September, 2018 | Chris Aldrich

🎧 “Caliphate,” Chapter 6: Paper Trail | New York Times

Listened to “Caliphate,” Chapter 6: Paper Trail by Rukmini Callimachi, Andy Mills from New York Times

“Something was off.” Rukmini’s doubt fuels a quest to uncover the truth.

Relistening to recall where we were in the story last so I can finish out the series.

🎧 “Caliphate,” Chapter 7: Mosul | New York Times

Listened to “Caliphate,” Chapter 7: Mosul by Rukmini Callimachi, Andy Mills from nytimes.com

What did ISIS leave behind as their hold on Mosul crumbled?

🎧 “Caliphate,” Chapter 8: The Briefcase | New York Times

Listened to “Caliphate,” Chapter 8: The Briefcase by Rukmini Callimachi, Andy Mills from New York Times

We found a trove of secret documents after Mosul fell. It led us to the mother of an ISIS official.

I love how this story really humanizes what is going on here compared with the soundbite snippets we hear from the US President at the moment. Things are far more complex and human, than they would seem. And what a fantastic little story this particular episode makes on so many levels. Mothers/sons, wealth/poverty, religion/bureaucracy, journalism/mystery and so much more.

🎧 “Caliphate,” Chapter 9: Prisoners, Part One | New York Times

Listened to “Caliphate,” Chapter 9: Prisoners, Part One by Rukmini Callimachi, Andy Mills from New York Times

Slavery was enmeshed in the theology of ISIS. Rukmini speaks to an ISIS detainee who challenges her to find the girl he enslaved. She does.

🎧 “Caliphate,” Chapter 9: Prisoners, Part Two | New York Times

Listened to “Caliphate,” Chapter 9: Prisoners, Part Two by Rukmini Callimachi, Andy Mills from New York Times

After three years in ISIS captivity, a young Yazidi girl returns to her family. Rukmini is there to witness it.

🎧 “Caliphate,” Chapter 10: One Year Later | New York Times

Listened to “Caliphate,” Chapter 10: One Year Later by Rukmini Callimachi, Andy Mills from New York Times

What does the future hold for the ISIS returnee who confessed to murder? And what does he believe now?

🎧 Should We Break Up Amazon? | Crazy/Genius | The Atlantic

Listened to Should We Break Up Amazon? from Crazy/Genius | The Atlantic

Has the Everything Store become a dangerous monopoly threatening the U.S. economy?

Some time later this year, Amazon could become the first trillion-dollar company in American history. Its valuation has already doubled in the last 14 months to about $800 billion, and Jeff Bezos, its founder and CEO, is officially the richest man on the planet.

There are ways in which Amazon seems to be the greatest company in American history. It’s revolutionized the global shopping experience and expanded into media and hardware, while operating on razor-thin margins that have astonished critics. But some now consider it the modern incarnation of a railroad monopoly, a logistics behemoth using its scale to destroy competition.

So what is Amazon: brilliant, dangerous, or both? That’s the subject of the latest episode of Crazy/Genius, our new podcast on technology and culture.

To build the case for breaking up the Everything Store, I talk to Scott Galloway, a professor of marketing at NYU and an outspoken critic of big tech, and Lina Khan, a researcher at the Open Markets Institute and a leading expert on antitrust policy. Both of them encourage me to see how a company famous for low prices can still behave in an anticompetitive manner. Making the case against heavy regulation for Amazon are Rob Atkinson, the president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a tech think tank, and Michael Mandel, an economist with the Progressive Policy Institute who researches technology and e-commerce. Both encourage me to focus not only on the hidden costs of Amazon’s largeness, but also on the hidden benefits.

hat tip: Atlantic Interview podcast feed

🎧 “General Chapman's Last Stand” Season 3 Episode 5 | Revisionist History

Listened to “General Chapman's Last Stand” Season 3 Episode 5 by Malcolm Gladwell from Revisionist History

"Good fences make good neighbors. Or maybe not."

General Leonard Chapman guided the Marines Corp through some of the most difficult years in its history. He was brilliant, organized, decisive and indefatigable. Then he turned his attention to the America’s immigration crisis. You think you want effective leadership? Be careful what you wish for.

A piece of history I was surprised to not have heard about with relation to current immigration policy. Also a great example of how policy makers need to be able to think 20 steps into the potential futures to realize the ramifications of what they’re doing an the effects it will have on future generations.

🎧 “The Hug Heard Round the World” Season 3 Episode 6 | Revisionist History

Listened to “The Hug Heard Round the World” Season 3 Episode 6 by Malcolm Gladwell from Revisionist History

"Q: Was there a period where you felt you had something to prove? A: The first 45 years of my life."

Sammy Davis Junior was one of the world’s greatest entertainers for the better part of half a century. He was black. But he thought the best way to succeed in the world was to act as if he wasn’t. Did we judge him too harshly?

I’m always astounded by some of the finer points that Gladwell comes up with. Taking a look back at this bit of history has a wonderfully enlightening idea. I was near tears at the end of the Roast segment.

I can also certainly relate to the idea of changing myself so as not to be an “outsider”.

👓 What really happened when two mathematicians tried to publish a paper on gender differences? The tale of the emails | Retraction Watch

Read What really happened when two mathematicians tried to publish a paper on gender differences? The tale of the emails (Retraction Watch)

Retraction Watch readers may be familiar with the story of a paper about gender differences by two mathematicians. Last month, in Weekend Reads, we highlighted an account of that story, which appea…

This article and the related links cover a lot of the questions I had when I read the original in Quillette the other day and only wish I’d had the time to follow up on as a result. Now to go on and read all the associated links and emails….

🎧 “Malcolm Gladwell’s 12 Rules for Life” Season 3 Episode 7 | Revisionist History

Listened to “Malcolm Gladwell's 12 Rules for Life” Season 3 Episode 7 by Malcolm Gladwell from Revisionist History

"Crucial life lessons from the end of hockey games, Idris Elba, and some Wall Street guys with a lot of time on their hands."

Revisionist History wades into the crowded self-help marketplace, with some help with from a band of math whizzes and Hollywood screenwriters. It's late in a hockey game, and you're losing. When should you pull your goalie? And what if you used that same logic when a bad guy breaks into your house and holds your entire family hostage? We think the unthinkable, so you don’t have to.

Why one should be a bit more disagreeable and “pull the goalie”.

Pulling the Goalie: Hockey and Investment Implications on SSRN.