These companies want to yassify ur embryos
their golden child did fake skull science on me
It’s been a while since I’ve written a ‘variety’ post AKA one where I tell you what I’m into, give you a healthcare industry pulse check, and tell you what I’m up to. I started a new job, launched a podcast, and am practicing the art form I’ll never perfect (ballet). I love dabbling. Jack of all trades, master of none, though OFTENTIMES BETTER THAN A MASTER OF ONE. And don’t you forget it. Thank you for being so patient~
Today, in the letter, I argue for exposing ourselves to pseudoscience to practice critical thought, and ask if Spotify is feeding me industry plants. Behind the paywall, we chat GMO babies, where real BOTOX® comes from, and how the guy who let snakes bite him for sport might be our next public health hero. You can also find a sign-up link to my ballet studio’s Summer Intensive, if sweating in an old building without AC while kind people teach you ballet and modern dance sounds good to you. I will be there! Onward.
WHAT I’M INTO
Press Play: roll the dice by smerz
Are they industry plants? Maybe. The first time I listened to Smerz, it felt like a gift from the Spotify algorithm, so I looked Smerz up. They’re a Norwegian bestie duo based in Copenhagen + Oslo who have been on the scene for about a decade and are reminiscent of Coco + Clair Clair. You know I love all things Scandinavian, but it’s interesting how Smerz fraternizes classic American aesthetics with Scandi effortlessly cool. Frenzied electronics accompany the gals as they strut and pout through Las Vegas casinos and pawn shops. The swimmy POV music video looks like it was filmed through a potato, strumming that nostalgic chord that people crave in uncertain times. I imagine this is how hip-hop video vixens spent their days off in the ‘90s.
Borrow from your local public library: Breath by James Nestor
I borrowed this book from
as a beach read. It served its purpose, but I also yelled at Nestor many times while reading this. He makes some wild claims with the certainty and confidence rivaling LeBron James. For instance, ADHD is “directly attributed to difficulties during sleep.” To which I needed to remind him that correlation does not mean causation. Some of his claims are science-backed, others are vibes-based or anecdotal pseudoscience. Still, it’s worth reading if only to test your critical thinking skills.Anti-algorithm news: Trump’s sovereign-wealth fund won’t make America richer (The Economist)
I’d read Trump’s Feb 3rd executive order calling the Secretaries of Commerce and Treasury to form a sovereign wealth fund, but I didn’t know much more about that. Having read this piece, I’ve decided he wants a sovereign wealth fund because it sounds cool, not because it’s a strategic choice for our country. Countries like Norway and Singapore with sovereign wealth funds have them because they have more money than they know what to do with. So they choose to invest it. Us? We are $29T in debt. The Cato Institute (famously conservative/ libertarian thot tank) also thinks it’s a bad idea. Some think tariffs would inject capital into this fund. I imagine people willing to give Trump’s admin more control over their money would only consider it if it were fiscally strategic. The Economist states, “A state that taxes citizens or does not pay down debt in order to invest in risky assets should expect its borrowing costs to increase. Why should investors be happy with a 4% return on Treasuries if the government is chasing a 7% return in stocks?”
I like my investments where I can see them: Simmering in retirement accounts and CDs I never think about, or hard at work in mutual funds, ETFs, and sexy stocks I only look at when my financial advisor asks me what’s up. My money, my choice. But I can get behind it at the local level, for states like Alaska which has a wealth fund because they have MINERAL$sss. Even then, the ROI isn’t higher than that of private citizen investments. Did I miss the part where we found more natty resources on our land? No?
PULSE CHECK!
“Pulse Check” curates healthcare updates to complement the longer, more researched “On Health” pieces.
The new baby boom is polygenic embryo screening, and the new arms race is embryo gene editing.