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 #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...