Good morning, friends!

As Rickey Gates watched the results of the 2016 presidential election roll in, he realized something: Americans were deeply divided, and no one was talking to one another. In effort to connect with his home country, Gates decided to run across it.

So on March 1, 2017, Gates embarked on a 5-month-long running expedition that would take him from Folly Beach, S.C. all the way to San Francisco, Calif.

"They say that you cannot know the world without knowing your own backyard," Gates said at the beginning of his trip. "In a time of uncertain politics and a crescendo of differences, I have chosen to slow things down, simplify my life and get to know my country at a step-by-step intimacy."

Gates traversed a total of 3,700 miles through trails, roads, rivers, and snowy mountains. He went "unsupported," which means he had no RV, no bed, no beers, and no friend cooking him meals. It was just him, his sneakers, and his backpack.

This was by design. He wanted to force himself to be uncomfortable, to ask for help from total strangers, to seek out human interaction, and most importantly, to experience the small moments of kindness and humanity.

"The way you choose to travel changes the way you see a place and the way a place sees you," he says.

Gates's trans-American journey paints a portrait of America, one that captures the spirit of the country and makes us realize we're not as divided as we think. (You can check out Gates's book, Cross-Country, here.)

I interviewed Gates about his life-changing journey, the mental resilience it took to get him through some dark patches, and why he's optimistic about our collective humanity.

(Below is an excerpt of the interview, but I encourage you to listen and watch to the full interview here:)

🎧 LISTEN:

Meet Rickey Gates, the Man Who Ran 3,700 Miles Across AmericaBy Polina Marinova PomplianoPodcast episode

🎬 WATCH:

In your documentary Transamericana, a man named Jim Steele opened his wallet and gave you all his money even though you told him you didn't need it. What did you think of that act of kindness?

GATES: It illuminated to me that we always have something to give to other people. I felt like I could see it most clearly in Arkansas when this gentleman — after I insisted three times that I didn't need the money — was giving me the money in large part because he personally needed to. It was doing something for him, and I still think about that specific moment to this day and think about all the times in my life where I have been generous either with time or money toward other people and how good it felt to me to be able to do that. On that trip, I was providing an opportunity for other people to do something good, something they knew was good in that moment. To do good is certainly not a one-sided thing.

Read It on the Website Here

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PROFILES.

— The mastermind behind Facebook's AI algorithms[**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The NFT millionaires
— The lawyer who became a pitching celebrity
— The women answering your burning COVID questions
— The billionaire investor coming out of retirement
— Hollywood's trailblazing star
— The actor dealing with his demons
— The beloved media company that went up in flames

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The mastermind behind Facebook's AI algorithms: Joaquin Quiñonero Candela is the person who was largely responsible for Facebook’s position as an AI powerhouse. In his six years at Facebook, he’d created some of the first algorithms for targeting users with content precisely tailored to their interests, and then he’d diffused those algorithms across the company. Now his mandate is to make them less harmful. Can he fix the problem he helped create? (MIT Technology Review)

“The question for leadership was: Should we be optimizing for engagement if you find that somebody is in a vulnerable state of mind?”

The NFT millionaires: The NBA Top Shot is a new platform that allows you to buy, sell and collect officially licensed video highlights. It has captivated basketball fans, cryptocurrency enthusiasts, and sneakerheads. At the center of the frenzy are assets known as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, which use blockchain-technology to authenticate digital art, memorable tweets and a remarkable variety of ephemera suddenly worth a mind-blowing amount of money. Meet the early millionaires of the NBA Top Shot. (WSJ; reply to this email if you need access to the article)

“It’s the story, the scarcity, the joy you get as a collector. It’s not the ability to hold it in your hand.”

The lawyer who became a pitching celebrity: For the past six years, Robert Friedman has averaged nearly 30 tweets a day as the Pitching Ninja, an account with a massive following. In 2021, to be “Ninja’d,” or tweeted about by Friedman, is a badge of honor, even among big-league pitchers. When Yu Darvish was asked how he learned to throw his curveball, Darvish, a starter for the San Diego Padres, responded, “I contacted Pitching Ninja.” Friedman, who's a lawyer by trade, has become "the pitching whisperer" with deals with ESPN and the MLB. But he still insists this is just a hobby. (The New York Times)

“People have come up to me to get my autograph. I’m like, what the hell is that? I’m a freaking lawyer!”

The women answering your burning COVID questions: A group of volunteer experts has become a valuable resource for thousands of followers who turn to its website and social media channels every day for reliable COVID-19 information. Dubbed the "Nerdy Girls," these volunteers are women scientists, scholars, and clinicians who have made it their mission to answer people’s burning questions about the pandemic. Meet the 25 Nerdy Girls behind Dear Pandemic. (National Geographic)

“Dear Pandemic is fulfilling a great need. It provides women with expertise and knowledge in a format that’s accessible and approachable.

The billionaire investor coming out of retirement: In 2015, venture capitalist Chris Sacca was one of Silicon Valley’s most influential venture capitalists. Two years later, he announced his retirement from startup investing. In February, however, Sacca officially resurfaced with a new firm name and focus. Called Lowercarbon Capital, the fund is focused on an area that has historically proven kryptonite for VC returns: climate. (Forbes)

"For the first time ever, we have companies that have the potential to have gigaton scale carbon reduction and removal impact on the planet."

Hollywood's trailblazing star: Who is Steven Yeun? That's a question that the actor has been asking himself as of late. Yeun finds himself in a hazy in-between space. “It's like you get tricked into representing your entire culture, and then the game becomes policing your authenticity to each other,” he says. “But how can you be authentic? What's actually authentic to you is just being this middle person—Korean and American. This third culture.” (GQ)

“We profess that we're caught in the white American gaze, and that's true. But we forget that we are also that gaze. That gaze is encoded into us, and the last boss is yourself.”

The actor dealing with his demons: I knew nothing about actor Armie Hammer before this disturbing profile. It turns out Hammer comes from a lineage of colorful characters. In the last few months, he has seemingly imploded in a fit of social media posts, bad behavior, substance abuse, and lots of casual dating. Take this profile with a grain of salt though — the reporter never actually spoke to Hammer — but consider all the ways in which power and wealth can lead to darkness. (Vanity Fair)

“You don’t send messages like that if you’re a famous movie star. You know your boundaries."

COMPANIES TO WATCH.

The beloved media company that went up in flames: What went wrong at Reply All, Gimlet's most critically acclaimed show? In many ways, it’s a classic story about building the right culture. Gimlet, which was purchased by Spotify in 2019, has been billed as one of podcasting’s biggest success stories, yet its meteoric rise papered over the managerial problems within the company. Here's what happens when a media company is also a fast-growing startup. (Vulture)

“Neglect turns into malice."

This installment of The Profile is free for everyone. If you would like to get full access to all of the recommendations, including today’s audio and video sections, sign up below.

AUDIO TO HEAR.

Josh Kaufman on fine-tuning your mental models: Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA, says you need to learn how to de-bug your mind. One technique he recommends is called "logging." Here's how it works: During the course of a day, try writing down all the things you get done, the decisions that you make, and the times where you get stuck. "You need to go back through your thought process to figure out why you're stuck on this particular thing and what information you need that you don't have yet," he says. This is a good one. (Link available to premium members.)

Li Jin on diving into the passion economy: What does the future of media look like? According to Atelier founder Li Jin, it will be much more independent. In this episode, she explains why more and more people are pursuing (and monetizing) their passions with the caveat that there is a big need for a middle-class in the creator economy. (Link available to premium members.)

Tiago Forte on scaling to $1 million per year: Tiago Forte has figured out a way to earn more than $1 million per year by growing his newsletter, building an online course, and becoming an expert on productivity. He addresses all the questions you might have around newsletter monetization, publishing a book, launching a course, or becoming a teacher on the internet. (Link available to premium members.)

VIDEOS TO SEE.

Neil deGrasse Tyson on making sense of the universe: This is a mind-blowing one-hour tour of the universe. You’ll learn about everything from storms on Jupiter to runaway stars to dwarf galaxies. Neil deGrasse Tyson is a master storyteller who can explain the seemingly unexplainable in a humorous manner you’ll enjoy. Never did I think a joke about Earth’s low pressure systems would make me laugh so hard. (Link available to premium members.)

Mellody Hobson on owning her identity: Ariel Investments president and co-CEO Mellody Hobson’s husband George Lucas once told her: “Mellody, you’re going to have a great life.” She asked him why, and he said, “Because the early part was so hard. If the early part’s really easy, then you have the hard stuff later. But you got it over with, and it made you tough.” On a daily basis, she marvels at the life she’s built and doesn’t regret the hard experiences because they allowed her to have “a tremendous amount of compassion for those struggling in our society.” Here’s how she became the truest version of herself. (Link available to premium members.)

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