readers, we’re sorry for a glitch that led to some of you receiving last week’s issue twice. it won’t happen again...we hope. you’d think that immediately after issuing a mea culpa we wouldn’t have the courage to ask you to refer a friend, and you’re right. we won’t. we’ll just point out your unique subscriber referral link is at the bottom of this email <3

big idea: an unsteady economic recovery

1. in case you thought you understood the economy, we’re here to break the news to you - you don’t, we don’t either. the september jobs report had anemic numbers despite a host of positive news over the past month. wages are skyrocketing, college seniors are being bombarded with job offers, COVID cases are decreasing, hiring in the hospitality sector is stabilizing, and schools have largely reopened.
2. despite all that, fewer than half the expected number of new jobs were created last month, and the number of people participating in the workforce fell in key demographics, like black men. we’re also seeing all sorts of labor strikes and walkouts, from food to hollywood, and supply chain issues continue to weigh on manufacturing and consumer goods. listen, we haven’t been this confused since the end of “Inception”.
3. so what’s our point here? well, last month’s jobs report could be largely explained by local governments failing to find enough people to drive buses and clean schools, or...it could be something else. the only thing which is clear is the unclarity surrounding our recovery from COVID. like anyone who has gotten it can tell you, you never really know when you’ll be back up to 100% again.

story to watch: china strikes at taiwan

1. china raised the temperature in eastern asia this week as it sent dozens of aircraft into airspace near taiwan continuously for days on end. the taiwanese airforce was overwhelmed by this show of strength. this record-breaking testing of taiwan’s defenses coincides with china celebrating its independence day.
2. this also comes amid newly substantiated reports that last year the US has begun training taiwanse forces for the first time ever, an escalation of our involvement in the island’s defenses. taiwan, which historically has been part of china, broke off 70 years ago when the mainland became communist. it has studiously threaded the needle between autonomy and independence, knowing that a chinese invasion would be devastating.
3. what has changed in recent years is the calculation that such an invasion would likely result in a communist victory. chinese forces are now better equipped and trained than taiwan’s, and the island is increasingly seen as the main cause of tensions between china and the US, rather than an sideshow. Joe and china’s president Xi Jingping will be speaking with each other by the end of the year, so fingers crossed that our thanksgiving turkey isn’t radioactive.

this week’s image: nobel laureate

• (BBC) does a photo of books really count as a notable image? anyways, join us as we celebrate the latest nobel prize in literature winner, Abdulrazak Gurnah, who has contributed more to post-colonial black literature than perhaps anyone else alive.

this week’s number: train capacity could increase by 50%

1. we know what you’re thinking - trains are awesome, and we should dedicate an entire issue to them. alas, the world is cruel to us ferroequinologists, and we have to pretend that not everyone is as into trains as they should be. anyways, train capacity within the US could increase by 50% if trains became fully autonomous. we keep hearing about autonomous driving, but in many ways, pushing the envelope on train technology would not only benefit society more, but would also be easier to do.
2. the reality is that the US has the