The Freewheelin' Mike Paul
The answer my friends... is 42...
Welcome once again inside the mind of Mike Paul. I hope you don’t get lost, but I’m quite certain I did many, many years ago...
These newsletters have been described by my friend Adam as “freewheelin’”, which is appropriate, I guess. However, please don’t expect the quality of the mighty works of “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” - I’m 100% positive nothing I say or do will ever be ensconced in the Library of Congress as being culturally relevant - more like culturally ignorant and far too geeky.
Anyways, let’s continue the ramblin’ and freewheelin’ with a collection of ten things I thought were worth your attention this week. Enjoy!
What’s going on with the Chrysler Building?
Here’s a problem you might tackle with students: Why does nobody want the Chrysler Building in New York City? It’s iconic. In my mind, it’s one of the most beautiful buildings in any major city. But it’s for sale for the third time since 2019. And the price keeps dropping.
Speaking of buildings...
I gotta hand it to the Chinese people. When they build things, they go big. I mean... BIG. The new Chongqing East rail station covers approximately the same area as 170 football pitches (that’s soccer fields for all of us uncultured American swine), or roughly 2 Vatican Cities (an important fact to include since one of those uncultured American swines is now leading said Vatican City). This place is, in a word, huge. And impressive. Maybe this will inspire someone in the US to think seriously about high-speed public rail transport...
Birding is Coming...
Full disclosure: I was raised on PBS. Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, 3-2-1 Contact, The Electric Company, This Old House, multiple cooking shows, travel shows, and so on. When I came across the lovely “Get Birding“ podcast on YouTube, I felt those same vibes from my childhood. Sean Bean - may the gods preserve him - has made a career out of being one tough guy after another, but also dying in pretty much everything. But here, as the host of Get Birding in the latest season, it’s such a joy and comfort to see him watching and talking about birds in his native Yorkshire accent. It’s just mesmerizing. And I can’t stand or make sense of bird watching. But this show... I dig it.
May the 4th...
This week included the annual celebration of all things Star Wars, May the 4th (be with you). Along with all the general silliness that takes place, like this video featuring former President Barack Obama and Mark Hamill, some genuinely cool stuff shows up, like this guy and his handmade Millennium Falcon model, allegedly accurate to the millimeter of the original model used during filming. The Falcon never looked better.
Pulitzers
The 2026 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced this week. I’ve got ‘Angel Down‘ on my Kindle as of last night, mostly because the premise of an entire book being one long sentence has me intrigued.
Elements of Deeper Learning
My friend, Scott McLeod, has some ideas about what we really mean when we talk about “deeper learning” - and it really does go beyond what some folks think.
I’m All in on ‘Tony’
To my great sadness, I didn’t really discover the magic and misery that is Anthony Bourdain until he left us far too soon. In the early COVID times, I devoured ‘Kitchen Confidential‘ and binged his ‘Parts Unknown’ and ‘No Reservations’ as quickly as I could. Now, thanks to my daughter, I learned there’s a Bourdain biopic coming later this year. I hope it’s great, but I don’t care. I’ll be there for all of the madness.
Creativity with Boundaries
We often think of creativity as requiring full freedom (which bothers so many teachers because there must be some guidelines somewhere), but that often leads us down a path of analysis paralysis with too many options. Operating within some bounds is freeing and can drive your creative engine harder. David Epstein talks about this, called the “Green Eggs and Ham” model of creativity, in this excerpt from his new book, ‘Inside the Box‘.
Artemis Photo Dump
So... as if the Artemis mobile wallpapers weren’t enough, NASA just dropped more than 12,000 photos from the Artemis II mission. You’re welcome.
The One Study to Rule Them All (And What It Actually Found)
The first in-depth study on school cellphone bans is now available as a working paper (not yet peer-reviewed) and shows some very interesting data. I’ve got a full write-up over on the blog that, I hope, breaks it down so anyone can understand what the study finds. Spoiler alert: whether you’re in favor of bans or not, you’ll find enough info to tick you off.
That’s it, friends. Another edition of freewheelin’ shenanigans delivered straight to your virtual desk. Stay frosty until next time, friends, and be safe.