What Caught My Eye (no. 35)
Some interesting articles and podcasts that caught my eye this week
Here’s this week’s edition of articles I thought worth reading and sharing. Don’t hesitate to recommend your own reads; I may include some as well.
Charlie Savage, “The Peril of a White House That Flaunts Its Indifference to the Law,” The New York Times, October 24, 2025. In a stark analysis of presidential power, Savage highlights how the Trump administration’s claims that it has the power to summarily kill suspected drug smugglers marks a new level of disregard for the law. He notes that the White House has offered no legal rationale for these killings, defying norms that once constrained executive authority. By declaring a self-defined “war” on cartels and sidelining government lawyers, Trump has exposed how fragile the rule of law is when a president simply chooses to ignore it.
Li Yuan, “Silicon Valley Has China Envy, and That Reveals a Lot About America,” The New York Times, October 22, 2025. Yuan, one of the Times’ leading China reporters, explores the growing fascination among Silicon Valley elites with China’s speed, manufacturing power, and technological ambition. She warns that this enthusiasm often misreads China’s system, overlooking its debt, inequality, and social costs. The obsession, she argues, reflects America’s crisis of confidence and an uneasy recognition that innovation and progress may now be led elsewhere.
Kate de Pury, “How to Get Ahead in Wartime Russia,” The Economist, October 24, 2025. De Pury, an expert reporter based in Moscow, describes how Russia’s war in Ukraine has upended the country’s power structure, replacing the old oligarchic elite with a new class of wartime loyalists. Once driven by wealth and patronage, advancement now depends on demonstrating usefulness to Vladimir Putin’s war effort.
Victor Cha, Ellen Kim and Andy Lim, “China’s Trade Bullying Calls for an Article 5,” The Washington Post, October 27, 2025. The coauthors of a forthcoming study on China’s weaponization of interdependence argue that China’s growing use of trade as a political weapon demands a coordinated global response. The authors propose a NATO-style “Article 5” for trade: a collective deterrence pact among the U.S., allies, and partners pledging joint retaliation if China bullies any one member.
Michael Andersen, “Talking to Ukrainians under the rain of Russian bombs,” Two Grumpy Old Men on Ukraine, Substack, October 25, 2025. Andersen, a veteran Danish journalist with decades of experience reporting from Eastern Europe, relays raw messages from friends and acquaintances in Kherson to show daily life under relentless Russian bombardment. Residents describe constant fear, mass depopulation, and a grim mix of numb resilience and gallows humor. An emergency worker’s testimony captures the psychological toll of collecting bodies and living “like a zombie,” while drone threats and shelling make evacuation perilous and routine survival agonizing.
Gideon Rachman, “The Trump Doctrine: Don’t Rely on America,” The Financial Times, October 31, 2025. Rachman, the FT’s chief foreign affairs commentator and recent guest on World Review, argues that Donald Trump’s second term has made U.S. foreign policy more volatile and personalized than ever before. Driven by his whims and craving for “wins,” Trump’s diplomacy has become transactional and self-promotion rather than alliances or shared values. Allies flatter him to avoid punishment, while unpredictable tariff policies and sudden military actions sow global instability. Rachman concludes that by weaponizing America’s dominance to extract short-term gains, Trump is eroding decades of U.S. diplomatic trust and teaching allies a lasting lesson: never rely on America.
Ian Bremmer and Tristan Harris, “The Risks of Reckless AI Rollout,” GZERO World Podcast, October 2025. In this conversation, Ian Bremmer hosts Tristian Harris, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology. Harris warns that the rapid, unregulated race to build ever-more powerful AI systems mirrors the early rollout of social media that promised connection but delivered polarization and harm. Harris cautions that without governance and alignment with human values, it could just as easily amplify disinformation, manipulation, and inequality.
Nicholas Kristof, “The World Has Again Failed to Prevent Atrocities in Darfur,” The New York Times, October 30, 2025. Kristof, The New York Times’ long-time opinion columnist and a voice of moral clarity condemns the global inaction as new massacres unfold in El Fasher, Darfur, at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He reports evidence of mass killings verified by satellite images and humanitarian groups, describing a campaign of genocide against Black African communities. He calls for accountability while lamenting that the world, once again, looked away from Darfur.
Matteo Wong and Charlie Warzel, “Here’s How the AI Crash Happens,” The Atlantic, October 30, 2025. Wong and Warzel warn that the massive, debt-fueled investment surge driving the AI boom could end in a crash reminiscent of the 2008 financial crisis. As data centers multiply across the U.S., AI spending now props up GDP growth, but profits lag far behind staggering costs. Whether AI succeeds or collapses, they conclude, the outcome could be devastating; either a financial implosion or an economic shock from technology powerful enough to upend entire industries.
Finally, in case you missed it here are links to some of the things I did and wrote this week.
This week’s World Review focused on President Trump’s visit to Asia and the truce he and Xi brokered in the trade war.
Happy reading, watching, and listening!