Luke Jerod Kummer

Out today is @keachhagey.bsky.social's book "The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI and the Race to Invent the Future" a.co/d/4Y0wNCk. I was honored to help w/ research as she wrote a brilliant epic about Altman and the company behind ChatGPT. @nytimes.com called it "excellent and deeply reported." Enjoy!

Mesmerized by the new scores at Willow Place last night by Alon Nechushtan, Xu Zheng, Judith Berkson, Charlie Waters, Brady Wolff & Jesse Gelanik—oh, my lucky ears! Thanks Petr Kotik and S.E.M. Ensemble!

Mars, Greenland, Gaza…. [name the fourth person, entity or thing in this sequence]

In honor of Lunar New Year we made a tuk-tuk out of cardboard boxes—don't ask me why, but it was fun.... Welcome Year of the Wood Snake!

How Cops Catch Fugitives Like Luigi Mangione A former FBI agent spells out the methods law enforcement officials use to tighten their dragnet.

A former FBI agent to @jeffwise.bsky.social in @nymag.com on how Luigi Mangione tripped up and got caught: "Most of the time, criminality involves some touch of narcissism." (Also, the tip here about bus drivers is one that reporters might swipe.)
nymag.com/intelligence...

The Secular Syrian Opposition May Be Imploding More fallout from the U.S.-Russia deal

Wrote the linked @newrepublic.com article in 2013, ~1 month after the U.S.-Russia deal to destroy Syria's chemical weapons. Today, with a decade gone by and countless dead, including in Douma, those same chemical weapons sites are being bombed.
newrepublic.com/article/1153...

Such an arresting line: "She turned to me and asked, 'What if this is the best I ever feel again?'"

Powerful and thought-provoking indeed.

These are gorgeous! Can you imagine designing and engraving lettering like this by hand?.... Check out this neat Sanborn maps project by @brandonsilverman.bsky.social!

@adamwinkler.bsky.social quoting Hanna in the 'Skipped History' post by Ben Tumin above:

"He once famously quipped 'there are two things that are important in politics. The first is money. And I can't remember what the second one is.”

Professor Adam Winkler on Limitless Political Spending "We're still in the world that Mark Hanna created."

And here's an interesting discussion that touches on 'Dollar Mark' Hanna, the RNC chair who raised millions for William McKinley in 1896 and forever changed the course of financing presidential campaigns:

www.historynewsnetwork.org/blog/154649

P.S. Anton Troianovski did a nice job and has been a great bureau chief in Moscow—I certainly don't begrudge him a day at the spa!

Bathing in Oil at a Climate Summit? It Leaves a Stain. In Azerbaijan, site of the COP29 climate talks and a petrostate, people aren’t only proud of their oil. They swear by its health benefits and visit resorts to soak in it.

Here's 2024 take: www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/w...

Unrefined therapy in Azerbaijan | The National On the road Bathing in crude oil is reputed to soothe the skin and boost energy levels. But at Naftalan, the process of immersion is a far cry from luxurious spa pampering.

Just saw an article on bathing in crude oil in Azerbaijan. I wrote that in ~2010:

"While I don't consider myself shy, I can't remember a situation where I've been forced to disrobe before my taxi driver, and I hesitate, which makes things even more awkward"

www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/tr...

Unrefined therapy in Azerbaijan | The National On the road Bathing in crude oil is reputed to soothe the skin and boost energy levels. But at Naftalan, the process of immersion is a far cry from luxurious spa pampering.

Brought back memories!

(Circa 2010, roughly): www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/tr...

Read French's "A Continent for the Taking" years ago and since then have considered it a model for marrying on-the-ground reporting with scholarship. Was equally impressed by "Born in Blackness" recently. Much looking forward to new work by @hofrench.bsky.social out next summer.

Almost hard to believe @brihreed.bsky.social that at one time the same person could profess nonchalance....
classic.esquire.com/issue/199105...

Always a fan favorite! Congrats, Lito—well-deserved!

Amazon.com: Captivating Strangers: Early Arab Immigrants in the United States: 9798339913276: Jacobs, Linda K.: Books Amazon.com: Captivating Strangers: Early Arab Immigrants in the United States: 9798339913276: Jacobs, Linda K.: Books

Dr. Linda K. Jacobs' new book "Captivating Strangers" is a masterfully researched chronicle of this important and interesting community. And, as listeners of "Takers Mad" know, I find fascinating the connection between Buffalo Bill and the 'Bedouins troupes'!
www.amazon.com/Captivating-...

Episodes Check out this great listen on Audible.com. In Episodes, lifelong best friends Kat and Mara take listeners on an unfiltered journey through friendship, mental illness, and survival. Kat, a successful ...

Amid her 4th-round IVF, Kat Alexander tried to jump out the window. Her friend Mara Altman wanted to help. What happened next is one of the wildest stories I’ve ever heard. Love 'This American Life'? Ever have a friend in crisis? I highly recommend ‘Episodes’: www.audible.com/pd/Episodes-...