Weekend Briefing No. 125
Welcome To The Weekend
Happy 4th of July weekend! This week we had an amazing book club with over 50 people from around the world reading Essentialism (a major theme for the Weekend Briefing).
Beach Reads
One thing I’ve noticed about the Weekend Briefing community is that you are thoughtful and very well-read. So, I think you’ll dig this list of summer reads from tech pioneers including: Dave Gilboa co-founder of Warby Parker (The Hard Thing About Hard Things), Bre Pettis co-founder of Markerbot (The Boys in the Boat), Julie Zhuo, VP Product Design at Facebook (High Output Management), and many others. See the full list at First Round Review and let me know your favorites (7 minutes).
Seed It
The SeedIIT is designed for a debt investment into an early-stage social enterprise by investors primarily concerned with advancing the social or environmental mission of the company. They are not solely focused on earning a speculative financial return on their investment. Developed by Echoing Green and Sullivan Cromwell, it offers social entrepreneurs an alternative to traditional debt financing terms. Learn more at Echoing Green (5 minutes) H/t Alexander Stein.
The 1st Autopilot Death
This week Tesla confirmed that a May 7th fatal accident occurred when the Tesla Model S was in autopilot mode. This is the first death in over 130 million miles traveled with the autopilot enabled, Tesla said, comparing that to the average rate for US road deaths, where there is one fatality per 94 million miles traveled. Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied. Learn more at Tesla (8 minutes).
Side Hustle
We are Generation 1099. By our side hustles, ye shall know us. The side hustle is what happens when a generation raised with a “you can be whatever you want to be” ethos meets the worst job market in years. In which many of the traditional dream careers–from working in the arts to becoming a lawyer–go from being long shots to being totally untenable, or more or less cease to exist altogether? It offers something worth much more than money: A hedge against feeling stuck and dull and cheated by life. Read more at Quartz (6 minutes).
Adnan!
The attorney for Adnan Syed, the man convicted of murder who became the subject of the popular "Serial" podcast, said Thursday afternoon that his client has been granted a new trial. But the "Serial" investigation raised doubts over the quality of Syed’s defense team and its apparent failure to call a potential alibi witness to testify – Asia!!! Several key pieces of evidence used against him, mainly cellphone tower evidence have also been called into question. Learn more at the Baltimore Sun (6 minutes).
Tony Hawk’s 900
17 years to the day after making the first 900, Tony Hawk pushes himself to the breaking point and battles through this personal goal. Tony says this might be his last 900 ever. His determination and drive are just as admirable as making the trick. Congratulations. Watch the incredibly simple and personal video on YouTube (2 minutes).
About The Weekend Briefing
The Weekend Briefing is a selection of this week’s top stories on innovation and society, curated by Kyle Westaway – author of Profit & Purpose and Managing Partner of Westaway. Thanks for making the Weekend Briefing a part of your Saturday morning routine. Have a restful and thoughtful weekend.