Private Wonder

The Private Train Car Edition

Matt Locke | Why Is This Interesting? | 29th October 2024 | U

Super-wealthy people in the US who prefer to travel by train rather than plane can still move about the country in privacy and surrounded by luxury. Their opulent private rail cars can be hitched to ordinary Amtrak services. At their 1929 zenith, there were over 2,000 of them in use. There is something heart-warming about "the mutual co-existence of extreme private luxury and public goods" (800 words)

How To Build A Wonder Of The World

Kevin Duong | Public Books | 29th October 2024 | U

Review of a book about communes. From the Paris Commune of 1871 to the 21C "embourgeoisement" of the Hudson Valley, what defines a commune is its members' acts of protection. "Defending a piece of land, a neighbourhood, or a town is what sustains the autonomous self-management of everyday life, the very quality that makes the commune such a distinctive political form" (X words)