I’ve been following Bruce Sterling and Jon Lebkowsky‘s annual State of the World conversation on the Well. Guest “speakers” this year are Vinay Gupta and Emily Gertz. Much of the conversation seems to center around blockchain this year, which makes sense as Gupta is one of the founders of Ethereum, and Gertz is an environmental reporter. Other topics include COVID (of course), politics (of course), the interaction of the two, and the possibility of a horde of Trumpist bootlicks and coprophages attempting to stage a civil war. The State of the World conversations are always interesting, and past years can easily be found in the index of topics.

Other interesting reads from the week:

• The Supreme Court sides with employers and against workers with regards to OSHA-backed mask and vaccine mandates. Though there is some nuance in the decision. SCOTUS blog breakdown here.
• Doctors and nurses are being asked to move patients out of intensive care in order to make room for the unvaxxed.
• Next Thursday 92nd Street Y will host the State of Democracy Summit. This is a free online event, and looks to be well worth watching.
• Speculative fiction author Charles Stross has predictions of what the next ten years might look like.