Reading List 10/18/25

Welcome to the reading list, a weekly roundup of news and links related to buildings, infrastructure, and industrial technology. This week we look at a North Korean construction company, data center popularity, why robot dexterity is hard, a map of US solar panels, and more. Roughly two thirds of the reading list is paywalled, so for full access become a paid subscriber.

Some housekeeping items this week:

• My book was finally released this week! A few book-related items:

  • The book was temporarily out of stock on Amazon for a few days, possibly because Amazon’s algorithm underestimated demand. It’s back in stock now, but only available from third-party sellers with long delivery times. Stripe Press is working on fixing this. It's available with normal deliverty times from other sellers.

  • The book was an Amazon Editor’s pick for “Best Nonfiction”.

  • I was on TBPN talking about the book (I come on at around 2:35:00).

  • Leah Libresco has a review of the book on Commonplace.

  • Another excerpt from the book was published on CapX.

  • No Amazon reviews yet, so if you’ve received a copy and read it drop a review.

• I was on Statecraft with Alex Armlovich and Will Poff-Webster talking about the ROAD to Housing Act.

North Korean statue building

I typically think of North Korea as a country that’s almost completely cut off from the global economy, in part due to the large number of sanctions against them, but apparently they have a construction firm, Mansudae Overseas Projects, that builds huge North Korean-style statues all over the world. Via Wikipedia:

As of August 2011, it had earned an estimated US$160 million overseas building monuments and memorials. As of 2015, Mansudae projects have been built in 17 countries: Angola, Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Cambodia, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Germany, Malaysia, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Togo and Zimbabwe. The company uses North Korean artists, engineers, and construction workers.

Data centers are unpopular

We’ve noted before that data centers, which historically were treated as a neutral to positive for local communities (since they contributed tax revenue without adding much demand for local services), are now increasingly opposed by local residents. Now it seems like politicians on both sides of the aisle are starting to notice. Via Semafor:

GAINESVILLE, Va. —