This week our headline article is a tweet thread – a data-story on the changing nature of Hollywood box-office hits. Article/s of the week ​a. A tweet thread on Hollywood’s box-office hits by Eric Krebs​ Movies are fun (and relatively easy) to research. Each movie is a clear, discrete product. You can categorise them across hundreds of possible aspects. And financial success is easy to measure. Which makes it an analyst’s dream. Freelance writer Eric Krebs uses those factors to his advantage in this eye-opening analysis of how the composition of box-office hits has changed in US. There are two …

This week our headline article is a fascinating dive into Spain’s history by Tomas Pueyo. Article/s of the week ​a. ‘A brief history of Spain’ by Tomas Pueyo​ How do you start a tweet thread about the history of Spain, a country of just about 46M people (think Delhi+Mumbai combined), but one whose language is spoken by 600M around the world? You create a compelling hook. Here’s how Tomas Pueyo starts his thread: Source: Tomas Pueyo tweet That’s right – Spain’s greatest legacy to the world is its language. Almost all of the nations of Central and South America (except Brazil) and a …

This week our headline article is a short yet deeply insightful piece by Morgan Housel. Article/s of the week ​a. ‘Reality Catches Up’ by Morgan Housel​ You complete an MBA/engineering degree and are looking for a job. Guess what – you win the job market lottery! How? Because you have graduated at the peak of a boom cycle. You get a job with an unheard of starting salary. That sounds like a great thing to have, right? An asset as it were. Morgan Housel has a different point of view. An asset you don’t deserve can quickly become a liability. …

This week’s main article recommendation, by the incredible Mahima Vashisht, is a stirring ode to that most curious Indian practice – of wives not taking their husband’s names. (Incidentally, no #SOTD Digest this week, since it is on a mid-season break!) Article/s of the week ​a. ‘He who must not be named’ by Mahima Vashist (Womaning in India)​ There are few writers who write about such universally relevant topics (such as gender) with such freshness, clarity, wit and warmth as Mahima. I’ve had the pleasure of hosting Mahima on my podcast – catch that conversation in case you haven’t yet. After a …

This week’s book is a fascinating dive into the origins of words by one of my favourite authors – Mark Forsyth. But first up, the #SOTD Digest. The #SOTD Digest Here’s a quick summary of the five #SOTD emails from the past week – a week when I hit the 100 number! – #SOTD 96: The rise of ‘Narrative capital’ (Sajith Pai post): Sajith Pai doing what he does best – finding insightful patterns among disparate data points and labelling the same. – #SOTD 97: Start with a very narrow audience (Lenny Rachitsky tweet): Product management expert Lenny Rachitsky gives some counter-intuitive advice when …

This week’s article shares a fascinating story about two sailors who participated in a competition to circumnavigate the world in the 1960s… with one ending his life in tragic circumstances. But first up, the #SOTD Digest. The #SOTD Digest Here’s a quick summary of the five #SOTD emails from the past week – focused on storytelling examples from the non-profit sector: – #SOTD 91: A beneficiary story to start a non-profit pitch (Aavishkar): Aavishkar Foundation starts their pitch with an evocative story of a beneficiary (a smiling girl called Anjali). – #SOTD 92: Showing disparity with striking visuals (Bodhi Tree): The Bodhi Tree uses …