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“Well, she’s fucking brilliant, isn’t she?” This was just one of the many responses I received from British screenwriters when I shared the news with them that I was currently engaged in one of my artist-on-artist conversations with Sarah Phelps. Her name elicits this kind of (often curse-laden) enthusiasm because she is one of the most respected and celebrated screenwriters working in U.K. TV and, by the estimation of myself and many others, the world.

Elon Musk wants to park a Tesla on Mars. Let’s go to Venus instead, and build a new way of life. It’s possible that life already evolved on Venus, and you may have heard about a recent paper showing phosphenes in the planet’s upper atmosphere. Phosphenes are a chemical signature of biological processes, and so everybody got excited — though a re-examination of the evidence suggests the phosphene sighting may have been a trick of the light.

Thank you for the thoughtful feedback on my last post. The dopamine boost your words provide is always much appreciated. As loyal readers have surely deduced, debate is central to aesthetics. On most topics, professional opinions vary wildly. In my writing, I aim to present dissenting voices (in all their authenticity) rather than attempting to shape a clear (but artificial) consensus. As a conduit for expert voices, I feel it’s not my place to amplify one over another.

In his book, Into the Woods, John Yorke makes the argument that every story is basically Jaws. Think about it. A dangerous monster threatens a community until one human takes it upon himself to slay the monster and restore peace to the community. Sound familiar? It is the plot of hundreds of Hollywood blockbusters. It is also a primary plot of the Bible. Have you ever wondered why so many of God’s enemies are described with snake-like language?

Early this month the Cherokee Tribune published a letter to the editor from a local named Stephanie Meredith, written out of concern that the “4 Can Do More” candidates are running on an agenda that includes removing (or heavily reducing) Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs in our schools. In her letter, Ms. Meredith explains that her son was born with Down’s Syndrome but graduated and thrived as a young adult thanks to the kinds of educational programs that Sean Kaufman and his fellow candidates hope to end.

I haven't watched Dana White's entire UFC 297 post-fight press conference yet. I have to be in the right mindset to do that, and I'm just not there yet for whatever reason. However, I saw the clip where White, unprompted spoke about Sean Strickland's homophobic and anti-LGBTQ remarks at the pre-event press conference. “If you get your feelings hurt that bad, you probably shouldn’t ask the question when you know the answer you’re going to get from Strickland,” said White after being asked specifically about the “dark” trash talk between Strickland and his UFC 297 opponent Dricus du Plessis and their scuffle in the stands at UFC 296.

A couple weeks ago I finished my first book of 2024, Search by Michelle Huneven. It was funny, well-written, and insightful. And it was complicated. The more I reflected, the clearer I could see how Huneven relays, without her knowing, insight into the crisis of clergy shortage we’re facing. If her book is any indication of the wider pattern, the future is dim. Huneven’s book is auto-fiction (a fictionalized but apparently not that fictionalized), a reinterpretation of her own experience sitting on the search committee for the pastor of her Unitarian Universalist church in Northern California.

Welcome to another year of Digital Investigations! Thank you for reading and for sharing this newsletter with friends and colleagues. I appreciate your feedback and comments and intend to keep Digital investigations free. Let’s kick off 2024 with a look at new (to me) tools and readings worth your time. I also added a new section to highlight videos worth watching. One pick is a video of Nico Dekens’s recent talk at Le Hack.

We caught up with famed sailor and author Webb Chiles just after he’d finished his sixth circumnavigation at age 77. Webb’s long list of exploits are well known, including his harrowing Pacfiic crossing aboard an open 19-foot Drascombe Lugger called Chidiock Tichborne. The re might not be anyone alive with as many small-boat sea miles and stories as Chiles—so naturally we had plenty of questions for him.—Eds When did it all start—your love of boats and sailing and then especially the thirst for adventure?