Trust Funds And Chilli Peppers

Trust Funds Made The Modern World

Benedict Springbett | 16th June 2026

Trusts emerged in English law as a loophole around bad laws that were hindering social and economic progress. They allowed married women to hold property when the law forbade it. They helped group activities and civil society flourish by enabling a group of people to act legally as one person. The trust is “that most English of institutions: a fudge — but a fudge that built the modern world” (5,400 words)

Chilli Peppers Of The World

Erik Gauger | Notes From The Road | 10th June 2026

A hand-drawn visual field guide. “Capsaicin, the compound that makes chilli peppers hot, is an evolutionary filter designed to punish mammals and reward birds. Humans entered the picture late and changed almost everything about the pepper’s form, flavour and range. But the underlying logic is still there in every fruit: a molecule that says no to the animals who won’t deliver their seeds far from the tree” (24,100 words)

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