Just for fun, a little snippet from the podcast that the estimable @vpostrel and I have been working on, this bit about the invention of the toothbrush, which of course occurred in Newgate Prison. abundance.institute/Everyday…

All of these were reported over the past month: • A new pancreatic cancer drug, daraxonrasib, that roughly doubles survival in late-stage disease • A precision lung cancer drug, lorlatinib, that kept 55 percent of patients progression-free after 7 years, versus 3 percent on the old drug • A prostate cancer drug, talazoparib, that halves the risk of progression • An endometrial cancer drug, dostarlimab, where 58 percent of patients hadn't progressed after 4 years, versus 16 percent on chemo alone • An early-detection blood test, the NHS Galleri test, that quadrupled cancer detection but missed its main goal • An mRNA cancer vaccine that halved the risk of melanoma recurrence when added to Keytruda • The most effective weight loss drug so far, retatrutide, which cut body weight by about 28 percent • The first in vivo gene editing therapy, which cut hereditary angioedema attacks by 87 percent from a single injection • A one-time gene edit, VERVE-102, that lowered LDL cholesterol by 62 percent • A feat of pharmaceutical synthesis that raised enlicitide's manufacturing yield 14-fold using engineered enzymes • A functional cure for hepatitis B, bepirovirsen, that cleared the virus in about 20 percent of patients • The discovery that human cells can swap chromosome-sized DNA through nanotubes • An ancestor of CRISPR, VIPR, found in bacteriophages, that silences genes without cutting DNA • A preventive Covid-19 pill, ensitrelvir, that cut symptom risk by 67 percent after exposure • The first PROTAC drug, vepdegestrant, which destroys a disease-causing protein rather than blocking it Every month, Niko and I write a round up digging into the latest news in biotech and medicine, and this month's was astonishing. We share some thoughts on what's responsible for this progress and what it means for science in the future.

Great @LeeHepner 🧵⤵️. Solutions: - repeal tariffs - end mandates for above-market construction wages (misnamed "prevailing wage") - audit & simplify building code - ban local building code amdmts - repeal IZ - replace impact fees w/ parcel or property taxes Who's on board?

Sweetie did you brush your teeth with rat fur this morning? 🪥🦷🐀 The first commercial toothbrush was actually made of chicken bone and rat hair... in prison. Somehow, that led to a company that survived for more than 200 years. 🎧 @vpostrel and @CharlesCMann on how we went from... that... to an abundance of good teeth on Everyday Abundance

Academic freedom doesn’t mean academic freedom, apparently.

...the first thing that popped into my mind was: What if we let homeowners build code-compliant ADUs as of right--and then sell them? Or let two homeowners build an ADU between them? Why is this typically forbidden? Could it slip around single-family zoning rules?

Terrific, thoughtful piece about the giant, Indigenous-owned Senakw' development now being built in housing-starved Vancouver. (9,000 homes!) One lesson for other cities: the landowners directly benefit from its construction. How to replicate? Well... worksinprogress.co/issue/how…

This is so wild.

Listen to the full episode: liberalism.org/podcast/the-f…

Everyday Abundance: Our history podcast is live!

Keeping prices and commissions high!

I was just in Chicago and I love these towers.

This is why the SAT is important. It got me from a crappy public high school in South Carolina to @Princeton by equalizing one aspect of the playing field.

The worst thing about lying about election results — “It was rigged!” — is that lots of people, in their innocence or gullibility, believe you, even if you know better and are just playing politics. Lies about elections weaken our democracy. Which I suppose is the point.

RT @JessicaBRiedl: An under-appreciated point. Social Security's financial problems are not just demographics. Rather, by formula, benefit…

I knew it and I went to @Princeton, where he was regarded as a deity.

For all the talk about SF house prices and rents being impossible, I checked and ... the London housing market, considering salaries there is way worse. But Europeans just seem less aware and more complacent abt their issues in this area. This is a very good article from Samuel making the case that Americans are ahead in terms of understanding and wanting to fix the source of their housing problems. Europeans could learn from them. This fits into a broader pattern where I feel like American society, for all its faults, is more reactive and more willing to try things. Even if it often leads to mishaps and overcorrections, I am inclined to think this is a better state of affairs than the apparent slumber European societies have fallen into.

Thank you @dylanmatt for highlighting our new podcast with @vpostrel and @CharlesCMann on all the abundances we have—from brushing teeth to music—and how we got them! We're so glad you like it!