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10 stories we've enjoyed this week
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Hi All,
Happy Friday.
We've been working with the Science Museum on a new podcast called A Brief History of Stuff. It's hosted by BBC Radio 5 Live’s Nihal Arthanayake and each episode explores the past, present and future of an everyday object you may find in your home, from bath toys to sticky tape and vacuum cleaners to the microwave oven. We tell the stories of these objects changed science and our world. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and do get in touch if you'd like to talk to us about making a podcast of your own.
In January Matt wrote this brilliant essay based on a speech given by Newton Minow 60 years ago. Newton was the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in 1961 and his speech paved the way for public media in the US. It was lovely to get this message earlier this week.
Finally, our friends over at Wired Sussex are looking for Chief Operating Officer. It looks like a great job and you get the added bonus of working with former Storythingser Rifa Thorpe-Tracey.
That's it from me. Enjoy today's stories and have a great weekend everyone.
Hugh
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How can we help you?
Storythings is a strategy and content company based in Brighton and London. We'd love to help you with some creative and bold ideas.
Here's 3 reasons to get in touch.
1. You want to talk to us about content production: podcasts, videos, animations, illustrations, editorial.
2. You want to talk to us about content strategy or format development.
3. You want to create a brand or an identity that makes it easier to communicate your message.
We do other things too. We're very friendly and always enjoy meeting people, so get in touch.
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Jon Ronson Reflects on His Book 'Them' 20 Years On
It's incredible to think about how the world has changed in the 20 years since Jon wrote 'Them', his brilliant book about conspiracy theorists that was so ahead of its time. Here he tries to make sense of them as the world gets more bizarre: "High-scoring narcissists are prone to paranoia and black-and-white thinking. Through their eyes everyone is either wonderful or else they’re the enemy. (Often the wonderful person commits some minor transgression and instantly becomes the enemy; if you’ve been close to a narcissist you’ll probably recognise that “love-bomb, devalue, discard” relationship arc.) And narcissists need to feel like they’re the smartest person in the room – hence, I suspect, their reaching for conspiracy theories with their obnoxiously counterintuitive, superficially complex worldviews."
(8 min read)
Jerry Seinfeld on the Importance of Giving Your Audience Work To Do
Whilst this quote is framed in the context of a joke, the idea of leaving the right sized gap for your audience is important in other forms of communication.
(Tweet)
Why Do Wes Anderson Films Look Like That
Wes Anderson's unique style has been the subject of many video essays, many of which have appeared in this newsletter. This video looks not just at the elements that make up that style but at why Anderson is drawn to those elements, the role they play in his storytelling and how much he enjoys pulling back the curtain and showing his storytelling on screen.
(18 min watch)
In 1980 Eight Nuns Sold Their Covenant, Bought a Mercedes and Moved to the South of France
This story has it all. Hey Netflix! Where's my 10-part series?
(3 min read)
Letters to Margaret: A Crossword Graphic Novel
This is a brilliant new approach to graphic novels. Letters to Margaret tells the story of two crossword fans who clash over the choice of words used in the NYT crossword, and told interactively using crosswords.
(2 min read)
A Short History of Design Patents
A good short read on the history of design patents and how the tech industry has weaponised them. Utility patents have been around since the 1790s but they looked at how an invention functioned and not how it looked. That changed with the birth of mass production, when industrialised processes of casting, stamping, weaving and cutting enabled objects to be produced at scale for the first time – as well as more easily copied: "Introduced in 1842, the US design patent law saw just 14 designs registered in its first year, including a typeface, a bathtub and a “corpse preserver”. By 1930, the patent office was issuing 3,000 design patents a year, and 6,500 by 1941, a figure that wasn’t exceeded until 1989. That number has now mushroomed to around 35,000 – good news for lawyers, but maybe less so for innovators."
(6 min read)
Roxane Gay on Why She Loves Art But Dislikes the Artworld
I really enjoyed this interview with writer Roxane Gay who talks about how her wife Debbie Millman inspired her to get into art collecting. She also has some great advice for writers and artists alike: "You have to commit and take your practice seriously even when no one else will—and for most of your career, no one else will. And that’s okay… no, it’s actually not okay, but you can still make art despite that because you have a vision and it’s great and important to execute that vision. You don’t have to do it every day, but consistency is key to developing and expanding your craft."
(12 min read)
What's Your Favourite Podcast Episode
The people behind Creative Mornings asked their community "What's your favourite podcast episode and why?" They've pulled together the answers in this really useful list and sorted them by category.
(list)
The Office's Michael Scott's Theory of Social Class
I've recently started rewatching The Office (US) so I found this essay on organisational behaviour, social class, and The Office TV show a fun read. The thesis is that the higher you ascend the Educated Gentry ladder, the more you become Michael Scott: "Serious Triathletes? Michael Scott. PhD Students? Michael Scott. Have an opinion on the right amount of hops? Michael Scott. More than 10,000 followers on Twitter? Michael Scott. Really into urbanism? Michael Scott. NYT Op-ed? Definitely Michael Scott."
(10 min read)
Gradations: A Beautiful Short Film About The Blurring of Boundaries
This is very good: "When we gradate the boundaries between two polarized things, the two become smoothly connected. By blurring the various boundaries, we can find complexity, diversity, and richness of information."
(2 min watch)
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We hope you've enjoyed this week's newsletter. I'm sure some of your friends would love to read it. Sharing it would be really appreciated. If you've received this from a friend you can subscribe here and get it direct to your inbox every Friday.
Thanks for reading and see you all next week,
Hugh, Matt, Anjali and the team at Storythings
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