We are living through a quiet power transition — not from one institution to another, but from one way of knowing to another.

Data no longer needs to be right. It needs to resonate. AI doesn’t win by proving itself correct, but by feeling aligned. Executives don’t ask for dashboards; they ask what customers are “vibing with.” Even burnout is no longer framed as failure, but as the body rejecting a story it no longer believes.

In a world where meaning is contested, narrative has become infrastructure. And power now accrues less to those who are correct — and more to those who can shape what feels right.

Progress doesn’t eliminate cost — it just moves it. This week’s reflections explore how AI, markets, startups, and even therapy culture disguise risk, defer responsibility, and quietly accumulate fragility.

Incumbents are stalling. Emergent players are rising. This week: AI, aerospace, asset inflation, and why the edge is where innovation happens now.

This week I explored how scale reshapes meaning — and often corrodes it. Google grew from a search engine into a civilization-scale operating system, but lost narrative coherence along the way. Open source ideals eroded under commercial pressure. Even intimacy is now monetized through platforms like OnlyFans. Yet in education, Alpha School shows scale can be rebuilt human-first. The age of “platform decay” demands we return systems to a scale where integrity thrives.

This week I kept circling one theme: context is everything. From Mark Bertolini’s father’s rules for survival, to Benn Stancil’s “context layer” for data and AI, to Rolex as a brand that manufactures scarcity through narrative — the common thread is clear. Content is cheap. Integrity, frameworks, and meaning are what actually endure.

“High-flying growth with shaky roots” defines today’s economy: soaring Mag7 valuations mask the decay on Main Street, while private equity avoids facing losses in a new rate regime. Value is eclipsed by price, optionality always carries cost, and defaults—set quietly by tech and politics—shape the rules of engagement. True capitalism thrives when it disrupts, not when it entrenches.

In a world where facts are cheap and narratives compound, the ultimate currency is belief—story sells, and those who master narrative hold the real power.

This week’s edition explores risk calibration in investing, the fragility of AI analysis, and why quitting can be a powerful strategy. From Alan Waxman’s unitized risk model to Cate Hall’s case for walking away, discover how capital, cashflow, and culture demand recalibration—not just ambition.