“Every comment, thread, and mention from all the apps you use at work – in one inbox.” This could be quite a useful tool if you’re working across many different apps (including Google Drive, Figma, Jira, Notion, etc.). App notifications are displayed and organised in a single place, with the option to filter by user and reply from inside the app.

I previously featured Raycast in DD157 – a kind of ‘pro’ version of macOS’ Spotlight search, i.e a keyboard-driven interface to navigate and perform tasks. The latest round of upgrades have made it an even more powerful and versatile tool. Raycast does a million and one things, thanks to a catalogue of extensions you can add. And it now deeply integrates ChatGPT with some really useful features: highlight any text and ask for a grammar check or a summary; or ask for help inside an app or do a web search... I just wish it wasn’t VC-funded. (Windows version is in the works, it seems.)

Burnout Buddy is a more powerful version of the iPhone’s native Screen Time controls that help fight social media addiction and unhealthy work habits. You can block specific apps based on a schedule, usage limits, location, focus-mode and other conditions.

Capacities is one of the many Notion alternatives, built on a similar premise – to be a flexible, easy-to-use and powerful tool for organising and managing knowledge. Note-taking on Capacities is built on three pillars: objects (a customisable container for your information), network (to connect objects) and time (to organise objects in time).

The Price is Wrong →

Why capitalism won’t save the planet

Anders Hayden argues that the market-based solutions to environmental issues, like carbon trading, fail to address the root causes of ecological degradation. The book critiques capitalism’s focus on profit and growth, emphasising the need for more transformative, systemic changes to truly tackle the climate crisis. “What if our understanding of capitalism and climate is back to front? What if the problem is not that transitioning to renewables is too expensive, but that saving the planet is not sufficiently profitable?”

Our Moon →

How Earth’s celestial companion made us who we are

Science writer Rebecca Boyle explores the profound influence the Moon has had on Earth’s formation, climate and life itself. Through scientific insights and historical context, the book shows how the Moon guided evolution and played a key role in the development of human civilisation. “Our Moon’s gravity stabilized Earth’s orbit – and its climate. It drew nutrients to the surface of the primordial ocean, where they fostered the evolution of complex life. The Moon continues to influence animal migration and reproduction, plants’ movements, and, possibly, the flow of the very blood in our veins.”

Rory Sutherland’s essay discusses how our obsession with speed and efficiency can overshadow what is truly important in life. “In New York, you speak quickly because you respect the value of the other person’s time and you don’t want to take up too much of it. In the South, you speak slowly because you want to respect the person by showing how much of your own time you are prepared to give to them. These are two behaviors, which, depending on cultural context, are intended to attain the same end while being completely opposite. And I think human psychology is absolutely packed full of these things. A union of opposites.”

A fascinating psychological assessment of the super-rich: billionaires are isolated by their wealth, leading them to lack a basic understanding of social realities and consequences. “Regardless of whether they are ‘self made’ or ‘second gen’, the ultra-rich have unique psychological profiles amongst the general populace. In my experience, both categories of billionaire are dominated by interminable existential crises – although each displays nuance when it comes to confrontation. The ‘self made’ have a tendency towards aggressive megalomania, while ‘second gens’ demur in favour of nihilistic hedonism.”

A eulogy to the minivan. In many ways, it was the perfect car for family life – until the SUV came along and made the minivan uncool. “As the child of the station wagon and the service van, the minivan quickly came to represent the family you love but must support, and also transport. In a nation where cars stood in for power and freedom, the minivan would mean the opposite. As a vehicle, it symbolized the burdens of domestic life.”