YouTube — 2026-03-23#

Watch First#

The Responsibilities of American Leadership is an incredibly compelling watch from the Hoover Institution that blends ancient philosophy with modern geopolitics. General Jim Mattis and stoicism author Ryan Holiday discuss the virtues of Washington and Lincoln, applying stoic philosophy to the reality of the current US-Iran war, with Mattis noting that true strategy must serve as an “appetite suppressant” to endless conflict.

Highlights by Theme#

News & Business#

The US-Iran conflict dominates the news cycle, though with a bizarre twist: the Financial Times covers the gamification of the war, highlighting a White House propaganda video that splices military strikes with SpongeBob SquarePants and Nintendo Wii graphics. On the ground, the reality is much darker, with the WSJ reporting on Iran’s use of cluster bombs against Israeli civilian areas, while The New York Times uses recent satellite imagery to reveal Iran frantically burying the entrances to a highly-enriched uranium site in Isfahan to protect it from airstrikes. Meanwhile in China, CNBC reports that drivers are panic-buying gas in Beijing after Sinopec announced major price hikes triggered by global oil surges tied to the Middle East conflict. Domestically, the NYT breaks down a crucial Supreme Court case out of Mississippi that could invalidate hundreds of thousands of late-arriving mail-in ballots nationwide.

Learning & Ideas#

The Hoover Institution shines again with two brilliant historical and geopolitical deep dives: Matti Friedman exploring the tragic WWII mission of poet Hannah Senesh parachuting into Nazi Europe, and former Mossad intelligence chief Zohar Palti offering a blunt assessment of Israel’s multi-front war and the pager operations against Hezbollah. In Chinese-language commentary, Yuan Sir offers a brilliant, essential history of Iranian Bazaari merchants, explaining how they historically allied with clerics against the monarchy to protect their markets, only to be marginalized and economically crushed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. For a lighter historical detour, Gao Xiaosong’s channel delivers a hilarious look at ancient Chinese literati and their pets, including the Ming dynasty’s “cricket emperor” who sparked a ruinous national frenzy over fighting crickets.

Tech & AI#

In a brief but insightful clip on the No Priors podcast, Andrej Karpathy discusses the emerging “personalities” of AI models, noting that Claude feels like an enthusiastic teammate while Codex remains dry and purely functional. Over at TED, Priyanka Vergadia gives a solid talk on the limits of AI, reminding us that while models excel at identifying data patterns, humans are still required to understand the unquantifiable context and intent behind them. Interestingly, CNBC points out that fears of a white-collar AI recession are pushing more women into “AI-proof” blue-collar skilled trades like carpentry and electrical work.

Everything Else#

Teacher Mike breaks down the Gen Z slang (“dipped,” “cold turkey,” “ego surfing”) used by US figure skater Alysa Liu during her post-gold medal interviews. For a dose of British melancholy, Susie Woo beautifully explains the UK tradition of memorial park benches dedicated to lost loved ones. Finally, for winter sports fans, the WSJ interviews Vail’s CEO, who stubbornly pushes back against skier complaints that mega-passes have ruined the mountain experience with overcrowding.