TouchStone Reads - September 26th, 2025

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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...

  • Derek Thompson’s 25 most interesting ideas found in 2025 (So Far) (Substack)

  • The Cities Young People Are Flocking to in 2026: This generation is changing the housing landscape. (House Beautiful)

  • Making Sense #434 - Can We Survive AI? (Sam Harris Podcast) or if you prefer, stream the movie Ex Machina (Netflix)

  • How the Math of Shuffling Cards Almost Brought Down an Online Poker Empire (Scientific American)

  • Why your attention keeps slipping away (and how to get it back) Strengthen your focus like a muscle. Modern life scatters our attention across endless “urgent” demands, often leaving us busy but unproductive. It can help to think of attention as a set of trainable muscles — visual focus, connection to the future, obstacle planning, and cognitive flexibility. (Big Think)

  • STAYING HEALTHY How sleep deprivation can harm your health (Harvard Health)

  • How Gen Z Is Rewriting the Rules of Sobriety: From influencers to #sobertok, a new generation is finding community and support for alcohol use—and bucking once closely held beliefs about addiction. (Slate)

  • Zen and the Art of Being Jennifer Aniston (Vanity Fair)

  • Boy With Rare Bone Disorder Becomes Quarterback for a Day and Scores a Touchdown for the NFL Carolina Panthers (Good News Network)

  • Dude, the history behind the word dude is wild (NPR)

  • Data investigation: Childhood vaccination rates are backsliding across the U.S. (NBC News)

  • Top Secret D-Day Maps Found in Cardboard Box Detail Scary Defenses Faced By Allies at the 5 Landing Beaches (Good News Network)

  • The Chess Cheating Epidemic: The Chief Chess Officer of Chess.com describes the crisis he confronted when Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen lost a tournament match to a suspected cheater. (Quillette)

  • What people use ChatGPT for (Source:@simongerman600

What are you reading or listening to?