SWEET SWEET KNOWLEDGE

Here are the podcasts helping me keep up, calm down, and even tune out.

• Facebook is tweaking the feed again, and Vox’s The Weeds has the D.C. take on what it means for democracy. Our friends at On The Media tackle what it means for news.  
• Call Your Girlfriend has some top-shelf advice for meeting your goals and being your whole self in 2018.
• The Stuff You Should Know episode on narcissism and empathy isn’t *about* social media… but it is.
• TechStuff has a three-part deep dive on YouTube’s ads, algorithms and those creepy kid videos.
• And on the venerable Desert Island Discs, the eight albums Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker would want while stranded.

I also get asked a lot about what I read - what’s inspiring me, what sparks new brainwaves. I ran down a list of newsletters I love in our advice show last week. But my best brainwaves come from the smart people around me - here’s what the crew is percolating on right now.

TEXT-BASED BRAIN FUEL

• Behind the teen stars of Youtube, Instagram, or Musical.ly are hours of work, serious cash, and befuddled parents - who suddenly have to help manage it all.  (The Atlantic)
• Among the changes at Facebook, they’re asking users to rank the trustworthiness of news posts. Which makes this blog post, from the company’s Civic Engagement Product Manager, even more fascinating. Worth a read, and a (guided) reflection. (FT, Facebook, Axios)
• The network of computers plugged into creating Bitcoin use as much energy per day as a mid-size country (!). (NY Times)
• How do you use an online shopping order form if your address doesn't have a zip code? You kind of can't, and it’s affecting online commerce throughout Africa. (Quartz)

YUM