Best Business Longreads for the Week of August 31, 2013

How a ‘Deviant’ Philosopher Built Palantir, CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut

Andy Greenburg – Forbes

Over the past five years, one company, Palantir, has come to dominate the data-mining market for intelligence, law-enforcement agencies, and major financial institutions. Now, after the Edward Snowden saga, the company and its founder are looking at how to continue being the best amidst new privacy concerns.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese Explore the Funny Side of Financial Depravity in The Wolf of Wall Street

Mary Kaye Schilling – New York Magazine

Degeneracy in the world of financial markets isn’t exclusive to those responsible for the 2008 financial crisis. New York Magazine takes a look at the story of Jordan Belfort, the man behind the new Hollywood blockbuster about Wall Street.

Why is Vladimir Putin Acting so Crazy?

Brian Bremner – Bloomberg Businessweek

While the Cold War may be over, tensions between the U.S. and Russia remain. And Putin may attack U.S. foreign policy to drum up nationalist support domestically, but in reality Russia’s current problems come from a different American sector – energy production.

Googling Yourself Takes on a Whole New Meaning

Clive Thompson – The New York Times Magazine

New technologies almost always set older generations on edge, creating paranoia and wild stories about what teens are doing with them. However, Google Glass, and particularly its camera function, just may create a whole new social norm.

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