TouchStone Reads - January 9th, 2026

We often set aside articles that are longer, deserve a re-read, are broader in scope…or just for fun - for weekend reading. Below are some from this week - pour yourself a hot cup of coffee & enjoy...

• On every continent, food supplies have grown faster than the population (Our World in Data)
• Top of the Charts: our most popular work in 2025 (Our World in Data)
• What life means to Einstein (Saturday Evening Post)
• Behind every influencer is an army of the influenced, many adrift in debt and mass-produced clutter. The platforms need influencers and influencers need audiences - but what the influenced need is not so simple. (The Verge)
• Finnish children learn media literacy at 3 years old. It’s protection against Russian propaganda.  (AP News)
• The next big thing in 2026 will be... (Substack)
• What makes something a cult? Here is what our data say (Clearer Thinking)
• We live like royalty and don’t know it. Not just compared to other places, but other times. (The New Atlantis)
• Why Everyone Loves Japan (Noahpinion)
• The Lost Art of Research as Leisure: Where have the amateur researchers gone, and how do we bring them back? (Kasurian)
• 8 of the biggest late night moments of 2025: It’s no exaggeration to say that 2025 changed the landscape of late night television. (Mashable)  

What are you reading or listening to?