Tuesday 15th October 2024

America’s Foreign Policy Inertia - Foreign Affairs (No paywall)

As the world evolves, the United States must adapt or suffer the consequences. The process of adaptation, however, is usually plodding, if it happens at all. Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden each attempted to steer U.S. foreign policy in new directions but met resistance from both domestic and foreign actors. The difficulty they encountered is no surprise. Since World War II, many U.S. leaders have attempted to change the country’s foreign policy, and their efforts have often fallen short. Inertia is a powerful force.

Take the two-decade war in Afghanistan as a recent example. For years, the U.S. operation was failing, with little prospect of stabilizing the country and securing a democratic government. Yet bureaucratic and political interests in Washington obstructed efforts to change course. President Barack Obama and his successor, Trump, both talked about ending the war, but ultimately just reduced troop levels. Biden finally completed the U.S. withdrawal in 2021, honoring a deal Trump had made with the Taliban. When the withdrawal got messy, however, Biden ended up paying a political price, even though the policy had high public support.

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When American Voters Ignored the Warning Signs - Foreign Policy (No paywall)

A famous parable revolves around the troubled relationship between a scorpion and a frog. A scorpion needs to cross a river. Unable to swim, the scorpion asks a frog to carry him on his back. Listening to the request, the frog responds that he is hesitant because he fears that the scorpion will sting and kill him. After the scorpion assures his new friend that he would never do that, the frog agrees. Halfway through the journey, the scorpion stings the frog. Slowly dying, the frog asks, “Why did you do this?” The scorpion responds, “I’m sorry, but it’s in my nature.”

The story is a classic lesson about how dangerous people don’t usually change. Even when promising that they will act differently, the likelihood is that they won’t. It is also a tale about taking warning signs seriously. The frog understood the risks that he faced, yet he chose to ignore them.

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David Plouffe on Harris vs. Trump: ‘Too Close for Comfort’ - Intelligencer (No paywall)

The veteran strategist on the state of play for his boss, Kamala Harris, and what he thinks of the “bed-wetters.”

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The Hottest Startups in London in 2024 - WIRED (No paywall)

In the “Startup-up, Scale-up” review report published last year, chancellor Rachel Reeves promised to make Britain the “high growth, start-up hub of the world”. Now, almost six months into the new government, entrepreneurs remain encouraged by the promises made in the Labour manifesto. “The ambition embodied in Great British Energy and the 2030 decarbonization targets is precisely what we need and deserve,” says Shilpika Gautam, CEO of greentech startup Opna, about Labour’s energy policies. “It's high time the UK caught up with the policy and financing innovations in other countries, such as the Inflation Reduction Act in the US.”

Amit Gudka, founder of Field, agrees: “We welcome Labour’s plans to double onshore wind, triple solar and quadruple offshore wind by 2030. These plans are ambitious, but not unrealistic, provided the Government continues to make clear policy decisions and create a stable policy and regulatory environment.” Other sectors, such as healthcare, share the same cautious optimism. “Labour do have a greater political mandate to genuinely reform the NHS, and Wes Streeting in particular seems pragmatic,” Meri Beckwith, co-founder of Lindus Health, says. “He's signaled a greater willingness to work with private companies to address some of the really big challenges facing the NHS.”

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Africa fights rising hunger by looking to foods of the past - MIT Technology Review (No paywall)

Researchers, farmers, and global agricultural institutions are embracing long-neglected crops that promise better nutrition and more resilience to the changing climate.

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Nobel economics prize goes to trio for research into reasons why some countries succeed and others fail - Fortune (No paywall)

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Inside AI's $1 Trillion Cash Bonfire

Generative AI has lured an enormous amount of capital. Indeed, Goldman Sachs estimates companies will spend $1 trillion to use AI chatbots in their operations. A recent example of such capital flows is OpenAI's recent $6 billion capital raise. This October 2024 investment nearly doubled the ChatGPT provider's private market value to $157 billion, according to The New York Times.

The battle between two fears, missing out on the next big thing and big lawsuits or reputational damage, makes it hard for companies to earn a return on that investment. Keeping that $1 trillion from going up in flames depends on whether generative AI can find a killer app.


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Scientists Just Discovered Travel Can Actually Slow Aging

When it comes to covering the latest scientific insights on the benefits of travel, I confess I am not a neutral observer. These days, I have a school-age daughter and live a more rooted life, but in my younger years I was a travel fanatic, living in four different countries and visiting dozens more. 

I have always loved travel because it expands my mind and makes me feel alive. To me, it just always seemed an unconscionable waste to be born on such an unfathomably beautiful planet and not make an attempt to see as much of it as you could. But maybe I am just a weirdo (this has been suggested to me before). 


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How a Near-Death Experience Inspired This Founder to Revolutionize Office Lunch

His company, Sharebite, allows companies to provide free lunch as a workplace benefit, whether employees are in-person, hybrid, or remote. And business is booming: Sharebite, founded in 2016, has grown by 4,914 percent over the past three years and ranked number 56 on this year's Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country.

Rao says this forced him to take a long, hard look at what he'd accomplished in life. And while he hadn't yet conceived of the exact business that would become Sharebite, he felt motivated to become a force for good in the world. "I certainly thought about the mission … of helping align the incentives for the private sector to undertake the burden of public good," he says.


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A Small Business Owner's Guide to Getting Political

After Danielle Romanetti, the owner of Fibre Space in Alexandria, Virginia, hosted Kamala Harris's visit in 2021, she saw a $30,000 windfall—and a surge in troll attacks. How she suggests dealing with attention, even if it's negative.

Politicians dropping into local shops to chat with the owners and customers is a classic part of American politics. Just as predictable as the folksy photo ops is the backlash that often follows, when media outlets dissect the visit and members of the opposing party scrutinize the motivations of the shop owners.  


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