Whales May Soon Be Talking to Us

Link and commentary for May 2024

Reminder that I’ll be livestreaming on X tonight at 9ET. I’ve figured out how to share my screen while doing it, so this should be fun. I think I’m going to scroll Twitter and make fun of what I see. Go here to provide support and ask a question. The minimum is $5, but long term the only way this is going to be worthwhile is if some people give significantly above that. I’m told that the business model of streaming is you just talk for a while but sometimes the big spenders come along and make it worth it.

Below are the links and commentary for May. Topics include the history of the settler movement in Israel, the civil war in Sudan, the insanity of Polish politics, Russia’s infiltration of Austrian intelligence, why prediction markets aren’t popular, land reform in Czarist Russia, whether the Industrial Revolution could have happened in Ancient Rome, deficit politics, the Kenyan cult that recently starved itself, and much more. Also, I review the movie Boyhood and explain what I think is the current status of the war in Gaza.

1) In a hugely underrated story, it looks perhaps more likely than not that whales have complex language. That would mean we might be able to talk to them. For all we know they're smarter than us! The podcast here is interspersed with the sounds of whale communication, which is an excellent use of the medium.

2) Bret Stephens writes what I argued on October 16 about Israel having no choice but to fight a real war, unlike the US. I don't think he copied the idea, people can converge on the same position, but I was ahead of the curve and the arguments remain true.

3) Interesting thread on what happened to the MySpace guy, but fascinating to find out at the end the author buys into conventional left wing narratives about the evils of social media. Wouldn’t have guessed that from the tone and aesthetics of the account. Are there more of these types, male lifestyle influencers who give off a pro-masculinity vibe but are completely conventional in their politics?

4) Highly recommend this profile of Yuval Bitton, the doctor (dentist) who saved Yahya Sinwar's life, and their relationship. As it turned out, Hamas ended up kidnapping Bitton's nephew on October 7. I like to read these things like fictional stories, so will not spoil the outcome (bad taste?). The most unique and interesting part for me is how Hamas kept order in prison, and the truly democratic nature of the movement, at least among its own members. The main takeaway: this is a serious movement led by serious people.

5) A man in his early 50s leaves messages threatening Marjorie Taylor-Greene, ends up getting a few months in federal prison. The Washington Post finds the guy and does a story on it, in podcast form, which includes clips from his FBI interrogation and other material (another excellent use of the medium). As you can imagine, the guy is a sad, mentally ill loser. Courts and counselors try to make these people better by encouraging them to pay less attention to politics. The guy doesn't seem to have any addictions, but if he did he'd probably be a "deaths of despair" candidate. I feel bad for him, but one genuinely wonders what the point of life is for someone like this.