ECUADOR (and a big catch-up)

Whooo it’s been a while. Since the last post, I returned to each of my three “home bases”: the U.S., South Africa, and then (now) Mexico City. And I also got a full-time job, as well as a couple part-time aerial acrobatics teaching gigs. So I forgot to post. So here’s a bit catch-up post, PLUS some Ecuador reads (first international trip since being back in Mexico!):

ECUADOR

I cheated and read two books in English, and only half of them is by an Ecuadorian. BUT they were both great:

  • Savages by Joe Kane: Environmental activitist and journalist Joe Kane tells the story of a small (c. 1500 person) Amazonian tribe called the Huaroni, whose ancestral land the Ecuadorian government has just agreed to open up to oil exploration. This book was AMAZING. Joe travels deep into the forest, befriends members of the tribe, and is therefore able to gain access to both fascinating descriptions of everyday life in that environment, as well as the many ethical quandaries that “development” brings up. To what extent does the government get to choose what a “good life” or “education” is? To what extent do 1500 people get to decide the economic fate of a country? Who gets to speak for (and make deals on behalf of) the Huaroni, who are a spread out, diverse group without a singular chief? If such oil exploration is inevitable, is there a “right” way to do it? This book was at turns funny, suspenseful, and deeply sad. I feel I am a better human for having read it.

  • The Queen of Water by Laura Resau and María Virginia Farinango: Author Laura Resau collaborates with Ecuadorian María Virginia Farinango to tell the latter’s story. In the 1980s, it was common for poor Quichua families to give away (sometimes for money) their young children to mestizo couples, to act as nannies/cooks/cleaners. María was one of those children, except she was also clever and feisty and managed to make something of herself, despite her circumstance. This is a YA book and sometimes felt overly simplistic, but in general the story was so amazing and enjoyable, that mostly I got over it. It was also an interesting book to read after Savages because in the former, the Quichua (the largest indigenous group in Ecuador, and the most “integrated”) were often described as powerful and sophisticated, compared tot he Huaroni. In this book, you got to see how they were still, until pretty recently, quite disenfranchised.

I also listened to a really great Radio Ambulante story about Ecuador:

  • Los extraterrestres: In the 1940s, Radio Quito transmitted a radio play version of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, and it was so realistic that residents began to believe that it was actual news: that the world, Ecuador included, was indeed being invaded by extraterrestrials. Fear, chaos, and violence ensue. This is a remarkable story that might seem “silly” (how could people believe such a thing, you might say), but I think actually sheds light on this amazingly important and delicate trust we have in journalism to tell us the “truth.” If the New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, CNN, etc etc. were all reporting the same alien invasion story, I too would believe it. (After all, what happens when you don’t believe it? Then you become a conspiracy theorist, decrying everything as “fake news.”)

BOOKISH FUN

  • Washington Black by Esi Edugyan: I’ve been recommending this to friends as “The Life of Pi, but with the moral heft and complexity of slavery mixed in.” Yes, I know that’s weird. But the book has some of the same fantastical, page-turning narrative that I remember from Life of Pi, with the gut-punch of historical wrongs. It was, in other words, great.

  • Three Women by Lisa Taddeo: The author chronicles the lives of three (real) women, and the role of relationships and desire in each of their lives. One is a young girl who had a relationship with a teacher, another is New England WASP in an open relationship, and the last is a women in an affair. I found the focus on women’s desire refreshing, but was unable to muster too much interest in two of the stories. The teenage story, though, fascinated me. In the age of #metoo, I found the questions it raised about power, agency, and consent really difficult. (The author has a very specific, and strong, stance on the story—and I found myself sometimes diverging from her point of view.)

  • Fleishman is in Trouble by Raffy Brodevser-Anker: Most reviews describe this as a hilarious romp of a mid-life crisis, with a now separated man trying to navigate the landmines of modern romance. That’s true, but it also misses the main point—which is the ending you don’t see coming. It’s therefore hard to accurately describe this book without giving it away. So all I’ll say is this: I thought the book was just fine until the last 30 or so pages. And then I was like, whoa.

  • Exhalation by Ted Chiang: Sci-fi short stories that feel accessible and important. As with all anthologies, it was uneven, but the story about digital pets was breathtakingly good (yes, I know that sounds weird). Here’s the best way I can explain it: You know your most eccentric friend, who gets obsessed by some very niche idea and then really gets into it, and it’s kind of awesome how well-versed they are in all the aspects of that idea? Ted Chiang is like that friend, obsessed with speculative futures, based on surprisingly in-depth research on current technologies (there are FOOTNOTES, people!)

  • Liked, didn’t love: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (I know I’m so late to that one), Trust Exercise by Susan Choi (though I did rip through it in a day)

  • Didn’t like (though critics did): The Overstory by Richard Powers (too long for a book about trees), The Topeka School by Ben Lerner (ugh, I tried to care, but couldn’t), American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson (didn’t seem very well written).

LONG-FORM & PODCASTS

This is probably what’s taken the biggest hit since I’ve started working, but some memorable ones since July 2019 are:

Policies and Interventions:

  • “The Scourge of Worker Wellness Programs” (The New Republic): This is effectively a well-thought-out op-ed against “wellness” programs at work— you know, stuff like free gym memberships, free healthy lunches, or even fitness competitions at work. This piece caught me off-guard because I mostly think of those kinds of policies as good, especially in the U.S., where obviously health is a real issue. But (1) I hadn’t thought about how they often are blanket policies that ignore disabled or older workers, (2) I didn’t realize that sometimes bonuses are attached to things like weight loss, and (3) I hadn’t considered the full picture, which is that companies are doing these wellness programs not actually to help workers, but because it improves productivity to have workers with fewer health issues, even as a popular source of our health issues is the focus on productivity (that is, stress and long hours at work).

  • “The Power to Kill” (The Intercept): Prosecutors wield enormous power in the US, as they get to decide what cases and charges to pursue. What happens if one woman decides that capital punishment is unjust and refuses to ever request it?

  • "Season Two: Curtis Flowers” [PODCAST SERIES] (In the Dark / APM Reports): This is the best true crime and investigative reporting I’ve heard in podcast format, maybe ever. (Yes, I think it’s better than both Serial and S Town.) Like the link above, it’s about the power of prosecutors—but also, the problematic nature of juries, especially in small towns.

  • “English towns are installing ‘chat benches’ to combat loneliness”: This is the charming-est of interventions!

  • “Homeward Bound”: The network of volunteers that enable interstate dog rescues—basically taking them from one city with too many dogs at kill shelters, to take them to areas with more demand (and less supply) for rescue dogs. Sure, you can say that this kind of enormous effort should instead be amassed to solve other pressing problems like intense poverty or the Syrian refugee crisis, but you know what, I choose to celebrate anyone who cares enough to volunteer (or donate).

  • “The untold story of the 2018 Olympics cyberattack, the most deceptive hack in history“: This piece is recommendable because (1) I had no idea there even was a hack, (2) the way it’s written is just plain good storytelling, and (3) the questions it raises at the end about how deceptions in hacking will likely cause political havoc for countries that don’t have the technical capability to keep digging until they get to the real truth. I mean, it’s pretty crazy how long it takes to get to the bottom of hacks like this, and the media (and public) run away with a given narrative, long before the cybersecurity officials have even completed their investigations.

  • All the excellent reporting ProPublica has done on Turbotax (I think I’ve read a few pieces over the last year, but here’s one).

Tech doesn’t care about you

  • "The story of a Lyft ride gone wrong” [PODCAST EPISODE] (The Cut / Gimlet / NY Mag): If there’s one thing you listen to this week, please make it be this. It is SUCH a well-produced piece about a girl who wakes up to a Lyft bill that seems way too high—and with a sinking feeling that something happened last night.

  • “I accidentally uncovered a nationwide scam on Airbnb” (Wired): The author gets scammed, and then is determined to get to the bottom of it. It’s both a great whodunnit and also an infuriating read. Basically, it’s easy for hosts to use fake pictures, get bookings, take people’s money, and then when they get shut down, just post a new listing. And Airbnb doesn’t care.

  • “Technopolis” [PODCAST SERIES] (Citylab): In general, I love Citylab’s wonky emphasis on data, and so when they released this (sadly only one-season) podcast series about how technology is reshaping our cities, I was all in. Although the co-hosts’ exchanges can be a bit hokey, in general, they have really interesting things to say.

I pretend to know about crypto—and so should you

  • “The Trillion-Dollar Lawsuit” (Alex Danco, h/t Werner of course): Everything you didn’t know about the market manipulation that underpinned that massive Bitcoin rally in 2017. Even if you’re not into crypto (I’m not, really), it makes for a fascinating read.

  • “The Hard-luck Texas town that bet on Bitcoin—and lost” (Wired): Sometimes we forget that fake digital currency also is related to physical place and real incomes. But then there are stories like this one.

Legends (and happier things):