TLP Weekend Edition (August 3-4, 2024)

What we're reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

Brazil's Gabriel Medina in the 5th heat of the men's third round Olympic surfing event in Tahiti. Medal rounds are on Saturday. (Photo: Jerome Brouillet/Getty Images)

📖 “Biden's Legacy: A Summary,” by Noah Smith. On his excellent Substack newsletter, Noahpinion, Smith offers a thorough summary of the Biden years, with lots of interesting data in nine areas examining both the successes and failures of his presidency. Even where you disagree, you will find it useful. Very pertinent to consider as we move into a new era.

So I’m going to go through nine major challenges that Biden faced as president, and give my assessment of how he handled each one. I’ll start with economic issues and then move on to foreign policy, social policy, and politics.

1. Covid and the economic recovery

2. Manufacturing and industrial policy

3. Inflation and deficits

4. Afghanistan

5. Ukraine

6. China

7. Immigration and the border

8. Crime and social policy

9. Party politics and elections

📖 “What Is America’s Gender War Actually About?” by Derek Thompson. In The Atlantic, Derek Thompson takes a look at the widening political divide between men and women these days and explores some of the reasons behind it:

In 1999, women ages 18 to 29 were five percentage points more likely than men to say they were “very liberal.” In 2023, the gap expanded to 15 percentage points. While young women are clearly moving left, some evidence suggests that young men are drifting right. From 2017 to 2024, the share of men under 30 who said the U.S. has gone “too far” promoting gender equality more than doubled, according to data shared by Daniel Cox, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a free-market think tank. Gallup data show that young men are now leaning toward the Republican Party more than at any other point this century.

Thompson examines several theories about the schism and leans towards the argument that the parties are actually more divided by views on gender than they are on gender itself. Check it out and determine for yourself!

📚 Germany 1923: Hyperinflation, Hitler’s Putsch, and Democracy in Crisis, by Volker Ullrich. This detailed yet accessible book by German historian Volker Ullrich examines the political, cultural, and social trends that threatened Germany’s young democracy in this pivotal year. Although the Weimar Republic would survive multiple economic and political crises in 1923, and achieve relative stability in the aftermath, these developments set in motion the forces that would ultimately tear apart the country and shape world events a decade later. As the summary explains:

By November 20, 1923, a dollar was worth an incomprehensible 4.2 trillion marks, and a loaf of bread cost 200 billion. Facing the abyss, many ordinary Germans called for a national messiah. Among the figures to vie for that role was Hitler, a thirty-four-year-old veteran who possessed a uniquely malevolent personal magnetism. Although the Nazi coup in November was put down and Hitler arrested, the putsch showed just how tenuous the first German democracy, the Weimar Republic, was at its core.

🏄🏻‍♂️ Olympic Surfing Medal Rounds, from Tahiti. Assuming the weather cooperates, the semis and finals of men’s and women’s Olympic surfing will be held at Teahupo’o, Tahiti starting at 1PM ET on Saturday. Brazilian Gabriel Medina will compete with Alonso Correa, Kauli Vaast, and Jack Robinson in the men’s semis after starring in one of the best Olympic photos ever (above).

🎶 “Stream,” by Fergus McCreadie. Jazz pianist/composer Fergus McCreadie and his trio are back with another cracking album of songs thematically connected to all things water. His blend of jazz and Scottish folk styles makes for a great listen on your weekend walk or porch session. Check out the song “Stony Gate” from the album played live at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival.