Tradle, Cycle Touring, and Cerezo Rosa [4/9 2025]
Recommendations from Me
In this newsletter I wanted to highlight some ambitious projects that focus on cross-country comparisons. The variety of human culture and ways of living is perhaps the topic I find most interesting, so I’m very grateful for resources like these to help guide my understanding. I expect to spend the rest of my life piecing together a better picture of what the human world is like, where it came from, and where it’s going. I feel very lucky to be able to spend a life like that.
I recently finished Joseph Henrich’s wonderful book The WEIRDest People in the World. This rich and thoroughly evidenced book is the best resource I’ve come across for understanding the evolution of early human societies, kinship structures, cultural psychology, and the foundations of my own cultural background.
At the centre of the 2005 project Hungry Planet by photographer Peter Menzel and writer Faith D’Aluisio are photos of the weekly ingredients used by a typical family in 24 different countries.
Alice Evans, a researcher and senior lecturer at King’s College London, produces incredibly insightful articles, papers, and podcasts on gender outcomes across countries and regions. I especially loved her paper How Did East Asia Overtake South Asia on Gender?
Our World in Data hosts the richest source of inter-country comparison data and data visualisations on the internet. If I could only choose one website to help me understand the world, it might be this one.
I also really like the tools produced by the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), including their games: Tradle, Pick 5, and Connectrade — all focused on goods exports. While that’s plenty fascinating in of itself (though I’d concede probably not for everyone), these tools give some great context on the impact of geography on industry, and in turn the impact of industry on politics.
Recommendations from Others
Julieta 2025
‘Old Mexican song: Cerezo Rosa, by Pérez Prado’
Sarah 2025
‘If you mix together very thick (vegan) yogurt, hot chocolate powder, and muesli, it tastes like cheesecake, but you can eat it for breakfast.’
Rory 2025
‘A Grief Observed, by C.S Lewis. Beautiful reflections on bereavement.’
Aaron 2025
‘The best decision I ever made was to try cycle touring. It’s such a wonderful way to travel with independence, seeing the land, and witnessing the generosity of people around the world. Three routes: Rallarvegen, Mosel River Valley, Baja California.’
James 2025
‘The dictionary of obscure sorrows, by John Koenig; wonderful focus on human emotions. Two excellent pencils: i) Mono 100, Tombow, ii) Blackwing Matte.'
Cover photo - Dhaka, Bangladesh
