Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

• The Snitch – Atavist. “Who doesn’t like a good True Crime story? This Atavist piece on the risks and compromises of public informants is a good read that could just as easily be the next Netflix doc.” (Alistair for Hugh).
• The Herd – This American Life. “As we slowly crawl out into public, we’re realizing that we have fundamental differences with many around us. Some are compliant; some flout order. And when the consequences of those differences affect others in visible, tangible ways, we don’t like each other much. ‘You can’t get herd immunity until you deal with the herd and get enough of the herd moving together in the same direction, which has been difficult this past year in a way that it’s never been during any epidemic in our history.’ This American Life does a great job of putting epidemic management and herd mentality in context, looking at what’s worked and what has failed in the past. But it applies just as much to changing public opinion about anything, really.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• River Runner – Sam Learner. “Using data from the US Geological Survey’s Hydro Network-Linked Data Index, someone has built a mindblowing visualization that lets you click to drop a raindrop anywhere in the contiguous United States and watch where it ends up.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• Artificial Intelligence Will Do What We Ask. That’s a Problem – Quanta Magazine. “You know, one of the things I keep thinking is that our worries about AI should have very little to do with AI. Humans do awful things to each other all the time – is there any reason to believe they won’t use AI to engineer ever more awfulness, better? Perhaps we can train AI to not make mistakes by doing what we command, and instead do what we intend. But, is there a lot of evidence that ‘what we intend’ isn’t, often, terrible enough?” (Hugh for Mitch).
• Brian Eno – The Innovator – Broken Record Podcast. “I’ve said before, and I will say it again: Listening to musician and technologist, Brian Eno, answer questions about creativity, music, culture, technology and more inspires me deeply. Brian is currently doing a handful of interviews to promote his new radio station (through Sonos Radio HD) called, The Lighthouse. His perception on musical space and how humans and technology should think about music is also… inspiring. You don’t have to be a fan of his music in the 70s (Roxy Music) or the countless artists that he has produced (U2, Coldplay, Devo and beyond). Just know this: listening to Beyonce through a wall may something that might make your day. Enjoy the listen…” (Mitch for Alistair).
• Susan Orlean – Design Matters with Debbie Millman. “One of my favorite writers is Susan Orlean. I’ve been fortunate to have her as a guest on my podcast many years back (which you can check out right here: SPOS #434 – Understanding Creative Non-Fiction With Susan Orlean). Susan is an amazing creative non-fiction author and journalist. She will take topics that might not seem exciting (orchids, a library, her dog, etc…) and weave them into page-turning stories that will melt you – both in the phrasing and context of her work. This is a new conversation with design expert, Debbie Millman, and it’s another tour du force of creativity and inspiration. Listen and enjoy…” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends ;):