Weekend Edition: ‘It’s not violent, it’s change’

Welcome to the weekend, where time is of the essence.

3 years: That’s how long the US has until a major debt crisis if it doesn’t commit to reducing the deficit, Ray Dalio said on the Odd Lots podcast.

1 month: That’s the reprieve US carmakers got from 25% import tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, which could boost car prices by $12,000.

3 days: That’s how long Greenlanders have left to weigh their election’s most important issue — independence — before voting on March 11.

10 minutes: That’s the length of the walk from Harrods to Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie’s London penthouse, on the market for £6.9 million.

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Unintended Consequences

With Trump pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement and freezing funding for climate research, halting the destruction of our ecosystems seems harder than ever. But what if we’re thinking about biodiversity all wrong? Well-intentioned attempts to save local species are consistently stalling the massive energy transition needed to prevent those species’ destruction, David Fickling writes.

It’s easy to admire justice, whether for a native fish threatened by humans or a marginalized community threatened by those in power. In practice, justice is complicated. South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been held up as a model for countries wrestling with sectarian or racial divisions. But its failures left many South Africans indignant, writes Antony Sguazzin, and perpetuated an idea of the country as one in which crime goes unpunished.

If clinging to an idea can warp our worldview, so too can the failure to cling to anything. The digitization of photos and ticket stubs may be convenient, but it thins the tether between these bits of ephemera and the memories they represent, writes Amanda Mull. Humans have spent millennia imbuing objects with abstract significance, which is a lost art when all our memories only exist in our phones.

Dispatch

Japan
A robot with cat ears and blue eyes glances from side to side as it glides across a Tokyo restaurant, searching for the customers who ordered strawberry parfaits. “Your order’s here,” the robot says, arriving at a table with a crisp 90-degree turn. “Meow!”

Welcome to the workforce of the future in Japan, where the service industry is investing in robots to fill labor shortages in an aging population.

What We’re Reading

In The Breach, Alan McPherson argues that the Iran-Contra scandal should be plotted not as a minor sideshow in the Cold War’s final act, but as a key moment in the collapse of democratic norms, one that foreshadows the current moment.

In World Eaters, Catherine Bracy says venture capital’s focus on ‘blitzscaling’ produces four types of victims: VC firms, entrepreneurs ignored by them, limited partners and the rest of us.

In Holding Government to Account, three academics use England’s 1866 Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, which created a proto-DOGE, to show the pitfalls of ignoring value for money spent.

Keep an Eye On

Weekend Plans

What we’re ordering: an electric car. US drivers usually buy cars through dealerships, but legacy automakers are now taking a stab at direct sales.

What we’re rewatching: Office Space. When discussing DOGE’s cost-cutting playbook, Elon Musk jokes about being inspired by “the Bobs.”

What we’re saving for: a house. After ranking last for economic mobility, Charlotte, North Carolina, boosted support for first-time homebuyers.

What we’re farming: snow. Ski resorts have battled climate change by making synthetic snow. Now they’re piling up the real stuff and saving it.

One Last Thing

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