ZD 24.35: Election Shock
That was not the night many were hoping for.
In this issue: a history of f##k; the afterlife of the Roman Empire; advances in cancer research; the wide world of sports; understanding what happened last week.
The Distilled Spirit
🔇 History of F*ck (Lithub)
One of the most useful and emotive words in the English language has a long and interesting history. Learn about the medieval origins — which have nothing to do with “pluck yew” as commonly thought — through the modern usage of the term with a little Oxford scholarship to explain one of English’s most useful words.
🏛 The Afterlife of the Roman Republic (ACOUP)
There once was a planter’s republic that grew from humble origins to military and economic hegemony. The wealth created by that hegemony shook foundations of that republic and military dictators came to the fore. The eventual winner of the civil war turned around and dressed his dictatorship in the trappings of the republic, selling the elites of the failed state on participation in the new venture which continued in various capacities for the next millennia.
🔬Cancer Research Advances Rapidly ()
Cancer research is advancing rapidly, with breakthroughs in early detection, personalized medicine, and immunotherapy. This article highlights some recent strides, including new blood tests for cancer detection, more sophisticated AI-driven diagnostics, and promising drug combinations. These innovations are translating into better outcomes and more targeted treatments.
⚽ Updates from the Wide World of Sports (
)Rodger Sherman gives a lively rundown of recent sports moments that flew under the radar. From dramatic finishes in lesser-known soccer leagues to a surprisingly intense cornhole tournament, he captures the fun, bizarre, and unexpected victories across a range of sports. The article brings attention to stories beyond the major headlines—where emotions run high, and unsung heroes shine.
🤖Generative AI and Robotics in 2024 ()
One can argue that Generative AI is they key to unlocking the human interface in robotics. In 2024, the two technologies are becoming more deeply intertwined, leading to breakthroughs in robotic adaptability and problem-solving. Learn how AI is empowering robots to develop new techniques and approaches autonomously, driving efficiency in industries like manufacturing and healthcare. Examples include generative AI enabling drones to self-plan maintenance tasks and robots innovating assembly processes.
Understanding the Election
Personally, I struggled a lot with what to write about this week. Like many members of the coastal elite, I woke up to a result that I was not particularly excited about Wednesday morning. There was a big part of me wanted to dive into writing something more pleasant, some eye bleach in a reddit sense rather than dwell on this subject. Ultimately, I thought it was better to write about it than to move on too quickly. Truth is cathartic as they say.
Has this been coming a long time?
In the spring of 2015, a few weeks before Donald Trump announced his campaign, The Economist’s cover essay was remarkably prescient. Men adrift (archive link) led with “Badly educated me in rich countries have not adapted well to trade, technology or feminism.” The article illustrated how the prospects, fortunes and then health and welfare of working class men had fared dramatically worse than their professional colleagues. Nine years later a lot of this group of drifting and angry men — and many others — swept Trump back into the presidency. This is not a recent phenomenon.
Direct Connections > Broadcast Media
If you followed the money in digital marketing you might realize there is a reason people are spending their budgets on creators and social platforms not traditional media — it works much better. It should not be a shock this applies to political campaigns as well.
The entire More or Less podcast’s election edition is worth a listen, but head here if you just want to focus on the communications strategy. Trump figured out that the non-traditional media worked fundamentally different while the Harris campaign fought the wrong battle and paid for it dearly.
Max Read has notes on the TikTok electorate. Misinformation and propaganda are bad but viewers are not that impressionable. Rather, the viewers are participants in the show, in it with the creator. In a shifting sea of vibes, creators who are themselves small business owners are constantly connecting with and taking risks with fans.
Facts on the Ground
Something felt a bit different about this election. The Washington Post’s county-level vote shift map illustrate how complete and how strong the red shift was from 2020. Two places that had particularly dramatic shifts were New York City and the Rio Grande valley.
Trump got more than a third of the vote in New York’s five boroughs. Michael Lange looks into the details in New York City’s Red Reckining where he goes on an Assembly District-level tour of the city to ferret out where this vote shifted and how and why. He paints a vivid picture of how the city has changed.
The Rio Grande valley was once called Texas’ blue wall, now it went dramatically for Trump. Texas Monthly took a drive to talk to people and figure out why.
DC is a unique place on election night. EaterDC went bar hopping to capture the flavor.
Two Slides
One graph explains a lot about voter choice broken down by income and education level.
For more visual analysis, Bruce Mehlman shared a pointed six-chart Sunday that helps crystalize a lot of what happened last week. Make sure to click through to the full deck for lots of gems, including this warning that the only thing we have to look forward to is more change:
Stay curious and safe out there!
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