Periphery Weekly — Issue #41

Periphery

Weekly dispatches on technology and culture

Issue #41 · Aug 2026

Hello,

This week I've been thinking about attention — specifically, how the design of our tools shapes not just what we do but how we think. It's a theme that runs through all three of this week's reads, even if they approach it from different directions.

Let's get into it.

Long read

The attention economy's quiet reckoning

A thoughtful long-form examination of how the tools we use to capture attention have begun to erode the capacity for it. What happens when the engagement loops we built run out of runway?

Read at The Atlantic →

Essay

Why we stopped reading long reads

The irony is sharp: a piece about our diminishing capacity for sustained reading, written for people who increasingly struggle to finish pieces like this one. Worth the effort.

Read on Substack →

Three tools worth your time

Granola

AI meeting notes that feel unusually honest about what they can't do. The right scope.

Notion Calendar

Finally feels like a calendar that's on your side rather than your employer's.

Readwise Reader

The best long-read environment on any platform. Now with decent highlight export.

Until next week,

— Oliver

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