SCIENCE FOR PEOPLE WHO GIVE A SHIT
The Most Important Question

Essays Episodes

The weekly tent-pole essay, plus Action Steps. 10/10, you're welcome.
Issue #236: Amazon Held to Ransom (Not That One), COVID Doesn’t Discriminate (But We Do), Vaccinate the 99%
June 25, 2021

Issue #236: Amazon Held to Ransom (Not That One), COVID Doesn’t Discriminate (But We Do), Vaccinate the 99%

This week: it’s Bolsonaro all the way down; the 99%; 44 thousand patients can’t be wrong; “fire beats water” should be relegated to D&D; Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got fee...
Issue #234: Tripping Over Our Bootstraps, Cover My Crops, AI is as Bad as Us
June 11, 2021

Issue #234: Tripping Over Our Bootstraps, Cover My Crops, AI is as Bad as Us

This week: “Do not come”; The pandemic is not over for everyone; We can do better, can’t we? Cover crops; Language barriers in AI. Visit ImportantJobs.com to find your next role working on the frontlines of the future. Find l...
Issue #233: Big Renewable Energy, AI Isn’t All That (Yet), Hot Vax Summer
June 4, 2021

Issue #233: Big Renewable Energy, AI Isn’t All That (Yet), Hot Vax Summer

This week: bigger doesn’t mean better; COVAX has got next, finally; a brand new day… and vaccine; AI and medicine – so close, and yet so far. Visit ImportantJobs.com to find your next role working on the frontlines of the fut...
Issue #232: These Shrooms Aren’t Fungi, Climate Change Is Costly, Keep the Vaccines Rolling
May 28, 2021

Issue #232: These Shrooms Aren’t Fungi, Climate Change Is Costly, Keep the Vaccines Rolling

This week: a brutal day for oil; fungi on the move (not great); wastewater: so hot right now; paying for climate protection; vaccine inequities; and facial recognition on the way out (for now). Find links from this newsletter...
Do Better Better #18: Back to the Future
May 26, 2021

Do Better Better #18: Back to the Future

Synopsis: We can time travel to the past to understand how we got to where we are today. But the past doesn’t dictate the future - not anymore. So we have to look forward. The decisions we make today will guarantee that the w...
Issue #231: Electric Truck Boogaloo, Get Your Colon Checked, What’s Your Beef
May 21, 2021

Issue #231: Electric Truck Boogaloo, Get Your Colon Checked, What’s Your Beef

This week: An electric truck for the masses; India’s vaccine production stays home; Better cancer screening; Beef emissions. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email...
Issue #229: Fossil Fuel Funding, MDMA Magic, Leaky Legislation
May 7, 2021

Issue #229: Fossil Fuel Funding, MDMA Magic, Leaky Legislation

This week: fossil fuel financing under the microscope, India’s COVID summer, MDMA to the rescue, how to fix our water pipes. Psychedelics 101: Books, Documentaries, Podcasts, Science, and More – The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss...
Issue #228: Carbon Offset Upset, the COVID Baby Bust, Man vs. Mosquito
April 30, 2021

Issue #228: Carbon Offset Upset, the COVID Baby Bust, Man vs. Mosquito

This week: AI is going backwards; carbon offsets are a mirage; falling birthrates and COVID; the end of malaria?; Jordan’s out of water. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got fee...
Issue #227: Building a Better Battery, It’s Covid Crunch Time, I Was Promised Waterworld Wouldn’t Suck
April 23, 2021

Issue #227: Building a Better Battery, It’s Covid Crunch Time, I Was Promised Waterworld Wouldn’t Suck

This week: Batteries 101; too many vaccines, not enough takers; new antibiotics, but are they the right ones?; water disputes grow; AI gets the crack down Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/...
Issue #226: Show Me Receipts, I Like Those Odds, The Next Frontier in Your Fleshbag
April 16, 2021

Issue #226: Show Me Receipts, I Like Those Odds, The Next Frontier in Your Fleshbag

This week: Biden’s climate disclosures; Johnson & Johnson on pause; Odds of being infected post-vaccination; Biotech’s next decade; The EU draws up AI rules… and just in time Find links from this newsletter and more at import...
Issue #225: The Cost of Climate Change, Skeptical Evangelists, Algorithms for the Win
April 9, 2021

Issue #225: The Cost of Climate Change, Skeptical Evangelists, Algorithms for the Win

This week: Climate finance remains unregulated; God vs Vaccines; AI antibiotics are coming; New data on food waste since the 1960s Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback?...
Do Better Better #17: Start Over
April 7, 2021

Do Better Better #17: Start Over

Synopsis: Starting over sucks. But, like in Contra, maybe starting over is just the thing that’ll save the world. Do Better Better essays help you build mental models and ask questions about our changing world — for yourself,...
Issue #224: Biden Steps Up, The Take-Home Test You Hope to Fail, Why Green is Good
April 2, 2021

Issue #224: Biden Steps Up, The Take-Home Test You Hope to Fail, Why Green is Good

This week: Biden’s plan, explained; financial climate risk, uncovered; at-home COVID tests, approved; pesticide poisonings, revealed Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedbac...
Issue #223: Summer’s About to Get a Whole Lot Longer
March 26, 2021

Issue #223: Summer’s About to Get a Whole Lot Longer

This week: The Western drought grows; China’s vaccine exports; menthol cigarettes on the run; bacon and Alzheimer’s; croissants and cancer. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got ...
Issue #222: Low Hanging vs Game Changing: Why Not Both?, a Strong Cup of Joe, Waiting is the Hardest Part
March 19, 2021

Issue #222: Low Hanging vs Game Changing: Why Not Both?, a Strong Cup of Joe, Waiting is the Hardest Part

In brief: The most powerful Joe; when you’re really clear on COVID; Black maternal outcomes; how to understand the AI internal war Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback?...
Issue #221: Lab Trial & Error, Finding a Pain-Free Way to Treat Pain, How to Lose a Crop in 10 Days
March 12, 2021

Issue #221: Lab Trial & Error, Finding a Pain-Free Way to Treat Pain, How to Lose a Crop in 10 Days

In brief: Batteries are cheaper and increasingly everywhere; the best COVID treatments; a possible opioid alternative; cabbage is off the menu Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter G...
Issue #220: Sunk Costs are Sinking Cities, Finally the Food Chain is Essential, & Putting the “AI” in “Racist”
March 5, 2021

Issue #220: Sunk Costs are Sinking Cities, Finally the Food Chain is Essential, & Putting the “AI” in “Racist”

This week: Miami kicks the can down the road, relief for farmworkers, poor Twitter, how not to waste food, how not to do ethical A.I. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedba...
Issue #219: The Social Cost of Carbon, Not Enough Nurses, & Even Trump’s Corporate Bailouts Were Racist
Feb. 26, 2021

Issue #219: The Social Cost of Carbon, Not Enough Nurses, & Even Trump’s Corporate Bailouts Were Racist

This week: the price of climate change, how to re-open your office, a new wave of nurses, bailing out Black farmers. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedback? Email us at f...
Do Better Better #16: The Hard Work Starts Yesterday
Feb. 23, 2021

Do Better Better #16: The Hard Work Starts Yesterday

Synopsis: Where does America keep paying clean up costs, instead of doubling down on prevention? Do Better Better essays help you build mental models and ask questions about our changing world — for yourself, your family, and...
Issue #218: How to Help Texas, Catching Our Breath, & Creating Equitable Education
Feb. 19, 2021

Issue #218: How to Help Texas, Catching Our Breath, & Creating Equitable Education

This week: How to help Texas. Air pollution and infertility. A drastic life expectancy gap. A big test for higher education. And AI rethinks pesticides. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/ne...
Issue #217: Capitalism Gonna Capitalism, Vaccines Are Working, & The Secrets Hidden in Your Poop
Feb. 12, 2021

Issue #217: Capitalism Gonna Capitalism, Vaccines Are Working, & The Secrets Hidden in Your Poop

This week: Your gas stove and water heater are hiding a dirty secret; where COVID goes from here; and all the good your poop can do. Find links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletter Got feedbac...
Issue #216: Downsides of Living in the Future, Sustainable and Enjoyable Retirements, & Why You Should Upgrade Your Mask
Feb. 5, 2021

Issue #216: Downsides of Living in the Future, Sustainable and Enjoyable Retirements, & Why You Should Upgrade Your Mask

This week: The economic choices that have led us to a climate breaking point (and why the last year has prepared us to do something about it better than before, if we take action); what it will take to live a sustainable AND ...
Do Better Better #15: Overwhelm The System
Feb. 2, 2021

Do Better Better #15: Overwhelm The System

Synopsis: If we're going to defeat the systemic issues of today, we need to Overwhelm The System. Here's how. Do Better Better essays help you build mental models and ask questions about our changing world — for yourself, you...
Issue #215: Biden isn’t Throwing Away His Shot, COVID-19 Version Control, & Climate Change Christmas
Jan. 29, 2021

Issue #215: Biden isn’t Throwing Away His Shot, COVID-19 Version Control, & Climate Change Christmas

This week: Joe Biden has been president for about eight and a half days and the man’s not throwing away his shot when it comes to climate, environmental justice, COVID, or science in general; Santa’s packing EO’s and budget r...