Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #461

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

• The Fantastically Strange Origin of Most Coal on Earth – National Geographic. “Did you know that coal is sort of an anomaly? Turns out that it comes from a period when wood was abundant — but nothing consumed it. So not only is coal on its way out, but the formation of coal pretty much stopped once bugs learned to eat it. Science is cool.” (Alistair for Hugh).
• Fox In Socks – Neil Gaiman. “I am a huge Neil Gaiman fan, waiting with bated breath for Good Omens. My daughter was raised on a diet of Blueberry Girl and The Wolves in the Walls and Instructions. And every now and then he does amazing things, some for charity, some just because. Here he is reading Fox in Socks for charity, tongue twisters and all. Just because.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• Is this ‘Common’ Language? – Commonweal. “I’m afraid to talk about identity politics in public, but I  do think we’re perhaps losing the useful ability to have conversations about important things.” (Hugh for Alistair). 
• The Lost Art of Deadline Writing – The Atlantic. “Old timey sports writing is some of the best writing there is.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• Joe Rogan Experience #1283 – Russell Brand. “On the surface, you may take this conversation to be between two celebrities. Two celebrities who have comedy in common. Two celebrities who you can see on any kind of screen size. You would be right (and very wrong). With each and every passing day, I grow more and more enamored with the brain, wit and wisdom of Joe Rogan. He is as much of a Renaissance Man as I have ever seen. This conversation is heavy, smart, deep and deeply entertaining. If you’re looking for perspective and why we – as humans – need to connect more deeply with one another, then here it is. Take a deep breath and just consider what these two are verbally jamming on…” (Mitch for Alistair). 
• Medium – Writing. “This is one of my favorite permanent tabs to leave open in my web browser. The best of the best when it comes to content on Medium about writing. It’s a deep, dark and smart rabbit hole. You have been warned. So, if you have a penchant for typing words, and like to read about writing as much as you might like to actually write (a real problem that I have), then this might (also) be for you. I love it. I hope you do too.” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.