YouTube — 2026-03-26#

Watch First#

袁Sir聊君主画像：穆杰塔巴用画像登基 #lifeano漫聊 260326 History buff Yuan Sir (LIFEANO CLUB) offers a brilliant, darkly funny dive into the history of monarch portraits, sparked by the absurd news that Iran’s Mojtaba Khamenei used a cardboard cutout of himself for his succession ceremony to avoid being targeted by the US and Israel. It is a fascinating look at how regimes use images as political totems, from ancient Chinese emperors to modern dictatorships.

Highlights by Theme#

News & Business#

The escalating US-Israel war with Iran dominates the news cycle today. The New York Times examines the massive risks of striking Iran’s Kharg Island, which handles 90% of the country’s oil exports. Meanwhile, CNBC details how the Strait of Hormuz closure is already driving up costs for US consumers on everything from fertilizer for the spring planting season to generic drugs manufactured in India. On the diplomatic front, The Wall Street Journal features a tense interview with Spain’s PM Pedro Sanchez, who is facing threats of a total trade cutoff from President Trump for refusing to let the US use Spanish bases for strikes. For an excellent financial perspective, Chinese-language channel 美投侃新闻 breaks down how the resulting oil shock is shifting Federal Reserve rate expectations and shaking up the stock market.

Learning & Ideas#

The Hoover Institution hosted an incredibly nerdy but fascinating panel on the Naval War College’s interwar wargames, showing how 1920s and 30s simulations literally mapped out the US strategy against Japan for WWII. On the education front, Khan Academy posted a remarkably candid roundtable where Sal Khan and school superintendents discuss the friction of bringing AI into classrooms that are still structurally trapped by a “teaching to the test” mindset. Also, TED released a great behind-the-scenes documentary on their Chicago Idea Search, showing how speakers refine their talks before Joshua Johnson ultimately wins a spot on the main stage.

Tech & AI#

美投侃新闻 delivers sharp analysis on two massive silicon developments: Google’s new “TurboQuant” memory compression tech which could slash AI inference costs and allow large models to run locally, and ARM’s historic pivot to manufacturing its own AI server chips, a move that directly threatens Intel and AMD’s x86 dominance in data centers.

Everything Else#

Need a palate cleanser? Xiaosong Gao’s latest vlog is a wonderfully cozy ode to the joys of grocery shopping in Los Angeles, mixing ingredients from Japanese, Korean, and Chinese supermarkets to create the ultimate cross-cultural hotpot. Finally, GQ Taiwan tests the cast of Netflix’s One Piece to see who knows each other best—a highly entertaining watch for fans of the show.