This Week I Learned #3 – 21 July 2013

Articles:

1. A lengthy and fascinating interview with the former head of the CIA and NSA.
2. Nadia Popova, Hero of the Soviet Union, a woman who flew 852 combat missions during World War 2, died on 8 July. Here is her beautiful obituary (free reg’n may be required). For more on Senior Lieutenant Popova and her colleagues, I would refer you to this book, a compilation of interviews with the survivors decades after the war.
3. “A Chinese museum has been forced to close after claims that its 40,000-strong collection of supposedly ancient relics was almost entirely composed of fakes.“
4. A day in the life of a maternity nurse in Beijing.
5. A trip through the jungle, to what – on paper – is slated to become the biggest port in Asia
6. Superstar economics vs the long tail (free reg’n required).
7. Are we safer now? (free reg’n required)
8. “Go freelance and work harder. But will you work better?“
9. George Orwell didn’t just write about politics and liberty; he also wrote about how to make a good cup of tea.

Video:

1. Ecological exchange: why Australian gum trees have taken off in Kenya.