We often set aside articles that are longer, deserve a re-read, are broader in scope…or just for fun — for weekend reading. Below are some from this week — pour yourself a hot cup of coffee & enjoy...

• Behind the Curtain: America’s reality distortion machine: What if we’ve been deceived into thinking we’re more divided, more dysfunctional and more defeated than we actually are? (Axios)

• Microsoft may have finally made quantum computing useful The company says it has developed the most error-free quantum solution yet. (engadget)

• Jasmin Paris Becomes First Woman to Complete Extreme Barkley Race  The Barkley Marathons, which features cryptic rules for entry, requires runners to complete 100 miles of rugged terrain in Tennessee in under 60 hours. (NYT)

• Why car insurance rates are so high: You’re paying a lot more for car insurance than you were in 2020. Here’s why. (Vox)

• ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza (+972)

• Russia Runs a Hidden Prison System for Ukrainian Detainees - In Crimea: Human rights monitors claim that occupation forces engage in torture and prolonged captivity in a sprawling penal network. (Vanity Fair)

• Arms Are Flying Off Their Hinges: Baseball is stuck in a velocity trap. (The Atlantic)

• What Makes Housing So Expensive? Looking at housing costs chiefly through the lens of single-family homes, we see the costs of building them largely map to US housing costs generally. (Construction Physics)

• How a Pioneering Blackjack Master Beats the Odds of Aging: Legendary gambler and hedge fund manager Edward Thorp, 91, shares what he’s learned about exercise, diet and managing risk in all areas of life. (Businessweek)

• Dark Matter: For twenty years, PostSecret has broadcast suburban America’s hidden truths - and revealed the limits of limitless disclosure. (Hazlitt)

• Is Jackson Holliday the best baseball prospect we have ever seen? His stats - at every level - are, frankly, amazing. In his senior year of high school - in Stillwater, Oklahoma - Holliday had 89 hits in 40 games. He hit .685. (The Replay)

What are you reading or listening to?