Longform links: actual writing — a curated weekly roundup from Abnormal Returns

# What this roundup covers

This week's Abnormal Returns longform links collect essays, excerpts, interviews, and profiles across books, finance, and cultural journalism. The organizing idea is "actual writing" — the notion that writing preserves and extends learning in ways that biology and speech cannot, a point made in a highlighted Ben Thompson quote.

# Notable framing quote

# Books and excerpts to note

• Organize, Control, and Dominate (Roopika Risam) — a featured look at a book examining information and power (source: LA Review of Books).
• A Q&A with Francis Fukuyama about his memoir In the Realm of the Last Man (Reuters).
• Women (Blumenstein & Kapp, Vanity Fair), Sugar Coated (Nestlend & Sutherland, The Atlantic), Is This It: The Never-Ending Rise and Fall of the Strokes (Steven Hyden, The Ringer).
• A piece on bonds and public finance: reporting that governments worldwide are paying significantly more in interest (FT link flagged).

# Finance and markets coverage

• An overview of hedge funds' evolution: the largest hedge funds now rival big banks in scale (Yahoo Finance summary).
• A Bloomberg profile of Hudson River Trading co-founder Jason Carroll.
• Conversation and audio pieces on bond markets, including portfolio manager perspectives and book-related interviews.

# Longreads and cultural pieces

The linkfest highlights a range of longform essays and features:

• Longevity as mindset and dynastic age dynamics (Investing101 substack).
• NIMBYism connected to design and aesthetic worries (Works in Progress).
• A case study of Albanian opposition to a luxury resort tied to public figures (Slate).
• Long-run data on democracy's trajectory (Our World in Data).
• A New York Times feature on seaweed's rise as a commodity.
• Bloomberg reporting on whether AI could help us talk with animals and the ethical questions that raises.
• An Atlantic piece on the downsides of meditation.

# How the roundup is presented

# What to expect when following these links

• Subject areas span intellectual history, economics, markets, book excerpts, and cultural reportage.
• The pieces vary in format: written essays, book excerpts, Q&As, profiles, podcasts, and video interviews.

# Why this matters for readers

# Where to find more

Abnormal Returns publishes these longform link roundups weekly on Thursdays and maintains an archive of previous linkfests for browsing related topics and prior recommendations.