Daily Picks

Tuesday, 8 September 2026

10 new posts

Sunset over Trommekilen, a part of Brofjorden, as seen from Norrkila, Lysekil Municipality, Sweden

W.carter · Wikimedia Commons · CC0

404 Media
Tech404 MediaJoseph Cox

Border Patrol tracks your banking to find an excuse to pull you overA Secretive DHS ‘Predictive Policing’ Unit is Analyzing Americans’ Financial Habits and Pulling Them Over

TL;DR

A secretive CBP predictive policing unit analyzes Americans' financial activity to identify targets, then has local police stop them under other pretexts, which legal experts say is unconstitutional.

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Rest of World
Business & ProductRest of WorldIndranil Ghosh

Driven 5 years, an EV won't sell in China. Who's next?Think your EV holds its value? China has some bad news for you

TL;DR

Used electric vehicles in China are depreciating sharply because battery health cannot be assessed, foreshadowing the same problem for countries that have imported Chinese EVs.

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Conversable Economist
Economics & PolicyConversable Economistconversableeconomist

Work is more than a paycheck: losing a job can cost you years of lifeThe Latent Benefits of Work

TL;DR

The hidden benefits of work—health, happiness, skills, and social connections—far exceed the paycheck, and losing a job can be devastating across the board, even shortening life expectancy.

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Nautilus
Science & HealthNautilusTim Vernimmen

Dictatorship isn't inevitable: archaeology overturns a 500-year-old scriptWhat Archaeology Reveals About the Rise of All-Powerful Rulers

TL;DR

Early civilizations were not destined for dictatorship; whether resources could be monopolized was key to the rise of autocracy.

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The Conversation
Life & WorkThe Conversation

Wilderness survival: the old computer game still teaches it rightCould you survive The Oregon Trail? An emergency medicine doctor offers tips on how to not die in the great outdoors

TL;DR

The wilderness survival tips that the vintage computer game The Oregon Trail taught players still apply to modern outdoor adventures.

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ChinaTalk
Business & ProductChinaTalkNick Corvino

US-China Biosecurity Cooperation: Start by Screening DNA OrdersUS-China Biorisk Cooperation: Yes, It’s Possible

TL;DR

Gene synthesis screening is one of the few US-China AI biosecurity measures both sides can adopt independently, see each other's commitment, and pursue without sacrificing core interests.

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Works in Progress
TechWorks in Progress

Inside 64K of Memory, the Seed of a UniverseVirtual worlds

TL;DR

A cheap computer dismissed as a 'game machine' spawned the first virtual world through its low-cost online service, shaping today's social networks and games.

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Not Boring
Society & IdeasNot BoringPacky McCormick

How AI Turned an '80s Western into Everyone's Summer ReadEveryone is Reading Lonesome Dove

TL;DR

Large language models are reshaping how culture is discovered, turning a 1985 Western novel, Lonesome Dove, into a collective reading phenomenon.

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硅谷居士
Investing硅谷居士

Selling stocks for a house down payment cost $200,000 in taxes认知不足让我多交了20万美元的税

TL;DR

Selling stock funds to finance a home purchase triggers a hefty capital gains tax; using a securities-backed loan instead can save a fortune.

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Klement on Investing
InvestingKlement on InvestingJoachim Klement

Southeast Asia emerges as a haven for US and Chinese investmentSoutheast Asia as the new investment hub

TL;DR

After US tariffs, both American and Chinese firms cut back on investing in China and rushed into Southeast Asia, boosting the region's economy.

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