Rio, Voltaire, And Joey : See / Read / Listen To This: Issue #15

Super short edition today as work as been exploding lately. Should be back to normal length in two weeks!

See:

Inside Rio’s Favelas (9:00 on Youtube)

As the Olympics get underway, I’ve been seeing more and more about Rio. Half the pieces are harrowing and dark, revealing drugs, crime, and poverty. The other half are unrelentingly positive, focusing on the beauty of Rio and the athletes themselves. This short documentary from Vox splits the difference, using eye opening interviews with artists inside the favelas to reveal how the lawlessness is both a gift and a curse.The most mind-boggling takeaway has to do with rampant police brutality: in the US, police kill 1 person for every 37,000 arrests. In Brazil, it’s 1 killed in every 23 arrests.

The Night Of (TV | HBO Go)

James Gandolfini’s final passion project has at last materialized, and it’s fantastic. The show tells the story of a murder and its consequences, but its set up as a mystery since it’s unclear who exactly the perpetrator is. The show is soaked in a dark, brooding atmosphere that breeds apprehension and anticipation nearly every scene. HBO Go is tough to beat when it comes to prestige television.

Read:

David Chang’s Unified Theory of Deliciousness (~9 Minutes)

David Chang, founder of the Michelin star restaurant Momofuku, is one of my favorite personalities in the food world. He is funny, plain-spoken, and bold. In this article, he explains his theory of deliciousness and gives examples of it in action sure to leave any foodie satisfied.

Voltaire’s Luck (~12 Minutes)

Voltaire, a philosopher from the 1700s, is one of the smartest people to have lived in the last few centuries. He used this brilliance to game lotteries all across Europe, earning him the fortune needed to insulate himself from the political pressures of the day. This article is pure competency-porn for those who like reading stories about capable people making the most of their capabilities.

Listen to:

Joey Bada$$ – Devastated (Music)

New York City is no longer the center of the rap universe – that distinction belongs to Atlanta, Georgia – but there are still plenty of talented artists doing interesting things. Joey Bada$$ delivers a triumphant rap anthem with “Devastated”, the perfect soundtrack for when you get good news.

“The reason I beat the Austrians is they did not know the value of five minutes” – Napoleon