Weather Report #35: Silicon Valley's death cult, nerds and D&D, rebuilding Gaza, and more

Hello, dear reader! Welcome to your Weather Report, a weekly column where I recommend some articles, a book, a movie, and some music for readers to consume.

Here's what you're getting this week:

1. Read my latest article about how long the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean will likely last, and watch me talk about the weather.
2. The U.S. government is seemingly moving towards direct military action against Venezuela
3. Essays, articles, and columns about: Silicon Valley's death cult, why evil rich nerds love Dungeons & Dragons, the ICE raid on a Chicago apartment, and rebuilding in Gaza.
4. An allegorical weird fiction novel that might have predicted social media.
5. One of the best anime movies ever made by a titan of the medium.
6. A very good actual play RPG podcast.

If you're interested in seeing the recommendations – and supporting Heavy Weather's quest to keep tabs on collapse – you can become a paid subscriber by clicking the button below. Paid subscribers get access to the MEDIA LIST, a comprehensive list of every book, movie, and video game I've ever recommended. If you're already a paid subscriber, thank you very much! This newsletter would literally not be possible without your support.

What I Did This Week:

One thing I didn't mention last week about my morning document-finding is that I also check SAM.gov to find open government contracting opportunities that could lead to scoops. Well, dear reader, I did it again. My story this week in The Latino Newsletter story is about a series of announcements, a flight advisory, and a contract that point to the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean staying until about the first quarter of 2026.

Pentagon Exploring Viability of Caribbean Military Buildup Until Next Year, Documents Show

The Department of Defense (DoD) is exploring its medium-term ability to maintain United States Navy ships and personnel in the Caribbean, according to procurement records reviewed by The Latino Newsletter.

The Latino NewsletterCarlos Berríos Polanco

Also, last week, I had the absolute honour of being on a Covering Climate Now panel about the 2025 hurricane season and what we learned from it. I have been a huge, huge, huge fan of CCC's work and watch pretty much every single one of their workshops, so this was lowkey a dream come true for me.

Updates:

I would be remiss if I didn't mention this because it feels like the step you take right before jumping off of a cliff. The U.S. State Department intends to designate the Cartel de los Soles – a drug cartel within the Venezuelan military that the U.S. alleges is led by Nicolas Maduro – as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on November 24, 2025. This is likely a precursor to full on military action against Venezuela, which will lead to an untold amount of unnecessary bloodshed.

For what it's worth, several experts have repeatedly said that calling the Cartel de los Soles led by Maduro isn't quite right, instead calling it a "system of corruption wherein military and political officials profit by working with drug traffickers." In fact, one would not be wrong to compare it to the now-famed "Fort Bragg Cartel" in the U.S. military.

US to designate Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as terrorists

Washington alleges the group is headed by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and is involved in drug trafficking and illegal mining.

BBC News

That's it for this week's free stuff. If you want to see the media recommendations and the link roundup, you can become a paid subscriber today.