Reads: Alien AI, Shrinking Salton Sea & More

A wrap on some of the interesting reads from across the web...

1. The 50 Best Albums of 2018 so Far - Stereogum
2. What if ET is an AI? - Aeon
3. Behind the Messy, Expensive Split Between Facebook and WhatsApp's Founders - The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
4. The Cost of Developers - Stratechery
5. The Tower - London Review of Books
6. After the Miracle - The California Sunday Magazine
7. The Friend: Love is Not a Big Enough Word - Esquire
8. Tears 'R' Us: The World's Biggest Toy Store Didn't Have to Die - Bloomberg
9. How the Monstera Leaf Took Over Design - Racked
10. Dust Rising: As California's Largest Lake Dries Up, it Threatens Nearby Communities With Clouds of Toxic Dust - The Verge