Kickoff For July 3, 2023

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I’ve found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.

New month, but not much else new. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of continuity.

Let’s get this Monday started with these links:

Your to-do list is sabotaging your true productivity. Here’s what to do instead, wherein Ayetekin Tank argues that instead of tackling a bunch of small tasks (many of which are not all that important) you should focus on one, big meaningful task.

REGAN Vest: Inside Denmark’s secret nuclear bunker, wherein we get a tour of a formerly secret Cold War facility that the Danish government intended to use to ensure continuity of government in the event of a nuclear war.

The Gruesome Ways Volcanoes Kill Fish, wherein we learn what a volcanic eruption does to undersea life, and about what scientists still need to learn about this.

The Modern World Is Aging Your Brain, wherein we learn about studies that compare brain ageing of people in industrial and non-industrial societies and the (maybe not) surprising results so far.

Domicide, wherein Regan Good takes us on a tour of several neolithic Turkish sites, which were large complexes of buildings that someones deliberately buried.

Channel None, wherein we learn about a news channel that was created for, and piped directly, to schools in the US but which also was concerted foray by corporations into classrooms.

Remembering America’s first social network: the landline telephone, wherein we dip into the what’s new is old again files and discover how the analog telephone not only helped masses of people connect but also informed how we communicate without seeing the person at the other end of the line.

The Filmmakers Who Voyaged Inside the Body, wherein we learn about Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, former anthropologists turned documentary makers, and what drives them to create the films that they do.

Bad Manors, wherein Kate Wagner looks at so-called McMansions, why they came about and flourished, and what their future might be.

And that’s it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.

Scott Nesbitt