Rust Case

Rust Never Sleeps

Stewart Brand | Works In Progress | 21st September 2023

All metals corrode eventually, save for gold and platinum. Rust is nature asserting itself — metallurgy in reverse. Refined metals shed electrons until they have turned themselves back into more chemically stable metal oxides. Keeping rust at bay is an "endless drudgery of oiling, greasing, brushing, scraping, cleansing, swabbing, painting, repainting, re-repainting, and finally discarding" (3,800 words)

The Case For Prophetic Office

James Bernard Murphy | 1584 | 12th September 2023

Why prophets deserve a place among the checks and balances of a well-ordered political system: They are ombudsmen of a sort. "Prophets cannot rule us or create good institutions; they can only denounce abuses of power by politicians and priests. Prophetic politics is the politics of the veto. Prophets do not tell religious and political leaders what to do but only what cannot be done" (1,425 words)