No surprise here, but scientists say 2023 will be the hottest year on record. / ABC News
Jakarta is sinking, and what happens next could come down to one billionaire's plan to save the city—which would also rake in profits for one of his businesses. / Bloomberg
The Electoral College never anticipated today's hyper-targeted campaigning, which confers the most persuadable voters with an outsized electoral voice. / The Washington Post [+]
Right to repair has been the norm for most of modern history. Still, tech giants try to cheat their way around it, though luckily “they also kind of suck at it.” / Noema
“Once the [Polish] government got word of the scheme, they weren't angry—they wanted in.” How forgers saved thousands of lives in World War II. / Atlas Obscura
What, exactly, do the Billboard charts measure? Because everything they appear to report on is data that is highly manipulatable by fans and other interests. / Can't Get Much Higher
Sad news, Robert Birnbaum, who conducted a number of vast, wide-ranging interviews with authors, has died. Here's a lovely remembrance of him. / The Morning News, Identity Theory
“By the first evening, they were drinking too much and gossiping.” On the great poets' brawl of '68. / Literary Hub
Here's what enters the public domain in 2024. / The Public Domain Review
“In an age where ubiquitous algorithms have made short-form video and shallow thinking inescapable,” magazines are a luxury experience. / GQ
Watch: Increasingly complex holiday gift wrapping—from a simple box to a tennis racquet. / YouTube
“Of all the sad Yuletides of my life, the one I spent guarding $100,000 worth of explosives on the surface of the moon tops the list.” / Longreads