7 Stories to read this weekend

Om Malik — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 07:02:47 +0000

Given that it has been a week of crazy product launches and new operating systems (not to mention preparing for GigaOM RoadMap, which I am co-hosting with Katie Fehrenbacher on November 5) I am surprised I had any time to read. Here are seven stories I recommend for your reading pleasure this weekend. This week is a potpourri of topics including Frank Sinatra.

From master plan to no plan: The slow death of public higher education: Dissent magazine looks at the unraveling of the California university system and what it means for the public higher education.
Europe’s car making crisis: Europe is going through what the U.S. auto industry went through and the implications of this are going to be long-term. Interestingly European car makers who are doing well — BMW and Volkswagen for example are working on extending the life of internal combustion engine in new ways.
Rio de Janeiro gets ready for the 2016 Olympics. And not everyone in Brazil is thrilled about it.
Frank Sinatra has a cold: Gay Talese’s April 1966 piece is a classic and worth reading. It is how a celebrity profile should read. Great read for fans of Frankie Blue Eyes.
Inside the deep web: A journey through the dark underbelly of the Internet is a fascinating read and one’s man’s journey through its horrors and occasional surprises. Listen to the accompanying podcast as well.
Inside the Mansion – and mind – of Kim Dotcom: THe man behind MegaUpload gives Wired writer Charles Graeber unprecedented access and the result is a great read about one of the most controversial people on the Internet.
The Alliance from hell: How the US and Pakistan became the dysfunctional nuclear family of international relations. (Bonus links: The hunt for Geronimo and The scariest little corner of the world.)

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7 Stories to read this weekend