Manufactured Dependence

Mid-century travel-poster illustration of a New England beach from the reader's view: a single navy book on pale sand, a small sloop on the teal sea, a robin's egg blue sky.

Circular Fundamentals

The Circular Economy: A User's Guide

The summer reading season opens with Walter Stahel's introductory text — a book that reaches for what's still missing: a longing for the circular economy.

A gouache of an Edwardian country-house lawn: a round mid-century theater rotunda rises over the grass, dwarfing the empty wicker chairs and tea table; a manor in the distance.

Carousel of Plenty

The Carousel of Plenty

The season's real subject turned out to be the good life — and the kind of luxury that comes from a better place than scarcity.

Mid-century-style painting of a sunny country-house lawn: a silver flying saucer hovers over the grass beyond an empty wicker chair and a set tea table, a manor house in the distance.

Circular Century

The Circular Century — So What

Clarke said that whether or not we are alone in the universe, the prospect is terrifying. This season's final letter asks what would make us worthy of the answer.

On the Bubble

Closing out a season that asked why circularity stalled — and discovered that the environmental case, while critical, is not enough to close the deal. The benefits hiding behind it are the ones that will.

New Deal

A New Deal You Can Acquire For Yourself

Personal sovereignty in energy, attention, time, and your relationship with things. The Circular Century is a New Deal you can acquire for yourself — the full inheritance of a surplus you were always owed.