Welcome back for another edition of Hot Links! This time we’ll get a look at a surprisingly huge package scam out of Miami, the ways the oil industry manipulates its press coverage, the growing dangers of sports betting, behind-the-scene’s drama at Bravo and on the set of the new Francis Fold Coppola movie, liberal arts, economics, warp drives, and more!
The Package King of Miami
from Intelligencer
Freelance reporter Ezra Marcus profiles package scammer Matthew Bergwall to expose the rapidly growing criminal enterprise.
Link (Free*): https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/matthew-bergwall-miami-amazon-package-scam-package-refund.html
How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists
from The Nation
Over at The Nation, in collaboration with Drilled Media, Molly Taft exposes the ways that big oil companies like bp and Mobil have used their power to try and shape the coverage they receive from the media.
Link (Free*): https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/big-oil-fossil-fuel-journalism/
Sports is Betting it All on Gambling
from Defector
Sports-oriented site Defector takes a dim view of the rapidly growing sports betting market, from writer Corbin Smith.
Link (Free*): https://defector.com/sports-is-betting-it-all-on-gambling
Inside Andy Cohen’s Reality
from The Wall Street Journal
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that drama and controversy would surround a reality show empire, but it’s still interesting to read Ashley Wong and Sara Ashley O’Brien’s reportage on the latest behind the scenes turmoil at Bravo.
“Has This Guy Ever Made a Movie Before?” Francis Ford Coppola’s 40-Year Battle to Film Megalopolis
from The Guardian
Steve Rose pulls together various reports from people involved in the production and those who have seen an early screening to try and figure out if the $120m, self-funded project from the highly regarded auteur will be any good. Based on word from the Cannes film festival, where the film just premiered, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Do Liberal Arts Liberate?
from Aeon
University of California, Berkeley journalism professor and the author of The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy, Nick Romeo analyzes Jack London’s semi-autobiographical Martin Eden to ponder over the power of a liberal arts education and learning for its own sake.
Link (Free): https://aeon.co/essays/jack-london-martin-eden-and-the-liberal-education-in-us-life
Extravagances of Neoliberalism
from The Baffler
Benjamin Kunkel, author of Indecision, talks to economist Melinda Cooper about the inherent of flaws of the dominant economic theories shaping U.S. policy and looks at what might be a better way.
Link (Free*): https://thebaffler.com/latest/extravagances-of-neoliberalism-kunkel
Locks of Beethoven’s Hair Offer New Clues to the Mystery of His Deafness
from The New York Times
Gina Kolata reports that new analyses of remaining locks of the great composer’s hair reveal that incredibly high quantities of lead may have led to his myriad ailments.
“Warp Drives” May Be Possible Someday, New Study Suggests
from Space.com
Mike Wall summarizes a new study published in Classical and Quantum Gravity that posits that a “Warp Drive” that could allow spacecraft to reach nearly the speed of light could be possible, at least on paper.
Link (Free): https://www.space.com/warp-drive-possibilities-positive-energy
If Kevin Roose Was ChatGPT with a Spray-On Beard, Could Anyone Tell?
from Defector
Albert Burneko, assignment editor at Defector has a savage takedown of New York Times tech reporter Kevin Roose’s coverage of the latest version of ChatGPT.
Link (Free*): https://defector.com/if-kevin-roose-was-chatgpt-with-a-spray-on-beard-could-anyone-tell
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Cover image created with Midjourney prompt: grilling sausages with newsprint all over their surface.
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