https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays daily 1.0 2023-12-24 https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/quo-vadis-europa monthly 0.5 2024-01-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/cb1f3e1f-6184-43db-87ac-389c37c299e0/Donbas+Oblast+2014.jpg Essays - Quo Vadis Europa? - Make it stand out From post-Wall into the unknown: Ukrainian soldiers in Slovyansk at the start of the war in Donbas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/6cf2ae68-3775-498a-a07c-d50e15bd9643/Stefan+Zweig.jpeg Essays - Quo Vadis Europa? - Make it stand out The World of Yesterday, Stefan Zweig’s heartfelt memoir of a lost Europe, is beginning to feel prescient again. (Source: Stefan Zweig Zentrum) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/7f905193-d259-4e9b-a31e-8ec4a41763eb/Berlin+Wall+1989.jpg Essays - Quo Vadis Europa? - Make it stand out From postwar to post-Wall: West Berliners chipping away at the Berlin Wall after its demise in 1989. https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/in-the-trenches-of-the-chip-wars monthly 0.5 2023-12-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/2d608a1d-1c67-469b-a9d3-01291bad334e/Morris+Chang.jpeg Essays - In the Trenches of the Chip War - Make it stand out Dr. Morris Chang, the legendary founder of TSMC and pioneer of the “foundry model” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/3334863f-1123-4f31-a6cb-925df8f031f9/Screen+Shot+2023-03-19+at+14.07.20.png Essays - In the Trenches of the Chip War Source: “The Global Semiconductor Value Chain: A Technology Primer for Policy Makers,” by Baisakova & Kleinhans (SNV 2020) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/e8e2a0a6-38bc-42dc-b2fc-27d8ca4517c7/robert_noyce.jpg Essays - In the Trenches of the Chip War - Make it stand out Bob Noyce, the co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel Corporation, who co-invented the integrated circuit in 1958 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/8676f746-46bd-4651-85f4-f6beac43d749/Screen+Shot+2023-03-20+at+21.27.33.png Essays - In the Trenches of the Chip War - Make it stand out Left: Metal layout for the Intel 4004, which Federico Faggin hand designed in 1971. Right: Cadence Innovus, a cutting-edge EDA tool that allows chip designers to automatically place and route standard cells onto a chip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/4807c8e8-4cd7-4f47-b1fe-753b143b179a/foundries.png Essays - In the Trenches of the Chip War - Make it stand out Source: “The Integrated Circuit Industry at a Crossroads: Threats and Opportunities,” by Salvatore Pennisi (Chips, 2022) https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/supply-chain-shenanigans monthly 0.5 2022-01-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/8b4267c1-1126-454d-82af-e5666d9c2fdb/Malcom-McLean-first-shipping-container-import-export-trade.jpg Essays - Supply Chain Shenanigans - Make it stand out Malcom McLean, the iconoclastic entrepreneur who developed the modern shipping container. https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/levels-of-life monthly 0.5 2021-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/3a49193f-3bff-4e01-b8ee-a6fa8311777e/Nadar_in_a_balloon_Nadar.jpg Essays - Levels of Life Julian Barnes meditates on love, death, and hot air ballooning. (Lithography: Nadar in a balloon by Honoré Daumier). https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/post-covid-new-york monthly 0.5 2021-07-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1619796852528-6V9SJAXDV5GZZGAIMM22/nyc.jpeg Essays - Post-Covid New York https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1623770563249-AQCG4QE7JN0AJOELIPCV/keith-haring.jpeg Essays - Post-Covid New York - Make it stand out Art in Transit: Keith Haring drawing in a New York subway station in 1981. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1623492265181-NA462Q67VRIYJHF5JY1R/books.png Essays - Post-Covid New York - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1624136857590-HL4L1QJBJ2KOMUHMQTB0/studio-54.jpeg Essays - Post-Covid New York - Make it stand out Last days of Rome: Hedonism, glitz and glamor at the legendary Studio 54. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1623791425438-QGROMIMUEOSZ2OEUY8Y9/times-square.jpeg Essays - Post-Covid New York - Make it stand out Sleazy and dirty: Times Square in 1977, before it became a “Disneyfied” tourist destination. https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/genius-makers monthly 0.5 2021-06-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1616951211328-3TZC0MPB87Q7EVR61DB0/hinton.jpeg Essays - Genius Makers AI pioneer Geoff Hinton features prominently in Cade Metz’s new book, Genius Makers. https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/the-german-elon-of-the-70s monthly 0.5 2023-03-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1606064291685-VEMSFLQL8VPXVMHIP4SE/2.png Essays - The German Elon of the 70s Kayser in the control center at the German Aerospace Center in Lampoldshausen. Source: OTRAG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1606064448712-5Q8JG6VDTB75NV6KO8SF/5.png Essays - The German Elon of the 70s Kayser on Bikendrik Island, a tiny island in the Pacific where he lived until his death in 2017. Source: OTRAG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595439277525-N1KY1FTDNW9EB1P2KT6U/Lutz_Kayser.jpg Essays - The German Elon of the 70s Meet Lutz Kayser, the pioneering rocket engineer and founder of OTRAG (Source: OTRAG) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1606064388244-7TDBMRR5U22SUHG7Y02G/4.png Essays - The German Elon of the 70s The company’s MVP, the OTRAG-1 (left). Two OTRAG employees assemble a tank unit (right). Source: OTRAG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1606064185347-VN7XY7VCBE5NGAOK3N04/1.png Essays - The German Elon of the 70s Lutz Kayser with a prototype of his “cluster rocket” (left), next to a design sketch by Klaus Bürgle (right). Source: OTRAG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1606064325339-DDMVG69WFNO2B5IRZFG1/3.jpeg Essays - The German Elon of the 70s OTRAG’s rocket in different configurations, compared to US launchers of the 1970s. Source: Popular Science 1978 https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/dreamer-of-space-engineer-of-war monthly 0.5 2021-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1599652697663-MLMSIARDX1ZPO2DAS5C9/vonBraun.jpg Essays - Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War Wernher von Braun explains the Saturn V Launch System to President John F. Kennedy. Six days later, Kennedy was dead. https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/global-disorder-zeihan monthly 0.5 2023-09-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595019035933-JHEJ6N9VD5N75N0GGETL/Borah_Lodge_1924.jpg Essays - Global Disorder: The Takes of Zeihan America First: Isolationist Senators William Borah (left) and Henry Cabot Lodge (middle) in 1924 https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/the-pandemic-book-club monthly 0.5 2021-11-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1603902291153-YAOZHLZCGXYDOZFU3PZJ/lucian01.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - October 19 Breakfast with Lucian by Geordie Greig: This eye-popping portrait of Lucian Freud does justice to both his artistic genius and his spectacularly messy life (hundreds of lovers, as many as 30 children). Greig provides a perfect mixture of intelligent perception and juicy gossip! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1606927787399-VBKORHLCBAUJ0IDBY76V/Woody_Allen.png Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - December 2 Apropos of Nothing by Woody Allen: A mixed bag. The book opens strongly, with laughs on almost every page. Then, about midway through, Mia Farrow enters and the story falls off a cliff. The book also fails to provide new insights into Allen’s filmmaking. La-dee-da, la-dee-da, la la! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1606149376717-RLU3Y7PB3GVZYAAS3UE6/Christakis.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - November 23 Apollo’s Arrow by Nicholas Christakis: One of several books this year that examine the history, psychology, and economic impact of the pandemic. Having followed the author’s exceptional Twitter feed since February, I expected the book to be more insightful and less programmatic. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1609691925682-RRU577TCHDF3FJ84I598/Ballon_Jackson.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - Encore Robert Moses and the Modern City by Hilary Ballon & Kenneth Jackson: Two Columbia University professors revisit the legacy of ‘Big Bob the Builder’––with mixed results. Reading the essays felt a little like going to an art exhibition that offers a wholly unconvincing re-evaluation of an artist’s oeuvre. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595779932175-CVE7OZMX6MSKLSK0RFGS/Image_Tweet.png Essays - The Pandemic Book Club https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595344718587-TLUIQKWLP6WLHNOBP0W7/Levy.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - June 14 ‪Facebook by Steven Levy: An up-to-date, largely sympathetic portrait of the social network that chronicles how relentless growth planted the seeds for an epic reputational meltdown. At 550 pages, Levy’s “inside story” is richly detailed but far less groundbreaking than expected. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595282678432-0D4K3ZOL3BI0QE4VAW8U/Wiener.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - April 22 Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener: A candid look at Silicon Valley from the perspective of a low-level, non-engineering employee. Wiener is a rock-solid writer and her opening sentence reads like an instant classic. After a strong start, the book sadly falls off in the second half. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595345029498-VQAWE1KTF5Y4BRUXK564/Saramago2.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - June 28 Seeing by José Saramago: It’s election day in the country that was recently ravaged by a blindness plague. The population starts a silent backlash by casting blank votes. The government panics and responds with oppressive measures. Democracy turns against itself. Dark and absurd! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1597597725424-XU1J46G7181YOXKC756V/oreilly.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - August 10 What’s The Future? by Tim O’Reilly: I’m a huge fan of Tim’s writings but this is a strange book––a combination of self-aggrandizing memoir and techno-utopian manifesto. The problem is not that it lacks great ideas or insights; it’s that they’re buried in almost 400 pages of meandering verbiage. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595345236861-DUJI093IZ3W64PIG4RM8/Zeihan.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - July 16 Disunited Nations by Peter Zeihan: A new age of American isolationism dawns. Sea lanes are no longer safe, global trade breaks down, old geopolitical conflicts re-emerge. Zeihan presents an oversimplified, deterministic view of the world, but he offers tons of food for thought! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1600022343918-MA506VMDGWVXU0A7IMJE/MacDonald.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - September 13 The Long Space Age by Alex MacDonald: This book challenges the dominant narrative of space exploration as an inherently governmental activity. The American observatories (19th century) and Robert Goddard’s rockets (1920s) were primarily funded by private individuals. Refreshingly contrarian! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1609355695510-9NAGW3I69ZS5JD5N6SQY/Mezrich.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - December 29 Bitcoin Billionaires by Ben Mezrich: What a disappointing book! It reads like a PR puff piece for the Winklevoss twins who used their Facebook settlement money to acquire 1% of all the bitcoin in circulation. Mezrich has a knack for purple prose that is truly cringe-worthy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1607280090133-YV7QW65WQ85XAK4QZ0DN/McConaughey.png Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - December 6 Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey: A diary-turned-memoir that is punctuated with self-help tidbits. The stories and anecdotes range from the slightly cringe-inducing to the outright cheesy. A disappointing book, especially considering the rave reviews. Alright, alright, alright. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1602421845903-LVA5IS4DWHLH3EGQ0ZVI/Reid.jpeg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - October 11 Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid: A social satire about a woke influencer mom and her black babysitter. Reid’s depiction of race and privilege feels clear-eyed and empathetic, though the plot doesn’t add up to much. How did this book make it on the longlist for the Booker Prize? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1601222363792-TSHSLUE6CGFKEXYGD1M8/Lemoine.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - September 22 The Margot Affair by Sanaë Lemoine: The heartfelt story of a French teenage girl who is the product of a secret affair between a famous stage actress and a married politician. Things begin to unravel when she reveals her father’s identity to a journalist. Solid debut novel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1609188700630-P5MCGSH6AQ7JFRDBGVRY/Popper.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - December 27 Digital Gold by Nathaniel Popper: A wildly entertaining chronicle of the early ‘Wild West’ days of Bitcoin. Popper traces the cryptocurrency from its invention in 2008 to the collapse of Mt. Gox and BitInstant in 2014. Not up to date on recent events but still highly relevant! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595282791589-REFKVP5L4ZNUPQMWXIKD/Lanier.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - May 3 Who Owns the Future? by Jaron Lanier: A technophile’s manifesto for a fair and sustainable data economy. Lanier laments that the ‘Siren Servers’ (tech giants) treat data as free land and proposes a micropayment scheme that pays users for their data contributions. Thought-provoking! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595344635431-1NZ4FICSA2ZSOEW4EKSL/Wertheim.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - June 7 Strokes of Genius by Jon Wertheim: A riveting, superbly insightful recap of the legendary 2008 Federer-Nadal Wimbledon final. Wertheim skillfully enriches the match details with biographical portraits and ruminations on every aspect of modern tennis. David Foster Wallace quality of tennis writing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595281852076-5D6H9AHDML9LINVE0PDA/Harvey.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - April 19 The Shapeless Unease by Samantha Harvey: An introspective, stream-of-conscious memoir about the author’s year-long struggle with insomnia. Harvey’s fragmented prose mimics the wandering of the sleepless mind perfectly. Profound and deeply insightful; not at all soporific! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595283100069-9C23LGSQNR82N5MSK2DL/Mayintyre2.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - May 12 The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre: The life of Oleg Gordievsky who, as a Soviet MI6 double agent, made the same journey as Kim Philby but in the opposite direction. One side’s hero is another’s traitor. Another exceptionally rewarding spy thriller by the great Macintyre! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595344914987-S9KPWKGJJPNWQOX3C18B/Iger.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - June 21 The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger: An unexpectedly thoughtful and engaging leadership memoir that chronicles how “Hollywood’s nicest CEO” rejuvenated Disney by doubling down on high-quality branded content (Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm) and embracing disruption (Disney+). Terrific read! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595344468039-GCQC61FXI0TOK996OKSQ/Preston.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - June 1 Eight Days at Yalta by Diana Preston: Negotiations, like poker games, hinge on the quality of your hand and how you play it. At Yalta, Stalin had the best hand and played it ruthlessly. Preston’s prose is crisp yet doesn’t offer much depth or new insight. But what a great cover! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1604858684682-K3GXUMG83SAT70QBNGDJ/Richardson.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - November 2 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by John Richardson: A triple portrait of the author (best known for writing the definitive biography of Picasso), Douglas Cooper (one of the most important early collectors of cubist art), and Picasso. Every page bursts with art-world gossip and anecdotes! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1601222552729-PXVI8RTCNM5WCVUR2WI1/Clark.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - September 17 Ignition! by John Clark: An informal history of the “Wild West” days of rocket propellant development (1940-60s). Clark offers a fascinating view into the technical challenges and social dynamics of the rocket world. Surprisingly funny for a book with tons of chemical equations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1597597781885-5X3T0VEACCY239G3NOBH/Krastev01.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - August 16 After Europe by Ivan Krastev: Wow! This is the most comprehensive essay on the future challenges of the EU that I’ve encountered to date. Krastev provides an excellent analysis of the multiple crises that are washing over Europe. His perceptiveness and wit make Slavoj Žižek look like a dilettante. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1598630572430-SYVPGQNPP29VHMBTC7M5/Fernholz.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - August 28 Rocket Billionaires by Tim Fernholz: A solid introduction to the new space age and the rivalry between Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on how SpaceX took on the military-industrial complex and broke ULA’s monopoly of U.S. government launches. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1607884048173-JHPHJOMKBLYNYVVJ1UXN/Bezos.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - December 13 Invent and Wander by Jeff Bezos: The collected writings by one of the best capital allocators in history. It’s astounding how clearly Bezos outlined his decision-making principles right from the first shareholder letter in 1997. The introduction by Walter Isaacson is excellent! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595696275362-K0RK7AUG5U2ZAUXYZRB3/Mesquita.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - July 25 The Dictator’s Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith: How do dictators gain and retain political power? They loot the treasury, keep the coalition of key supporters small, and pay them just enough to keep them loyal. Part Machiavelli, part Freakonomics with a heavy dose of cynicism. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1601222429534-U075ET77L0IEC4N0KS99/Rooney.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - September 27 Normal People by Sally Rooney: The twisting tale of Marianne and Connell, two hapless teenagers who have a comical talent for screwing things up and breaking each other’s hearts. One misunderstanding follows another. They belong together but just can’t make it work. Depressing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1599600884672-JYCCHYSUSDQWX7NJ4WXA/Neufeld.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - September 8 Wernher von Braun by Michael Neufeld: This exhaustive biography brilliantly captures von Braun’s profound moral complexities as well as his genius for managing complex engineering projects. It’s an endlessly fascinating portrait of a complicated, two-sided man. Highly recommended! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1603902359327-BWTVUFG9VXR31AVW9WIB/lucian02.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - October 25 Man with a Blue Scarf by Martin Gayford: This is quite possibly one of the best books I’ve read in a long time! For seven months, the reader gets to be a fly on the wall in Lucian Freud’s studio. The experience changes the way you think about portraiture. Lucid and engrossing! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1606148985422-7ALYPT8Y28YDEHD4WSC8/Krastev02.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - November 17 Is It Tomorrow Yet? by Ivan Krastev: In just 75 pages of crisp prose, Krastev looks at the geopolitical stakes of the pandemic and ponders how the post-coronavirus world will look like. A brilliant and very thought-provoking essay, especially considering the economy of the prose. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1596474404578-OUWIC0MWCSN1NFOB5L30/Hedge.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - August 2 Hedge by Nicolas Colin: A socio-institutional framework for how to fix the welfare state for the digital age. Colin argues that the safety net of the postwar era is outdated and crumbling. We must adapt it if we want to provide economic security for the many. Thought-provoking! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595281245950-PX8H0JDC2Q1PGVXP3WDJ/Hodgman.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - April 13 Medallion Status by John Hodgman: A collection of personal stories that examine status, fame and identity, built around the author’s addiction to the loyalty program of Delta Airlines. Also includes a hilarious meditation on Donald Trump (“He’s a performance artist who never breaks character”). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1608645942274-YJQ6G1QU04IB2J6SP0NK/Housel.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - December 22 The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel: This is quite possibly the best personal finance book I’ve read to date. In twenty short chapters, Housel explores our relationship with money and draws life lessons that are timeless and broadly applicable. He’s an incredible writer! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595282895739-RW160FIVA8ID18CQ0UHF/Macintyre1.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - May 6 A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre: The true story of Kim Philby, the infamous British double agent and cold war traitor who defected to Moscow in 1963. A spellbinding tale of espionage and deep treason, framed through Philby’s betrayal of his closest friends. Page turner! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1604858780972-5M4KRA9XMT7N7PNNJJIV/Gayford.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - November 8 Modernists and Mavericks by Martin Gayford: A superb group biography of post-war British painters, with emphasis placed on Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Gayford, who sat for portraits by Freud and Hockney, draws on extensive interviews with the artists. He’s a marvelous writer! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595344979177-161IAT1D88W04SDLP2LJ/Saramago1.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - June 25 Blindness by José Saramago: A catastrophic epidemic of blindness sweeps the nation. The government panics and locks up the infected in a mental asylum. That fails to halt the contagion. A complete social breakdown follows as the blind go to war with one another. Soul-wrenching! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595345083371-6A17T7TD77OK0RHCJ4R1/Mauceri1.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - July 5 Maestros and Their Music by John Mauceri: What do conductors actually do? How do they establish authority with the orchestra? What defines greatness? Mauceri’s answers are insightful and entertaining, although he gives his peers an uneven treatment (no mention of the legendary Carlos Kleiber?) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595280600402-YJQOD29LDP90TIEXS4RM/hitchcock.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club Alfred Hitchcock knew there’s nothing like a good book https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595282720052-6FP53O6JRY6J7D6TMBBI/Hersch.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - April 26 Good Things Happen Slowly by Fred Hersch: A revelatory memoir by one of the finest jazz pianists of our time. Hersch was diagnosed HIV-positive in the 1980s and later fell into a two-month, near-death coma. His artistic rebirth was nothing short of a miracle. Gripping narrative! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595344168087-LPLEN7W7963SIQXFUO1B/Enrich.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - May 17 Dark Towers by David Enrich: The rise and fall of Deutsche Bank, from once-proud institution to reckless casino. The book has all the drama of John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood but not much of its depth and pacing. Fun fact: Softbank Vision Fund is now led by the same executives who ran DB into the ground. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595344389464-C20X1WPLWWWWVM5SVX70/Barnes1.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - May 24 The Only Story by Julian Barnes: Heʼs 19. Sheʼs 48 and married. They meet at the local tennis club and begin an affair. In typical Barnesian fashion, the story is told by an aging, male narrator with slippery memory and emotional detachment. A bleak tale of love gone wrong. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1609433809418-QNGT1AWAX45LRK7C2PY4/Caro.jpg Essays - The Pandemic Book Club - December 31 The Power Broker by Robert Caro: I’m finishing off the pandemic book club with one of my all-time favorites—Caro’s 1974 masterpiece about the urban planner Robert Moses. Books don’t change, but their readers do. This book captivated me even more now than as a 21-year old student! https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/germany-asleep-at-the-wheel monthly 0.5 2021-08-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595104042115-IQ1W3UDKA41DCVED3215/image04.gif Essays - Germany asleep at the wheel? Left: A self-driving Mercedes S-Class driving on the German Autobahn in 1994. Right: A self-driving Uber driving in Pittsburgh in 2016. Source: Computer History Museum (left) and TechCrunch (right) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595098626140-A2GVO7P0OX0XPEW3CAAN/quote01_Merkel.png Essays - Germany asleep at the wheel? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595104698058-PDNH8N2HY7WCT60N8JDI/image09.gif Essays - Germany asleep at the wheel? Tesla’s Autopilot, a level 2 semi-autonomous driving system, in action. Source: Tesla Motors https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595104647857-PB53GZVOOK04T9GYHHRY/image08.jpg Essays - Germany asleep at the wheel? German news magazine Der Spiegel warning about the dangers of progress in 1964 (left), 1978 (middle) and 2016 (right) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595098703817-Z0GRHW6CZLOLZ2Q15G96/quote02_VW.png Essays - Germany asleep at the wheel? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595104549552-AXHKEFDEJD8ID0XJELSJ/image07.png Essays - Germany asleep at the wheel? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595105140663-CZ1OHKZWR9TG9LGFV5IX/image-asset.png Essays - Germany asleep at the wheel? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595105301901-MQBYQI932BBJMOGDGAW8/Screen+Shot+2020-07-18+at+22.47.51.png Essays - Germany asleep at the wheel? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595103824508-CTFZHN8XV3V47W9XRB2N/image03.jpg Essays - Germany asleep at the wheel? Ernst Dickmann’s early prototype VaMoRs, a refined 5-tonne Mercedes van. Source: Computer History Museum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595105434058-UJHF9XAWDU8L1UQS14NS/image05.png Essays - Germany asleep at the wheel? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595096455520-POW6LJALWKQR77A7S7CV/image-13.png Essays - Germany asleep at the wheel? A self-driving car prototype by German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz. Source: Daimler https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/data-acquisition-strategies monthly 0.5 2020-11-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595108501241-86IDTVBJP4I69AKC5SXH/1*09JRxj59g27rRWh0P-SMlw.png Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595108525086-GW32OI7CZFGJKKU552Y3/1*oq9Gql-Rv7uGVheIJjJErg.jpeg Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups Source: Sift Science / TechCrunch https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595106426947-N6QCOT4I2AZETI4BI03A/featured.jpg Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups Jack Lemmon earning a few extra bucks as a crowdsourcer on Amazon Mechnical Turk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595108437706-IKI1X4RWH1EV3K2SOCRK/1*6igPHv3WFfG_71tX64LyEQ.jpeg Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups Source: Tesla Motors / EmTech Digital Conference https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595107188690-B1OF22CAISA2JHKFWD5K/1*8b-tGn_QnpBORLI7RLNEjw.png Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595108334331-ZHGAQP3FATCNMBXFC9E1/1*WxNh3ExuNjqv9kcB04TxcQ.gif Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595108375978-B0A41QYB0YPJ0UND0UH5/1*Wz1divYxGkp1ssXVvdJRaw.jpeg Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups Source: Clarifai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595108470764-5S685CMBNUUDWTTJ120R/1*Ol01AbiI94M-eTMyPjUCvg.png Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595107223871-LXYQ0BF55PWVHW1Q4VAS/1*yzROwjw-zTqVEAS-AfbQZw.jpeg Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups Source: x.ai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595106652393-SWXHGSC25CLISX7JYM4Y/1*GY_sWM8SfZdp023IPJ1LXQ.png Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595108580567-39L413Q1YB2NG09NHTOL/1*IkTlOm9PWrPJOZRDu7zaRg.png Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1595107394847-D72YER09MW59YWFJ9FHK/1*at0sKlg96VJizRXzbrFOyg.png Essays - 10 Data Acquisition Strategies for Startups https://www.muellerfreitag.com/essays/category/TwentyBN monthly 0.5 https://www.muellerfreitag.com/about daily 0.75 2025-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1597669222310-PP08ULM92LQ8JMOS66PB/moritz.png About https://www.muellerfreitag.com/media daily 0.75 2023-12-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1598368717627-1H9MAGSEPMHIXNZMPJCQ/CNBC.png Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1598365008250-SGQN5UBMKZMSMIZJ398A/Seedtable.jpg Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1598368450114-WQM3WNIX1RKP5KR62MKR/Economist.png Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1607191670922-GIPNDQ15TRWTX84MYBSG/images.jpg Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1598368416293-FFMNKS6GKY40R22HDVZL/Bloomberg.png Media May https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f11f960974e102b616d905f/1607191667591-Y1T2FACJNUD6N1HWZPGS/images.jpg Media - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.