Rewiring Australia's power grid
Plus: Home insurance, used EVs, and dicing onions...
Hello! Around halfway through the year, some kind souls asked me “so when are you going to restart Fair Warning? I love reading it” and I was like “this is just the kick I need to do it again” and then did nothing with that feeling.
It occurred to me not long ago that next year it’ll have been 10 years since I began Fair Warning, and while it’s not like I have sent 520 editions, it’s still slightly bizarre to think that it’s been that long. I’ve been really lucky to have a lot of opportunities from it, and mostly have enjoyed it, but it tipped over from something that I enjoyed doing for my own reasons, and into something that caused me a lot of anxiety.
So we’ll see how this goes.
As it’s the end of the year, I thought I’d start with three pieces I’ve worked on that I am pleased with:
Russia’s new daytime attacks put millions of lives on hold - I am so happy with how the graphic in this turned out!
See how your energy prices will change because of the GOP tax bill - this was a great collaboration with an excellent reporter and I think really helped American audiences to understand what might happen to energy bills in future.
Can the party drug ketamine be a mental health breakthrough? It was for me - a personal wellbeing story that I pitched last Christmas. It was really hard to go through the process of writing and editing but I’m so proud of the end result.
Over the pond
Reuters: How a US home insurance fix is becoming a problem
Until a couple of years ago I had no idea that home insurance was such a big problem in the US. By which I mean 1) it’s expensive, and rising 2) because of 1, many homeowners are choosing to go without, and then losing their homes to natural disasters. So this is interesting: “FAIR plans were designed as a stopgap measure, but as climate change fuels stronger disasters, these insurers are increasingly relied on.”
NYT: How Democrats Used One Word to Turn the Tide Against Trump
“Democrats used “affordability” to harness worries about the cost of living and sweep to victory in this November’s elections. And once that happened, references to “affordability” as a stand-alone term skyrocketed.”
Pew Research: Striking findings from 2025
I enjoyed this round-up of striking findings from the year, including things like: the number of immigrants in the US is now declining; vaccine skepticism is on the rise; Americans are pessimistic about the effect AI will have on human creativity and connection.
Elsewhere
Die Zeit: Why now is the best time to buy a used electric car
I’m definitely guilty of being dismissive of buying a used EV, mostly because aren’t the batteries bad? Why else would you be getting rid of it? This is an interesting look at the used car market in Germany. I wonder if the pattern holds true for other countries.
ABC.net: Australia’s race to rewire the country amid a global transmission boom is not unique
An interesting look at how transmission infrastructure in Australia is evolving. Definitely one for the energy nerds out there!
The Pudding: Onions
Honestly, I think about the inconsistency of my onion pieces every time I dice an onion (in half, then vertically straight down, because I am clumsy and need to avoid cutting myself and/or whatever happens to be nearby) so I am glad someone took this important topic up.
Lastly… I loved this Christmas-themed chart from Cédric:
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it or learned something new. Please feel free to forward to others you think might enjoy it. You can find me on Bluesky, or you can reply directly to this email to get in touch.
Soph