Chronicles of Our Culture…
Sports
MLB wants younger fans. It has tried a pitch clock, bigger bases, a universal designated hitter, a draft lottery, and a crack down on shifts. Some of these changes are defensible on their own terms, but none of them address the actual problem, which is not that the game is
Culture
Thomas Jefferson spent decades trying to grow French wine grapes at Monticello and never quite succeeded. The Virginia humidity defeated him, the phylloxera finished the job, and the project was quietly shelved as an admirable failure by one of history's most ambitious tinkerers. What is remarkable, standing in
Grapes and Gloves
Capital Frontiers has been conducting an ongoing research project on wine from around the world. We recently wrote about speculative investments in red wine production in China, among other topics. With wine now eclipsing beer as the most popular alcoholic beverage in the United States, our goal is to provide
30K Insights
In 2021, the Chinese-Mongolian border saw its worst dust storms in years, bringing dust pollution 20 times healthy levels. Swirling gusts of sand created skies so thick it appeared to be night at high noon. Air conditioners choked. And those who dared step foot outside found their shoes filled
30K Insights
Poor generation Z. Amid a time of cultural tumult, unprecedented social media and scars from the pandemic, one of the more battered generations in recent memory are the inheritors of our future challenges. They are also ever our cultural curiosity. Every few days another article lending another attempt at cultural
30K Insights
One of the most popular terms in planning is “automobile dependence”. The premise asserts that most people in most places in the United states are involuntarily dependent on their cars, with no other option, and that in an ideal world, in which everyone would be happier and more productive, people
Culture
Much of the country reacted with curious disbelief in 2021 when numerous media outlets – from Business Insider (https://www.businessinsider.com/how-american-dream-changed-unraveled-housing-labor-supply-chain-shortage-2021-11) to The Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/18/dont-rant-about-short-staffed-
America
In all formal channels of society, it seems that the glorification of athletes, celebrities, and musicians is on the rise. Media nearly across the board have sympathized with Players Unions in disputes with team ownership at all levels of professional sports, regardless of the issue. They’ve pushed for college
30K Insights
Although cities notoriously lean left in America, with Republican voter concentrations predominating in more rural and suburban locales, a few cities match their cosmopolitan qualities with conservative values. Based on Presidential Election data, below is a ranking of the only major cities in America in which the county containing the
Cities
It’s an uncomfortable question for planners, mayors, and urban theorists alike: what if most people never really wanted to live in cities in the first place? For decades, the prevailing narrative has been that cities are the apex of civilization—a place where ideas collide, creativity thrives, and human
30K Insights
Like a front line of untuned and misshapen trumpets, a chorus of discordant pessimism blares negativity about humanity’s future. David Attenborough, through his recent article for the UK’s Telegraph, has taken first chair, but competition is fierce. From spit valves to sweat glands, the choir of discord drips
America
Ballet got more front page news coverage last year than it ever has in decades thanks to an embarrassing controversy involving one of the country's most high-profile dancers who, according to many, couldn't complete a routine. While many are panning the controversy as a disaster