Six Ideas That Made Us Think

1. Warren Buffett’s Friends

This month, Warren Buffett published what he says will be his final letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. In addition to reviewing investment performance and strategy, Buffet reminisces about growing up in Omaha and Washington, DC. One memorable recollection is about his friend Don Keough, who went on to become President of Coca-Cola:

In 1985, when Don was president of Coke, the company launched its ill-fated New Coke. Don made a famous speech in which he apologized to the public and reinstated “Old” Coke. This change of heart took place after Don explained that Coke incoming mail addressed to “Supreme Idiot” was promptly delivered to his desk. His “withdrawal” speech is a classic and can be viewed on YouTube. He cheerfully acknowledged that, in truth, the Coca-Cola product belonged to the public and not to the company. Sales subsequently soared.

Links to Buffett’s annual letters going back to 1977 can be found here.

2. Let’s Agree

Hollis Robbins proposes a December moratorium on the generalized first-person plural pronoun. No more we, us, or our – unless “it’s made explicit.” This moratorium would create clearer, “braver” writing:

A we-free December would make these New York Times sentences impossible: “We need to change how we build housing.” “We’re not warriors clashing, we’re sojourners exploring.”…No more social media and Substack posts like: “we must confront.” “We have lost.” “We need to rethink.”…The bottom line is that “we” is squishy. I is the brave pronoun. I is the hardier pronoun. I is the—dare I say it—manly pronoun.

3. Power Play

The FT’s June Yoon says we are thinking about the race for AI supremacy all wrong. It’s not about who can create the best chips, but who can power them:

The race to master AI is new but it is part of a centuries-old story. Throughout history, every technological superpower has risen on the back of cheap energy. Cheap, abundant coal powered Britain’s Industrial Revolution. In the US, oil and hydroelectric power fueled its dominance in manufacturing and military technology during the 20th century. The battle to control AI is often framed as a contest for chips and the controls that govern them. But power will belong to those who can keep the AI models running.

4. Will California Build Its Future?

Arena magazine profiles Jan Sramek, the founder of California Forever. Sramek’s company is trying to create a manufacturing-focused city in the Bay Area. Progress is slow:

The California Forever plan is to build a new city for 400,000 people, including a shipyard at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the Bay and a foundry—to restore the Golden State’s industrial capacity…Speaking of his frustrations with California’s reluctance—or inability—to build more housing, Sramek said: "If you tried to design a system that was going to completely break up society, make everyone fight and make everyone hate each other, you would design the California Land Use system."

On the topic of why cities around the world have been making it harder to build, Samuel Hughes has published a landmark essay in Works in Progress.

5. Uncle Sam’s Brand Refresh

In 2019, the U.S. Army dissolved its marketing department. In its place, it created a new in-house team to work with ad giant DDB. Recruiting numbers suggest the new image and message are working:

Though the US government crashed into a bruising shutdown at the end of its fiscal year on 30 September, one arm of Uncle Sam’s vast bureaucracy weathered the storm. The Army enlisted 62,050 recruits in the 12 months to September, its highest amount since 2019. That figure exceeded its 61,000-soldier target and marked the second year in a row in which the Army met its recruiting goal after falling short in 2022 and 2023.

6. Cars Against Carplay

Apple’s Carplay and carmakers are increasingly at odds. Writing in The Atlantic, Patrick George argues it’s a battle between software and hardware:

The relationship between Detroit and Silicon Valley can be a tense one. Apple sees tremendous value in expanding its presence in your car: The next step is CarPlay Ultra, which enables your phone to control more of your car. Want to fiddle with the temperature? Ask Siri to do it. It’s an Apple lover’s dream and a car company’s worst nightmare. If that feature catches on, companies will just be makers of rolling shells for tech companies.

Websites Worth Reading

Interesting Regional Maps: Ways to divide up the US

Establishing Shot: Everything about movies 

The Frontrunner: Guide to 2026 Primaries

Feeds We Follow

@RevTranscripts: Library of speeches

@simonmontefiore: Tribute to playwright Tom Stoppard

@NanoBanana: Updates on Gemini’s best new timewaster