16 Jun 25 Monday Briefing

The Emperor's Tech Clothes

Greetings from a lounge in Frankfurt, where I am laying over for a few hours before embarking on the final leg (Riyadh) of my month-long business trip. The work has been extremely satisfying, and the clients even more so, but at this point I’m nearly ready to be done with extended business travel for the rest of the quarter!

This past weekend in DC was surreal – the Trumpian military parade proudly sponsored by Coinbase et al, techbros joining the military, silent protests in the form of sloppy marching, a surprisingly limp (?) No Kings protest I encountered near the Smithsonian, and literally everyone and their Uber driver having an opinion on proceedings and the general state of the world, which is admittedly careening at a pace that has made me give up on following any kind of news with enthusiasm.

So, perhaps, for my mental health and yours, I might drop the news roundup section of my Monday Briefings, and stick to interesting reads and nuggets that might provide some much needed relief.

Until next week, where I’ll be writing to you back at home in Singapore. Stay safe, everyone.