Why is the World the Way it is?

“The future is already here — it's just not evenly distributed.”
— William Gibson

Tomas Pueyo explores the big trends that are driving the world today

His articles on Covid reached millions of readers and informed the policy of dozens of countries. Since then, he's used his unique ability to break complex topics down into their most basic parts to bring a deep understanding of the world to readers everywhere.

Uncharted Territories is the newsletter that explores the driving forces that shape our world. Why are some countries rich while others have stayed poor? Why are borders where they are? Which technologies have been the most influential through history? And where does this all point to for the future?

Tomas Pueyo's chart of intelligence rising exponentially over time, with a red arrow marking 'You are here' on the curve, just before it turns steeply upward.

In uncertain times, with technology driving change faster than most of us can grasp, Tomas brings clarity. Read the newsletter to understand our world from first principles, with data-driven explanations for the hardest problems facing humanity today.

Articles that change minds and shift paradigms

A world map shading warm and cold zones against national wealth.

BeliefWarm countries are poorer because of colonization / institutions / race...The data showsPeople escape the heat by moving to higher altitudes, making development harder

Why Warm Countries Are Poorer15,908797

A relief map of North America and its defensive geography.

BeliefThe USA's power and influence is decliningThe data showsThe USA has a geography so remarkable, it will always be hard to beat

Never Bet Against America1,309242

A historical map of the contested land of Palestine.

BeliefIsrael's land rightfully belongs to Group X / Group YThe data showsDozens of peoples have fought for this land over the past 3,000 years and no single group 'deserves' it

Who Can Claim Palestine?307142

A chart of falling global fertility rates.

BeliefFertility collapse is inevitable and we're unpreparedThe data showsTechnology might change the face of the modern family

The Future of Fertility152132

An illustration of AI's disruptive force on society.

BeliefAI will bring about utopiaThe data showsThe transition might tear societies apart — and we can plan for the coming storm

AI: How Do We Avoid Societal Collapse?8247

A visualization of resource abundance over time.

BeliefWe need to consume less to save the planetThe data showsWe've always been able to replace dwindling resources

Not Sustainable — Abundant14080

A chart of clean-energy cost curves falling.

BeliefClimate change is too hard to solveThe data showsWe have all the tools we need to stop global warming today

We Can Already Stop Climate Change196132

A map of the world's petrostates and their oil dependence.

BeliefOil states will adapt to the transition away from fossil fuelsThe data showsMany are woefully under-prepared to save their economies

The Future of Petrostates After Oil21269

A diagram of the mathematical scaling laws of cities.

BeliefGreat cities emerge organicallyThe data showsCity growth follows near-physical laws

A Science of Cities15338

A historical map of global silver trade routes.

BeliefScarcity limits what's possibleThe data showsScarcity usually forces the breakthroughs that lead to abundance

How Silver Flooded the World18233

Every article is a lesson in questioning prevailing wisdom by searching through the right examples and connecting the dots that hide causality.

An animated woodcut of a sailing ship pitching in a storm. — Don't get shipwrecked. Map uncharted territories to navigate the World of tomorrow.

How to Win in the World of Tomorrow

The world is changing ever faster. Those who can keep up will have opportunities beyond their dreams and will be able to shape the future. The rest will fall by the roadside.

To navigate these trends, we need two things: predict the future and adapt to it. This is what Tomas does with his readers — explore these uncharted territories to understand how we can prepare for them.

About Tomas Pueyo

Tomas spent more than a decade building consumer products in Silicon Valley, work that reached hundreds of millions of people. He holds an MBA from Stanford and two master's degrees in engineering, and his TED talk breaks down the hidden structure that makes a story work.

In March 2020, his essay on the pandemic reached 40 million readers in a week and changed how many of them understood the months ahead. It confirmed something he had long suspected: there is real hunger for analysis that takes complexity seriously instead of hiding behind it.

Uncharted Territories is where that work continues. Weekly, mostly free, and built on the belief that understanding the world is one of the most useful things a person can do.

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Essays on the forces reshaping the world — delivered to your inbox, or read at your own pace on Substack.

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