Rapid Travel Chai

Dateline: Auburn, Maine. Summer lobster shuttle.

The Residence Inn in Auburn is an hour from the nearest coastal lobster shacks, local Mac’s Downeast Seafood is the choice nearby. It is a category 4 for those Marriott credit card certs. Summer accommodation options in Maine all involve trade-offs.

• The World Next Week from the Council on Foreign Relations recently celebrated its 5th anniversary. Their Summer Reading Special includes podcast recommendations: EconTalk (see below), Lawfare, The History of Rome, Hardcore History, The History of Byzantium, The History of the Crusades, and The British History Podcast. Several of these series have concluded, I remember through my travels The History of Rome, savings episodes to listen as I traveled the Roman sites of North Africa. The final episode I saved several months and finally played it while descending a mountain in Macedonia.
• David Brooks: The Importance of Character (Big Ideas – ABC Radio National). The NYT’s resident thoughtful conservative discussing his new book.
• Fareed Zakaria GPS – Blindsided: How ISIS Shook the World (CNN). Well done piece for TV. Looks like they took down the free audio version.
• Finding remains of US soldiers from the WWII battles on Pacific island Tarawa (Pacific Review Podcast – ABC Radio National, segment starts at 17:30). The honorable search continues.
• One Shanghai night: a story of recovering lost belongings in China’s busiest city (Correspondents Report – ABC Radio National). Story that encapsulates life for foreigners in modern China.
• Wences Casares on Bitcoin and Xapo (EconTalk). Intelligent discussion on Bitcoin and Argentina.
• Pluto Mission Finally Calls Home (Scientific American). Hear the call from mission command.
• Meeting Mullah Omar (The Fifth Floor – BBC World Service). Seeking the now dead reclusive Taliban leader.
• Ian Schrager (The Big Interview – Monocle). Night club legend and hotelier in discussion.
• The Great Divide with Joseph Stiglitz and Robert Reich (UCTV). Around 3/4 through they start hamming it up.