A list of good reads

• Bloomberg News has a fascinating book excerpt on the rivalry between HBO and Netflix—and how it changed the face of streaming.
• Anand Giridharadas’ New York Times column makes a scathing argument against insanely rich people—declaring “billionaires are not our saviours. They are our mistake.”
• Timothy B Lee in Full Stack Economics writes the obituary for the tech industry’s 20-year boom. Some may think it’s premature.
• Speaking of obituaries, e-flux has a fascinating timeline of the thousands of languages that were literally killed by colonial diktat. 
• Refinery29 looks at the yo-yoing standards of who is “desirable”—as we swing from Kim K’s massive curves back to heroin chic. And more importantly: who profits?
• Vir Sanghvi in Hindustan Times has a lively review of legendary chef Heston Blumenthal’s latest cookbook—which includes an excellent recipe for a mutton curry. 
• Speaking of reviews, The Guardian absolutely loves Michelle Obama’s new book ‘The Light We Carry’—intended as a guide to dealing with adversity.
• Celebrity interviews tend to be a bit blah. But we liked this Chris Hemsworth conversation with Vanity Fair about how he is coping with a startling personal discovery that he carries the genes for Alzheimer’s. 
• BBC News offers a lovely feature on Miraj—the Indian capital of stringed instruments, be it a tanpura or a sitar.
• As global temperatures soar due to climate change, a Chinese visionary makes an argument for ‘sponge cities’. Associated Press explains.