In this edition of The Lavin Weekly, James Fallows’ defeated take on the tragedy in Las Vegas; Edward O. Wilson’s colorful description of humanity; Bianca Bosker profiles a Silicon Valley superstar; and Karl Subban explains how he raised three NHL stars. 

1. “This is who we are.”

In the immediate wake of the tragedy in Las Vegas, James Fallows’ Atlantic piece (and video) is not a plea to reform gun laws; it’s a defeated sigh that nothing will change. “No other society allows the massacres to keep happening. Everyone around the world knows this about the United States. It is the worst aspect of the American national identity.” 

2. “When we address human creativity, what we’re dealing with from the start is what makes us human.”

Big Think talks to the father of biodiversity Edward O. Wilson about his new book, The Origins of Creativity: “Modern humanity is distinguished by paleolithic emotions and medieval institutions, like banks and religion, and god-like technology. We’re a mixed up, and in many ways still archaic species, in transition. We are, what I like to call, a chimera of evolution. We walk around and exist in this fairly newly made civilization that we created, a compound of different traits, different origins, and different degrees of forward evolution.” 

3. “Hampton Creek offered idealism that could scale.”

In The Atlantic this week, Bianca Bosker profiles Hampton Creek CEO Josh Tetrick, whose fast ascent in Silicon Valley is being matched only by his descent. “It’s difficult to resist being charmed by Tetrick,” Bosker says of the brain behind Just Mayo. But the question remains: what exactly is the “tech company that happens to be working with food” selling?

4. “Practice mattered to me more than games.”

Karl Subban is the father of three NHL players, including all-star defenceman P.K. Subban. This week the Toronto Star excerpted his new book, How We Did It: The Subban Plan for Success in Hockey, School and Life. “When you feed a dream, you make it stronger and more likely to happen. That is what Maria and I did as parents … over time, I realized the importance of not only feeding the hockey dream but also building those life skills associated with being a good person.” 

To book a speaker like James Fallows, Edward O. Wilson, Bianca Bosker, or Karl Subban, contact The Lavin Agency, their exclusive speakers bureau.