portland Seabird crew: dining recommendations from the Gray Lady.
The 25 Best Restaurants in Portland, Ore., Right Now
The dining capital of the Pacific Northwest remains one of America’s great culinary cities.
nytimes.com
Toby Buckle is always worth reading, this week on how quickly political elites and the press in England have turned against trans citizens.
The End of Trans Rights in the UK Is the Start of Democratic Collapse
It's never just one minority.
liberalcurrents.com
Interview with Todd Snyder on the Ludlow suit, which popularized a slimmer profile and helped revitalize American menswear.
I Designed the J.Crew Ludlow Suit
Before Todd Snyder started his own brand, he created the suit that defined millennial menswear.
nymag.com
Is the dream of Blexas finally within reach thanks to the nomination of the uniquely corrupt Paxton?
A Blue Texas May Be More Than a Dream for Democrats
Ken Paxton’s victory for the Republican nomination and a big shift among Hispanic voters have put a Senate seat within reach.
nytimes.com
Excellent piece on a performer in an art form I admittedly know next to nothing about.
Denyce Graves’s Second Act
Denyce Graves is retiring from performing after a career as one of opera’s leading women. But there’s more work for her to do.
theatlantic.com
I won't say I agree with all of the anti-AI sentiment here, or even all the alleged cases of humans passing AI work as their own, but this is certainly a fun read with (I'm pretty sure) an authentic voice.
If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you
Did you think I wouldn’t be able to tell? I can tell.
samkriss.substack.com
Fun, short interview with a specialist in preserving data from old floppy disks.
What It Takes to Preserve Floppy Disks
Knowledge about the medium is as valuable as the content on the disk
spectrum.ieee.org
Portland singer Alela Diane's new album came out on Friday and I think it's her best yet. Well worth a listen, especially if you're into folk and Americana.
Alela Diane Turns Grief Into Grace on Radiant 'Who’s Keeping Time?' - Glide Magazine
At some point over the more than 20 years that she has been performing and recording, Alela Diane quietly became an American treasure. Every time she
glidemagazine.com
A Dr. Demento compilation was one of my favorite tapes to listen to as a kid, so this appreciation for his long-running radio show brought back some fun memories.
The DJ who brought America Weird Al, Tom Lehrer, and ‘Cows With Guns’
After 55 years, Dr. Demento has finally retired from the airwaves.
reason.com
Interview on the possibilities for ending the war with Iran, none of them including achievement of the US's barely explicated aims.
Why Any Plausible Iran Deal Is a Humiliation for Trump
Even as the U.S. claims to be nearing an agreement to end the conflict, Tehran’s ability to close the Strait of Hormuz and hold the global economy hostage has reinforced the power of regime hard-liners.
newyorker.com
The kind of personal essay that defies easy description, but somewhat about Marfa.
Roadside Attraction - The Offing
Essay - The Offing Magazine
theoffingmag.com
This is an older post found via a different story shared on Seabird, but it gets at my own conflicted experience with social media vs longer-form reading and writing (something Seabird is designed to address). On a related note, I'm very glad to have a coauthor on my next book who's genuinely good at and enjoys making short-form video content, so that I can reap the benefits of that promotion with no effort of my own!
I'm Done With Social Media
Or: why I have a blog now.
carolinecrampton.com
An optimistic case that way more Americans would really like owning an e-bike.
Why every American family should have an e-bike at home
There’s a sentence that still sounds slightly radical in much of America, even though millions of people elsewhere in the...
electrek.co
This really is a fantastic piece. And on a personal note, I was engrossed in reading it and had a real moment of surprise when one of my old bar industry friends made an appearance as the current owner of the old New Orleans mansion.
A Family Secret No More
One fateful decision 100 years ago created parallel lives. How does a family broken by the bizarre rules of racism heal itself after three generations apart?
nytimes.com
Timely news for the pizza-cooking weekend I'm about to have. I use Cento for sauce pretty often and it works great, but I was not aware of the brand's dodgy labeling practices.
Is This Can Comitting Tomato Fraud? - Scotts Pizza Tours
In a new class action lawsuit, plaintiffs in California accuse Cento Fine Foods, Inc of perpetrating a San Marzano tomato scandal.
scottspizzatours.com
Really interesting and well-done essay here for those of us who've been on the internet a while, before the era of platform dominance. Seabird certainly reflects nostalgia for that, even though we operate on the platform layer. But we intentionally design to put links first and don't aim to be the host space for back-and-forth discussion.
The Boring Internet
The internet you grew up on isn't dying. A commercial veneer glued on top of it is. A visual essay about what actually persists.
terrygodier.com
Walter Olson on the blatant corruption of the slush fund.
Trump's Slush Fund to Reward Jan. 6 Insurrectionists Is Grotesquely Corrupt
It also quietly excuses Trump and his family from accountability for underpaying past IRS tax bills
theunpopulist.net
Fun but not yet practical modeling: what waves could be like on Mars, Titan, and known exoplanets.
What Winds Whip Up Otherworldly Waves? - Eos
New research goes back to the basics to explain how atmospheric conditions affect the creation of wind-driven waves on other worlds.
eos.org
This is a terrible idea, but if they do want to try it in Portland first, say while I'm in Stockholm this summer and could get stranded and start a new life in Sweden, well I guess I'm open to it.
Homeland Security’s Plan to Squeeze International Flights
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told travel executives he may target airports in cities that don’t help ICE.
theatlantic.com
Truly wild story here, as Christian Britschgi, who normally covers much tamer aspects of zoning law and property rights, tags along with a group that sells the service of forcibly clearing squatters out of residences for landlords frustrated by California's cumbersome eviction process.
Samurai vs. squatters: On the street with the hired swords reclaiming California property owners' stolen homes
California has failed to protect private property from squatters. Desperate owners are turning to katana-wielding enforcers to reclaim their homes.
reason.com
Well, this certainly won't help lend any legitimacy to the administration's moves on flavored vapes.
A $5 Million Donation From Big Tobacco Preceded F.D.A. Vape Decision
Reynolds American’s contribution to MAGA Inc. came about one week before the Trump administration announced a new policy on e-cigarettes the company had sought.
nytimes.com
Of interest to us Seabirders in the Pacific Northwest: on the state of the art of predicting volcanic eruptions.
Will We Ever Be Able To Forecast Volcanic Eruptions Like Weather? | Quanta Magazine
It should be possible, but getting there will require a greater understanding of subsurface physics.
quantamagazine.org
On sheep, detective novels, and a case for reading the book rather that watching the movie.
What “The Sheep Detectives” Doesn’t Understand About Sheep
“The Sheep Detectives,” starring Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson, is based on a near-perfect “sheep crime novel”—but the adaptation shows disappointingly little interest in the animal mind.
newyorker.com
Speaking as a founder of this platform: links are good, actually!
Google Search as you know it is over | TechCrunch
Google is transforming Search from a list of links into an AI-powered experience filled with conversational answers, autonomous agents, and interactive interfaces — a shift that could further reduce traffic to publishers across the web.
techcrunch.com
Growing up, mahjong was the mystifying game played by my Jewish grandmother. (On my mom's side it was equally mystifying bridge.) Apparently it's having a revival, albeit with a not always amicable divide between American and Chinese versions of the game.
Traversing the Mahjong Multiverse
As mahjong grows in popularity, can the diverging fanbases come together?
coyotemedia.org
For fans of rare coffees...
A quietly ambitious mission to grow coffee in Hong Kong | CNN
A coffee roaster hums like an idling train in the attic of LCC Roastery, churning out freshly cooked beans at the artisan coffee seller on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island.
cnn.com
I would like to read a much longer piece on the subject of indigenous alcohol products in Africa and how they were displaced (sometimes forcibly) by European-style beers and spirits, but this is an interesting start.
Kenya’s war on traditional alcohol: a colonial hangover about what it means to be ‘civilised’
The Kenyan state’s war against traditional brews is driven by a colonial mentality.
theconversation.com
