Five Things: Biohacking, Europe, Publishing, Vibes, Protein
It's Sunday. Read this now.
Hello and welcome back to Five Things!
So, this will be a very brief intro text this time. I’m writing this more or less between the episodes of the latest season of The Bear and it is so good that I am not allowed to type on my laptop while we are watching the show, let alone munch on chips. This is truly an amazing show and I have to try to make a Chicago-style beef sandwhich again, soon!
Anyhow, please read these Five Things now!
Snake Venom, Urine, and a Quest to Live Forever: Inside a Biohacking Conference Emboldened by MAHA
BIOHACKING IS A big tent, combining Silicon Valley technology, Burning Man spirituality, and health libertarianism. If anything unites this crowd, it is a distrust of the medical status quo—particularly the pharmaceutical industry—and an appetite for tech-heavy alternatives. Think folk medicine powered by AI. The movement started gaining major traction around 13 years ago, when Asprey began organizing a loose-knit band of health fanatics at his annual conferences. But its roots arguably go back much further.
I like tracking my health data and while I find biohacking interesting, most stuff goes way too far for my tastes.
Beware the Europe You Wish For
The fact that Europe is spending more on its own defense is in many ways good news for Americans. Thanks to the continent’s increased strength, Washington can now focus on China first and Russia second. There is a reason why generations of U.S. presidents from both parties have pushed for Europe to spend more on defense.
But before American officials pat themselves on the back or take a victory lap, they must understand the downsides of their success. Growing European power means the era of comfortable U.S. leadership is over. Now that it provides more for itself, Europe will feel less pressure to defer to Washington’s interests. It is less likely to buy American-made weapons. It might deny the United States the right to use American military bases in Europe for operations in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. And the continent is already holding up Washington’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine, restraining American officials in ways it previously wouldn’t.
It’s going to be a tough process, but Europe needs to define its own interests and act accordingly.
The End of Publishing as We Know It
Publishers have become accustomed to technological threats over the past two decades, perhaps most notably the loss of ad revenue to Facebook and Google, a company that was recently found to have an illegal monopoly in online advertising (though the company has said it will appeal the ruling). But the rise of generative AI may spell doom for the Fourth Estate: With AI, the tech industry even deprives publishers of an audience.
To new beginnings! Honestly, I do think the media industry is doomed if they don’t understand that they need to own the distribution again.
‘There Is No Intel’: Trump’s Attacks on Iran Were Based on Vibes, Sources Say
The attacks on Iran represent both a major escalation and a rapid shift in posture toward Iran. Not long ago, Trump was working to negotiate a nuclear agreement with Iran — a development that was somewhat ironic given Trump had withdrawn from Barack Obama’s Iran deal in his first term as president.
Across the federal government, senior officials and policymakers aren’t pretending that Trump’s claims of an imminent nuclear threat are built on anything but vibes, whether intentionally manufactured or not.
While I fundamentally think that it was necessary for Israel to attack Iran before the Mullahs got their nuclear weapon, I am also not surprised that Trump was acting because of what he sensed could look good on Fox News.
The Protein Madness Is Just Getting Started
Apparently protein shakes and protein bars don’t cut it anymore. Americans are so obsessed with protein that even an Arnold Palmer comes infused with it. Perhaps protein iced tea was inevitable. Whenever something is trendy, the food industry can’t help but push things to the extreme—consider “plant-based” peanut butter (as if the spread was not already vegetarian) and gluten-free pumpkin dog biscuits. But even compared with other food trends, the protein situation has gotten out of hand. Just last week, Starbucks announced that it’s piloting a high-protein, banana-flavored cold foam. There is protein water, Kardashian-branded protein popcorn, and “macho” protein pasta sauce. If you want to get drunk while bulking up, consider a protein-fortified pale ale or a “Swoleberry” spiked protein seltzer. Nothing is safe from the protein pandemonium. Name a food, and the protein version of it probably exists.
I’ve been eating cottage cheese excessively for many years now in my quest to lose and maintain weight. Now they even have high-protein cottage cheese and our son, who goes to the gym often, tried out high-protein milk the other day. While I see the benefits for me when I focus on protein in my diet, I really do think the food industry is taking it too far right now.
That’s it. Have a great Sunday! If you missed last Sunday’s edition of Five Things, have a look here:
— Nico