Edition · Sunday, 24 May 2026
What happened, the forces beneath it, why it matters — then your turn.
01 · Briefing · what happened
Russia fires hypersonic Oreshnik at Kyiv as US-Iran deal hangs in the balance
Russia launched its most devastating attack on Kyiv in months overnight Sunday, deploying around 600 drones, 90 missiles, and for the third time in the war its Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile, killing at least four people and damaging a museum, schools, and residential buildings across every district of the capital. Simultaneously, the US and Iran edged toward a ceasefire deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though the two sides disputed key terms, oil markets surged on the news, and Republican hawks warned Trump against what they called a disastrous concession.
Read the full briefing
02 · Lesson · why it matters
Air travel sucks — now more than ever - Financial Times
Air travel touches nearly everyone who flies, and the experience has measurably degraded. We can teach the economics and engineering of why: airline consolidation, hub-and-spoke networks, fuel costs, slot constraints, and the physics of boarding a metal tube with 200 people.
Read the lesson
03 · Lab · your turn
Network Consolidation and Captive Routing
When providers merge into fewer players controlling shared bottlenecks, routing through central hubs becomes structurally necessary—even when direct paths would serve customers faster—because the consolidated network optimizes for system throughput over individual trip efficiency.
Rehearse the decision