🌊 Dawn of Big Farm-a

Four Beatles movies? Who are they, the Avengers?

Sam Mendes, director of American Beauty and 1917, announced he will make four separate movies about the Beatles. Each Beatle will get his own movie — even Ringo! Look ma, he made it! — and will come out in 2027.

While our wallets gently weep, we accept that we’ll be buying $45 Milk Duds and popcorn to watch each one in theaters.

In today's edition:

And so much more!

–Max, Max, Jen, and Alex

KEY STORY
Fields of Gold

The value of US farmland held by private investors has more than doubled in the past three years, the Financial Times (FT) reported

• The value of farmland held by private investors has increased significantly: In 2008, investors owned $1.8B worth of farmland; by 2020, $7.4B; and by the end of 2023, $16.6B

• Analysts told the FT that climate change and rising food demand are boosting farmland investments

• “If you have a long-term view of the world, owning quality land, with access to water is a good place to be,” one investor told the FT

Dig Deeper

• Analysts predict the value of farmland will continue to grow as the global population approaches an estimated 10B by 2050, increasing the demand for arable land

• Even with the recent investments, institutional investors account for a small fraction of the entire US farming industry, owning just 1-3% of farmland. Family-owned or -operated businesses own 95%

KEY STORY
Male vs. Female Brain

A new study established that men’s and women’s brains operate differently

• Researchers have long recognized behavioral differences between men and women – for example, women are more likely to be depressed, and men addicted – but only recently identified reliable sex-based differences in brain operation

• For the new study, published in the journal PNAS, Stanford researchers fed MRI brain scans into an AI model. Using those, the model determined that men’s and women’s brains differ along parts of the brain that control memory, emotion, and more

• After analyzing the MRI brain scans, the model could predict with 90% accuracy whether a brain scan was from a man or a woman

Dig Deeper

• The study found that male and female brains differ primarily in the “default mode network,” a part of the brain associated with the sense of self; the limbic system, which is associated with memory and emotion; and the striatum, which is associated with learning and habit formation

• The lead researcher said further research is necessary to understand why the differences exist

Today’s poll is sponsored by Incogni. Read more below to learn how you can protect your digital identity

SPONSORED
Root Out Fraud with Incogni

Spam calls and emails can range from bothersome to downright dangerous, often serving as a pathway to financial scams and identity theft.

• Once scammers obtain your information, they become challenging to combat.

• That's where Incogni steps in to target the root cause of fraud: Data brokers.

How does Incogni work?

1. Sign up with your most-used online credentials.

2. Incogni sends deletion requests to data brokers.

3. Incogni handles objections to ensure removal!

Dig Deeper

• Roca readers exclusively get 55% off Incogni annual plans with code ‘ROCA55’

KEY STORY
Australia: Largest Navy Buildup Since WW2

Australia announced plans to expand its navy to its largest size since the end of World War II

• In 2021, Australia signed a security partnership with the UK and US to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. That deal was largely seen as a counter to growing Chinese power

• Last year, an independent panel found that Australia’s navy was aging and too small to meet its security needs

• On Tuesday, Australia unveiled a plan to more than double the size of its surface fleet and add several cutting-edge ships to its arsenal. The fleet is now set to be at its largest size since WWII – a move intended to counter China’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific, a region that includes the Indian Ocean and western Pacific

Dig Deeper

• Australia’s new ships will include six state-of-the-art warships that can be operated remotely, i.e., without a crew

• The program is estimated to cost $35B over the next ten years, with Australia's government planning to cut spending elsewhere to finance the development

KEY STORY
Death by First Lady?

A Haitian judge indicted Haiti’s former first lady over her husband’s 2021 assassination

• On July 7, 2021, mercenaries assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. Haitian police have since arrested dozens of people connected to the plot

• On Tuesday, a judge overseeing the case indicted Moïse’s wife – who was also injured during the assassination – for alleged complicity. The indictment cites contradictory statements she gave

• Moïse’s wife – who has had an outstanding warrant since she failed to appear for questioning in October – called the allegations political

Dig Deeper

• The judge also indicted Haiti’s former prime minister and police chief for their alleged complicity

• In a parallel investigation, the US charged 11 people over the assassination, although it hasn't charged Moïse's wife

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🚁 A Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine last year was found dead by multiple bullet wounds in Spain. The head of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency called him a “traitor and criminal who became a…corpse the moment he planned his dirty and terrible crime”

🇷🇺 Russia arrested a 33-year-old dual US-Russian citizen on charges of high treason for her involvement in pro-Ukraine activities in the US, including fundraising for tactical supplies and ammunition for Ukraine

🇬🇧 Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange began a final appeal in the UK to stop Assange from being extradited to the US. His supporters claim he will not face a fair trial in the US, where he’s wanted for espionage

🐘 Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said she would pardon Donald Trump if he is convicted of a federal crime, saying that doing so would be good for the country

󠁵󠁳󠁫󠁳💰 Biden’s reelection campaign raised $42M in January, giving him $130M in cash on hand. Trump has not released fundraising figures for January, but as of the end of 2023, he had $66M, far less than Biden’s $118M

🐦 X said it mistakenly suspended the account of Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. X reinstated her account within an hour

COMMUNITY
Weekly Debate

Unlike most news outlets that suppress dissenting opinions, our platform encourages free and open debate. We introduce a topic every Monday and publish responses throughout the week to continue the discussion.

This week’s Roca Votes asks: Should the president have to undergo an annual cognitive exam?

Have additional thoughts or responses to Simon or Jon? Let us know what you think by replying to this email!

COMMUNITY
Treasure Hunt

Welcome to the weekly Roca treasure hunt! The rules are simple:

• Every day we give a hint. You get one guess, which you submit by emailing [email protected] with a Google street view screenshot

• Unlock an extra hint each Thursday once you refer five friends

• The first person to guess the answer wins this week’s prize: A free year of Roca premium!

Clue 1: Distillery’s yield but not a peak

Clue 2: The legacy of my mentor at sea

Know the answer? Send a street view screenshot to [email protected]!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

😱 Average California meetup: Sultan Kosen – the world’s tallest living man at 8 ft 3 in – met Jyoti Amge, the world’s shortest living woman at just over two feet, in California

💰 Book always wins: The US sports betting industry posted record revenue of $10.9B in 2023, the American Gaming Association reported, excluding Arizona and Kentucky’s latest figures

🗽 Concrete jungle with legs on Subway tracks: The NYPD reported finding a human leg on a Bronx subway track along the 4 train line, prompting a temporary service halt and investigation

🍪 Cookie monster: Police are looking for a man who stole ~$450 in cash from a Girl Scout cookie stand outside a Walmart in Fort Worth, TX, sharing surveillance footage (above) of the incident

🤑 The tip giveth and the tip taketh away: A Michigan restaurant reportedly fired a server who received a $10K tip on a $32 tab after a dispute over sharing it with coworkers

🎫 Lotterygate: A Washington, DC man is suing Powerball and the D.C. Lottery after learning that his $340M lottery win was a publishing error. He’s suing for fraud, emotional distress, and more

ROCA WRAP
Indonesia, Part 1: The Forgettable Nation

Every day we take a deep dive into an interesting story, place, or person. Subscribers get full access.

Indonesia is the world’s fourth-most populous country, the most populous Muslim nation, and one of 15 countries with a million-man military. On paper, it could be a superpower.

Yet it’s not: An Indonesian has never won a Nobel Prize, the country lacks the cultural relevance of countries like India or Thailand, and its economy is smaller than Spain’s. In recent years, though, that’s started to change. This three-part series will tell the story of the country and its ongoing transformation.

Indonesia’s independence dates to the kidnapping of Sukarno 79 years ago. Sukarno – that was his whole name – was born in 1901 to an elite family on Java, one of 17,000+ islands that make up Indonesia (then the Dutch East Indies).

With a photographic memory and an exceptional education, he devoured books about nationalism, religion, and philosophy. By the mid-1920s, he had become a committed nationalist and socialist and in 1927, at age 26, created his own political party. That party – the Indonesian National Party – sought independence, which led Sukarno to spend much of the 1930s in jail.

Yet inadvertently, his arrests made him a celebrity: When the Dutch authorities put him on trial, Sukarno used the courtroom as a stage to deliver speeches criticizing the Dutch and galvanizing support for independence.

When Japan invaded Indonesia in 1942, the Japanese freed him and enlisted him to bring the local people onto their side. While working as a Japanese propagandist, Sukarno also spread his own pro-independence message, preparing the Indonesians for what would come next. When that time came, though, Sukarno was slow to act.

Japan had surrendered on August 15, 1945, but Sukarno decided to wait before declaring independence. Others disagreed, including a group of young men who took matters into their own hands.

Around 4 AM on August 16, the group kidnapped Sukarno and his closest ally in an attempt to persuade them to act immediately. While the hostages were rescued that night, the kidnappers proved persuasive: A day later, Sukarno declared Indonesia’s independence, inspiring a revolution.

Indonesians picked up arms and began fighting guerilla wars against the Dutch and others deemed unpatriotic. Thousands of people died in the years that followed, but in 1949, the Dutch recognized Indonesia’s independence – creating what immediately became one of the world’s most complex countries. 

Indonesia contained 70M people divided across 17,000 islands, 3,000 miles, and ethnic, religious, and linguistic lines. To hold it together, Sukarno declared a socialist “managed democracy” and promoted an ideology of unity, belief in God, and social justice – an ideology that remains the bedrock of Indonesia today.

Sukarno also positioned Indonesia as “non-aligned,” meaning it sided with neither the US nor USSR in the Cold War. Yet Sukarno was intensely anti-American and by the 1960s, Indonesia had the world’s third-largest communist party, after China and Russia. That prompted opposition among Indonesia’s conservatives, as well as the US and its allies.

Sukarno’s days were soon numbered. In 1965, a coup failed to overthrow him.

Conservatives in the government blamed the communists and, with US and British backing, began a mass crackdown, first purging and later arresting and killing anyone suspected of being a communist. By 1968, several hundred thousand people had been killed and Sukarno had been sidelined by a general named Suharto.

Sukarno was put under house arrest, where he died in 1970. Meanwhile, Suharto declared that a “New Order” had arrived.

We will publish Part 2 of this 3-part series in tomorrow’s newsletter!

Reply to this email to let us know what you think!

ROCA WRAP
Indonesia, Part 1: The Forgettable Nation

Every day we take a deep dive into an interesting story, place, or person. Subscribers get full access.

Indonesia is the world’s fourth-most populous country, the most populous Muslim nation, and one of 15 countries with a million-man military. On paper, it could be a superpower.

Yet it’s not: An Indonesian has never won a Nobel Prize, the country lacks the cultural relevance of countries like India or Thailand, and its economy is smaller than Spain’s. In recent years, though, that’s started to change. Our three-part series will tell the story of the country and its ongoing transformation.

Indonesia’s independence dates to the kidnapping of Sukarno 79 years ago. Sukarno – that was his whole name – was born in 1901 to an elite family on Java, one of 17,000+ islands that make up Indonesia (then the Dutch East Indies).

With a photographic memory and an exceptional education, he devoured books about nationalism, religion, and philosophy. By the mid-1920s, he had become a committed nationalist and socialist and in 1927, at age 26, created his own political party. That party – the Indonesian National Party – sought independence, which led Sukarno to spend much of the 1930s in jail.

Yet inadvertently, his arrests made him a celebrity: When the Dutch authorities put him on trial, Sukarno used the courtroom as a stage to deliver speeches criticizing the Dutch and galvanizing support for independence.

When Japan invaded Indonesia in 1942, the Japanese freed him and enlisted him to bring the local people onto their side. While working as a Japanese propagandist, Sukarno also spread his own pro-independence message, preparing the Indonesians for what would come next. When that time came, though, Sukarno was slow to act.

Japan had surrendered on August 15, 1945, but Sukarno wanted to wait before declaring independence. Others disagreed, including a group of young men who took matters into their own hands.

Around 4 AM on August 16, the group kidnapped Sukarno and his closest ally in an attempt to persuade them to act immediately. While the hostages were rescued that night, the kidnappers proved persuasive: A day later, Sukarno declared Indonesia’s independence, inspiring a revolution.

…

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ON-THE-GROUND
Roca in Serbia

We send our co-founder Max Frost to investigate topics around the world and he writes about them here. He’s currently writing from Serbia. Subscribers receive the full stories.

An hour after setting off from the Croatian city of Osijek, we reached the Serbian border. 

We passed through the Croatian side, no questions asked. At the Serbian side, the officer checked our passports and glanced up at us. “Americans?”

After a few minutes, he asked our driver to turn off the car. He proceeded to question our driver and closely search through our backpacks, camera bag, and toiletries. After ten minutes, he let us go. 

“Business is business,” our driver said. “They think, ‘American here in Serbia. What is he doing here?’”

It doesn’t help that Serbia and the United States have a bad history. 

In 1992, NATO was tasked with preventing weapons smuggling into Bosnia and enforcing a no-fly zone over the country. During that, it shot down several Serb jets. Then in 1995, three years into the war, NATO began a bombing campaign against Serb forces, killing a reported 27 Serb soldiers and 27 civilians. The campaign worked, though, helping bring the war to an end within three months. 

The bombing targeted Serbs in Bosnia but not Serbia (Yugoslavia) itself. That changed in 1999. 

That year, Serbia (Yugoslavia) was at war in Kosovo, then a region of southern Serbia. A Serb crackdown on Kosovo led a terrorist/resistance group there to begin killing Serbs, particularly police. The Serb military responded with a series of massacres, prompting fears of genocide and a repeat of Bosnia. NATO intervened again, but this time bombed Serbia proper – for 78 straight days. Airstrikes targeted both military facilities and civilian infrastructure, including cities, bridges, power plants, and roads. (A later story will cover this more in-depth.)

For Serbs, that was traumatic. 

During the wars in Croatia and Bosnia, Serbia proper had remained untouched. Serbians thought of themselves as belonging to a modern European nation. Then, while fighting what they considered a “just” war, they found themselves under attack by the US. Many of them loved the US and considered it a friendly country. Now, the US was not only bombing their troops but bombing their largest cities, terrorizing the population. 

It’s an ongoing debate whether the US was morally justified in bombing Serbia, but I did not mean a single Serb who believed it was. And being an American in the country, they would not let me forget it. 

After crossing the border, we drove on some back roads through the countryside. While the roads were in horrible condition, all of the buildings were in fine shape. This struck me as ironic given that over the border in Croatia and Bosnia, buildings are riddled with shell marks and bullet holes –many created by Serbian weapons. In Serbia, which provided many of the arms used in those wars, the buildings were untouched. 

My initial destination in Serbia was Novi Sad, the second-largest city. While entering it, the first thing that caught my eye was graffiti: “FUCK EU FUCK NATO.”

Then outside my Airbnb was street art that said, “Novi Sad – City of love and tolerance.” Someone had crossed out “tolerance.”

Serbia struck me as a cold place. The next person I met, though, changed that instantly.

Reply to this email to let us know what you think!

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Let’s keep the debate going! If you missed yesterday’s Roca Votes Wrap, you can catch up here. Then us know your thoughts to this week’s debate question: Should the president have to undergo an annual cognitive exam?

— Max, Max, Jen and Alex