NEW: February's 5 must-reads

Support me from India

Or from elsewhere in the world

1. Friction-maxxing

From 10-minute doorstep grocery delivery to the 'skip intro' button on Netflix to AI bots that respond to your every whim in seconds, modern technology is all about eliminating inconvenience and friction from your life. The upshot? You dread sitting in the doctor's office without your phone. You'd rather swipe mindlessly on dating apps than go out and strike conversations with interesting strangers. You are at war with boredom. The antidote, says writer Kathryn Jezer-Morton, is 'friction-maxxing' – reclaiming little everyday experiences that help us rebuild our tolerance for inconvenience, boredom, and anxiety. Jezer-Morton's piece in The Cut, 'In 2026, we are friction-maxxing', went viral. I discovered it via this excellent Slate podcast. Embracing friction is essentially what makes us human, Jezer-Morton argues. Avoiding it doesn't just torpedo our attention spans, it also erodes our ability to form community. This isn't a new warning, but packaging it in a Gen-Z-friendly term might just maxx its appeal.

2. Human composting

When 18-year-old Frederick “Fritz” Weresch died, his parents decided to honour his intention for his own body – turn it into human compost. Human composting, also known as natural organic reduction or terramation, is the process of turning human remains into nutrient-rich soil. It avoids the environmental side effects of more mainstream practices: Cremation releases carbon dioxide and air pollutants, and casket burial typically involves hazardous embalming chemicals and nonbiodegradable materials. In human composting, which is typically an eight to 12-week process, the body is first placed in a reusable vessel. Some providers offer funeral services or a 'laying-in' ceremony, after which the vessel is sealed and naturally occurring microbes begin to decompose the body. Rotating the vessel along with careful control of temperature and moisture levels help the process along. Proponents say the long process gives families more time to grieve than a standard funeral that can feel rushed. More than two months after Fritz died, his mother received a call notifying her that "Fritz’s body had completed its transformation into soil. She and her husband are now making plans to distribute his remains to loved ones and build a memorial garden in his honor."

3. Impostor therapy

Is the word 'therapy' as bandied on social media an impostor posing as 'psychotherapy'? Psychiatrist Steven Reidbord will have you believe it is. Therapy as portrayed in pop culture has become shorthand for a relationship where the therapist supplies endless empathy and 'validation' to the patient, externalises all their problems by blaming forces beyond their control, and never pushes the patient to accept accountability and responsibility for their own feelings and behaviours. This, Reidbord posits, is not psychotherapy. While acknowledging external influences is necessary, the ultimate goal of psychotherapy is to empower a person to live better. When your therapist becomes your 'ally' and joins you in railing at the world, this fundamental pillar of psychotherapy breaks down. I liked this piece because it dishes out uncomfortable truths, but also because it, ahem, validates my own views on this subject.

4. Exercise pills

Imagine getting all the benefits of exercise with none of the pain. That's the u-/dystopian idea that researchers are now investigating apropos of 'exercise pills'. These are drugs that can activate muscle-to-brain signalling pathways linked to improved mood and resilience, potentially helping patients overcome the immobilisation that often accompanies depression. Exercise is known for its remarkable salutary effect on depression. But people with depression often find it hard to move. A pill that mimics the positive chemical impact of exercise on the brain could revolutionise depression care. Researchers are, however, quick to disclaim that such a pill can't be a replacement for the gym. It could only act as a biological 'spark plug' and help break the inertia that anyone with depression is familiar with. By partially activating the signalling pathways involved in mood regulation, an exercise pill may lower the activation energy required to take the first step. "A modest shift in energy can make a short walk seem achievable, initiating a positive feedback loop that drives new habit formation and makes cardio a part of someone's daily routine."

5. Nepantla

Despite the loud and intractable positions and opinions we perform in public, many of us occupy the liminal space between ideas. We are not finished articles. We are always in an in-between state, always processing, never fully processed. Or at least that should be the way of life we aspire to. This is the core message of the Nahuatl word nepantla. To be nepantla is to be in the middle, in-between, or neutral (uncommitted). If you are nepantla, you march to your own drumbeat. At a time of deepening polarisation and growing pressure to pick sides, being nepantla affords you freedom, choice, and personal growth where you can choose to commit yourself to projects or ideas that matter to you. At the same time, being nepantla gives you the agency to abandon those projects or ideas if they become oppressive or harmful, to change your mind, and to grow in unexpected directions. "Nepantla," writes philosopher Carlos Alberto Sánchez, is freedom."