FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR OPEN TABS :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announces decision to freeze her eggs

Ocasio-Cortez recognized the balancing act that comes with undergoing fertility treatment with her work as a congresswoman. Ocasio-Cortez told viewers that she would be taking her shots in the dressing room before a scheduled ABC interview on Sunday. (The Guardian, 8/9)

• Lucy’s note: I just think it’s insanely cool and helpful of her to share this!

Conservative Media Is Fighting Over A $20 Burrito—And Affordability

The Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro echoed that sentiment, declaring: “If you’re paying $20 for a burrito and you’re not independently wealthy, you’re doing life wrong.” Conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren also chimed in, noting that while things are generally more expensive today, the young people complaining about it “all also get a daily iced coffee.” (Forbes, 8/9)

Democrats’ AI strategy is MIA

Democrats are pretty unified on issues like taxes, health care, antitrust, and Iran. But voters have no idea what most Democrats want to do about regulating AI models (foreign or domestic), using AI in schools, preparing for possible labor disruptions, taking government stakes in AI companies, circular economy risks, etc. This isn’t about picking the “correct” lane. It’s about picking a lane at all, because that’s the job. (Axios, 8/10)

A record-breaking eight Pulitzer awardees disclosed AI use this year

Journalists are trained to find the needle in a haystack, but doing so on a breaking news timeline can be challenging. To speed up the document review, the reporters leaned on a pre-built internal tool called WSJPT (a play on ChatGPT). The tool standardizes basic LLM requests across reporting projects, including prompts for summarization, classification, and image description. In this case, the reporters used the tool to summarize every page of every document scraped from the county portal. (Nieman Lab, 8/3)

Myspace eyes comeback as an ‘antidote’ to social media fatigue — but it may be a long shot

It also comes as millennials and Gen Zers are increasingly opting out of social media use, due to declining mental health and addiction driven by dominant platforms. Instead, they’re looking to go offline, embrace analog technology, and yearn for the 90s and early 2000s. With these headwinds in sight, the success of Myspace hinges on some key factors, including attracting advertisers, sustaining user interest, and dodging a thorny regulatory environment. (CNBC, 8/9)

US court rules Meta, other tech firms must face thousands of lawsuits over social media addiction

Most appeals come after a case has concluded with a ruling ​or a verdict. The companies contended that they should not have to wait until the litigation ends to challenge the lower court’s rejection ⁠of their immunity defense. But the 9th Circuit said Section 230 provides a defense to liability, not immunity from lawsuits, so the appeal was premature. (Reuters, 8/10)

Studios Want Creators. Do Creators Want Them?

Fox, along with every other studio, has been pulling talented people from YouTube to create and star in shows for years. What makes this different, Parks says, is the end goal isn’t necessarily to discover the next sitcom star. “If our wins were only counted by finding cool people on the internet and bringing them into broadcast, I think we would lose,” he says. Instead, they’re finding people with, say, a promising single season of a TikTok show and combining forces so they can take off on that platform. (Rolling Stone, 8/10 – free version)

The college experience now includes laundry and maid service

It costs between $800 and $1,800 each academic year to have your student’s dirty laundry driven to a central plant in Manchester, New Hampshire, to be cleaned. But, as tuition costs rise, Botnick says, this price seems reasonable. (WaPo, 8/11 – free version)

Gen Z’s anti-capitalist brand says one thing. Its spending data says something more interesting

The story that is coming into view is one of a generation with no savings cushion doing exactly what rational actors do when there’s no margin for error: cutting the expensive and uncertain (nights out, concerts, dinners) and doubling down on the cheap and reliable (a coffee, a jewelry piece, a beauty splurge that delivers guaranteed gratification at a predictable price point). The Bank of America Institute calls it the “little treat economy.” The more precise name is budget triage. (Fortune, 8/5 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: I think this is an interesting take and good data… but perhaps a little harsh and unnuanced when it comes to claiming that buying coffees negates an entire overall personal belief/philosophy?

It’s the summer of Purse Guys

What the Purse Guys do, though, is remind us that the gendering of clothing, like the symbolism assigned to most anything inanimate, is arbitrary and mutable. High heels were once a menswear staple. A hundred years ago, baby boys were dressed in pink and baby girls in blue. Wearing Birkenstocks used to signal that you were antiestablishment, and now they just signal that you like to wear comfortable shoes. (WaPo, 8/10 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: Also, I don’t think we need to say man purse or purse guy! Purses are for everyone because they’re literally just a fun, helpful way to carry sh*t, and gendering it is probably why women have had to carry things for men when they go out for decades!

Oreo’s New KFC Flavor Has Fans Saying It’s Gone ‘Too Far’

According to the post, the KFC collab features Oreo cookies with a layer of KFC chicken-flavored creme. The cookies also have special embossing, with KFC branding in place of the usual Oreo logo. One design shows what looks like a chicken drumstick in the center of the cookie, while the Caramel Popcorn Oreo features a little popcorn bucket design. (Delish, 8/9)

What it’s like to chase solar eclipses around the world

On Wednesday, parts of Europe will be plunged into daytime darkness as the moon passes in front of the sun, temporarily blocking its light and casting a shadow across the continent. For many of us, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But for some, following eclipses has become something of an addiction. (BBC, 8/8)

@jakelambertcomedyfuture historians

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Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• The fortune teller of social media from and

• Hailey Bieber reads Nietzsche: how literature became cultural capital from

The Niche Survey

Sneaky Links

TL;DR I’ve inexplicably started receiving codes to stuff… here are the things I actually like :)

• My BNTO code for August is LC7QE5 for $20 off (if you know me IRL, you know my rant about the Nuulification of the 20-something city dweller)

• I also have a code for CampSnap??? And I do love my CS8 camera from them but like I don’t think I said that online? Either way, it’s LUCYR7 for 7% off

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Friday!

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FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS like the one below :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

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Today, we’ve got some texts from the very cool Isaac James, Co-Founder & Executive Director at OutVote, which is an organization dedicated to helping more young LGBTQ+ people get informed, engaged, and involved in civic life. Enjoy!

LR: The 2024 electoral cycle was a crazy one, to say the absolute least. What were the specific moments that inspired you to start OutVote, and what were your main takeaways from that cycle going into this one?

IJ: OutVote started with a conversation between my co-founder, Ranen Miao, and me in the summer of 2023. We kept coming back to the same frustration: Gen Z is the largest and queerest generation in American history, but the existing LGBTQ+ advocacy landscape was not engaging with our generation in an authentic and effective way, and no organization was exclusively focused on educating and mobilizing queer and trans youth.

After many late-night Zoom calls, countless conversations with LGBTQ+ movement leaders, and a rapidly-expanding Google Drive folder, we launched OutVote in January 2024 and hired our first 12 organizers. That November, watching anti-LGBTQ+ politicians win across the country while youth turnout declined in critical states made the urgency of what we were building impossible to ignore.

Now over two years old, we’ve reached millions of young LGBTQ+ voters through digital civic education and made tens of thousands of direct voter contacts in key states. The main lesson from 2024 is that LGBTQ+ youth expect authentic, relevant, and sustained engagement. I’m excited that this midterm year will be our most ambitious deployment yet, fueled by our belief that young queer and trans people can transform electoral outcomes.

LR: And speaking of crazy cycles… this current one is, once again, an unprecedented moment in American politics. What are three things that you wish people understood better about Gen Z voters right now, especially LGBTQ+ Gen Z voters?

IJ: First, disillusionment is different from apathy. Gen Z has grown up with school shootings, climate disasters, attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, unaffordable housing and technology changing faster than the government can begin to respond to it. When young people question whether political institutions can solve problems, it makes sense. We have spent our entire lives watching leaders describe problems as urgent and then fail to act.

Second, Gen Z is the queerest generation in history. Nearly one-third of Gen Z identifies as LGBTQ+, representing more than 10 million eligible voters. We’re not a niche constituency, but we’re also not a monolith. We live everywhere, hold all kinds of intersecting identities and care about everything from grocery prices and housing to healthcare and climate change.

Third, we have the power to determine the outcome in competitive races — including in the congressional districts where OutVote is working this year — but that takes investment in our community. Investing in LGBTQ+ youth civic participation means: paying young organizers (a living wage!), building authentic community infrastructure, and engaging people long before the final few weeks of an election. Young people can absolutely swing elections, but only if someone does the less glamorous work of building relationships and organizing online and offline, and those investments need to begin early.

LR: I know OutVote does a lot of work on the ground. What lessons have you learned about building trust with voters who may care deeply about political issues but feel disillusioned with electoral politics or political institutions, or even feel actively pushed out or excluded by them?

IJ: The biggest lesson is that distrust in our process isn’t irrational, but it’s also not permanent. If a young LGBTQ+ person has watched political institutions ignore their community, politicians compromise away their rights or contact them only when an election is close, who could blame them? We deserve political institutions that refuse to turn their back on LGBTQ+ youth.

At OutVote, we’re investing in trusted messengers. Young LGBTQ+ people may not trust a political party, a large nonprofit or someone parachuting into their community, but they do trust their friends and the voices they follow online. That’s why we hire and pay local LGBTQ+ young people to organize in the communities and neighborhoods they call home. We provide training, funding, and resources, and we don’t pretend we understand their community better than they do.

OutVote’s organizing efforts are grounded in showing up where community already exists – places like open-mic nights, picnics, student groups, drag shows and online spaces. We’ve found it often makes more sense to bring voter registration or a political conversation into something people already wanted to attend.

LR: If OutVote were a cocktail, what would it be?

IJ: A spicy margarita. It’s fun but has a serious kick to it. Plus, I’m from Texas!

LR: What is your favorite meme or viral moment of 2026 thus far?

IJ: Most recently, the “preparing for my Netflix documentary” trend. We did a version for OutVote about “Gen Z’s political power being grossly underestimated.” I’m a longtime Big Brother fan and here for a confessional-style setup.

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Trump fills ambassador posts with more donors, loyalists than any recent president

In selecting donors and loyalists for ambassadorships, the president is flouting a 1980 law that states that only people with diplomatic experience should serve in such roles — and that these assignments should not be used as political patronage. But the law is seen as merely advisory due to the president’s constitutional right to make political appointments, said Ryan Scoville, a professor at Marquette University who has studied ambassador nominations. (WaPo, 8/6 – free version)

At least 12 states report cyberattacks on water systems possibly linked to Iran-backed hackers, sources say

Some utilities have lost critical remote-control capabilities, forcing operators to switch to manual mode. In several cases, the hackers gained remote access to pumps, valves and water pressure. So far, according to officials, the cyberattacks have had no impact on drinking water, which has remained safe. (CBS News, 8/6)

TikTok Withheld a Safety Feature From Millions. One Died by Suicide

When TikTok tweaked its algorithm in 2021 to stop users from being overwhelmed with harmful content, the company didn’t roll out the safer version to everyone, a confidential internal document shows. Instead, to see if the change might reduce the app’s stickiness, the company conducted an experiment. It created a control group of 10% of US users — at the time, that would have been about 15 million people — who kept the old version of the app. (Bloomberg, 8/4 – free version)

Is TikTok Your College Counselor Now?

One rising high school senior I spoke to says he has watched many dozens of videos that all follow a common formula: The content creator deconstructs an application, talking through that student’s test scores, their GPA, their extracurriculars, and giving a quick summary of their essay topic. They show the list of colleges that student applied to, and where they did and did not get in. The outcomes follow a typical pattern: Impressive student with impressive scores and grades is roundly rejected from all their dream schools. “It can be demoralizing,” the senior says, “but I know these creators are all basically doing it to sell their courses.” (Town & Country, 8/4)

Now AI can create new viruses

Biotechnology is regulated through a patchwork of laws and agencies, with breakthroughs frequently outpacing regulators. The Trump administration last month issued a policy for stopping high-risk research in the life sciences that prohibits federally funded “gain of function” research and calls for enhanced oversight of projects involving harmful biological agents. But that didn’t specifically address AI-driven research, which is evolving at breakneck speeds. (Axios, 8/6)

How Ariana Grande’s body became political (OP-ED)

Fueled by access to illicit use of GLP-1 appetite suppressants, recent years have seen a surge of online influencers who explicitly push starvation over health — and especially over strength — as a feminine ideal. On TikTok, the trend was even called “SkinnyTok,” where influencers like Liv Schmidt build a fanbase with videos highlighting their perilously meager diets. Most of this content is not explicitly political. But as The Atlantic’s Annie Joy Williams chronicled in June 2025, the right-wing politics aren’t far below the trend’s surface. (Salon, 8/5)

The ‘Manosphere’ Isn’t a Movement. It’s a Multibillion-Dollar Grievance Industry

Once men feel they are in community with one another based on a shared sense of victimhood and betrayal, and hostility toward a mutual enemy, the same predatory characters can then sell them the dubious solution, whether that’s a class, access to an exclusive club, or gray-market pills. In breaking down the sources of the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate’s income, the researchers estimate that he makes $184 million in annual gross revenue just from his subscription-based “Real World” education platform, which costs $99 per month. (WIRED, 8/7 – free version)

Gen Z Is Testing the Limits of How Weird Parties Can Get

The result is a feedback loop: People get inspiration from Instagram and TikTok. Then they whip up an invitation on Partiful and upload pictures to social media when the party’s over. In some cases, the themes can start to feel forced—more of a performance for some brief attention online than anything else. In D.C., more than 5,000 Partiful users have expressed interest in attending a five-minute “eat an apple with me” event. Normal park picnics have been rebranded as “sit down and touch grass” events. (The Atlantic, 8/5 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: this is very true, and if I may be honest… I’m really starting to miss normal parties :(

Meet The Guerrilla Gardeners Turning Vacant Lots Into Flowerbeds

It’s a practice growing roots around the world, from London to Thessaloniki, Sydney to Toronto. The barrier to entry is low; the easy joy of giving life to neglected ground hard to resist. A year ago, at her father’s funeral, Lily gave out packets of perennial wildflower seeds for those who loved him to plant in his memory. A year on, she wakes up to their pictures of wildflowers thriving all across the US – in vacant lots, on rooftops, on lawns. (Service95, 8/2)

What Would It Mean to See a New Color?

No printer can print olo, and no camera can photograph it, and there can never be an olo-colored pigment or dye. And yet the study participants—there were four additional researchers, including Ng—did experience a color that you and I have not. This seeming contradiction emerges from the haziness of what we mean by “color.” (The New Yorker, 7/27 – free version)

@acheybreakyaspen#DANCINGPLAGUEOF1518 || i have not been able to listen to sneakernight without thinking of this event, so now this cursed edit exists x spoiler alert: basically what they're gonna do is dance #sneakernight

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Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• The Death of the Campfire by

• want to reach young voters? try texting in lowercase from

• The Mystery of the $45 Lip Gloss from

  • Love a creative graph!

The Niche Survey

Sneaky Links

TL;DR I’ve inexplicably started receiving codes to stuff… here are the things I actually like :)

• My BNTO code for August is LC7QE5 for $20 off (if you know me IRL, you know my rant about the Nuulification of the 20-something city dweller)

• I also have a code for CampSnap??? And I do love my CS8 camera from them but like I don’t think I said that online? Either way, it’s LUCYR7 for 7% off

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Tuesday!

Share

Subscribe now

FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR OPEN TABS :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

Share

Subscribe now

ICE Collected Nearly 1 Million People’s DNA Last Year—Including Young Children

New research from Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology estimates that the Department of Homeland Security has become the largest single source of new genetic profiles in the nation’s criminal DNA system, with ICE alone potentially adding as many as roughly 920,000 profiles in 2025. The vast majority of people in ICE custody have no criminal conviction, and residing in the US undocumented is typically a civil, not criminal, offense. Yet once the DNA profiles of detained people enter the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, law enforcement agencies across the country can compare them against evidence from unsolved crimes—and against crime-scene DNA collected years or even decades from now. (WIRED, 8/3 – free version)

Trump accounts were closed in 2021 due to concerns over possible money laundering, Capital One says

The court filing is tied to a lawsuit filed against Capital One by one of Trump’s financial holding companies shortly after he was sworn into office a second time. Trump alleges that Capital One illegally closed his accounts for political reasons, following the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Capital One wants the lawsuit dismissed. (AP, 8/3)

‘You Can’t Just Be Showing Matcha-Pilates-Alo’

The only reliable way to reach mainstream or even moderate recognition against all the noise is to either carpet-bomb social media with clips or to enrage wide swaths of the public. Showing off a cute outfit, an ab routine, or a gorgeous home can’t possibly compete with the army of people doing the exact same thing, nor the stealth marketing campaigns designed to cut through the noise. In an era of oversaturation and slop, audiences want one of two things: to be sucked into the endless scroll by titillation and rage-bait or to be lured away from it by a fresh filming style, a gripping series, access to an exclusive community, a spot-on cultural analysis, or an outlandish personality. (Vulture, 7/30 – free version)

The major labels propose rules to keep AI slop off the charts

The proposal goes quite a bit further than a labeling proposal put forth by the RIAA, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), SAG-AFTRA, and others. That would create a set of standardized labels for AI-generated and AI-assisted music. The labels’ proposal would require songs be clearly labeled, but it would also keep them off international charts unless they met specific criteria, including being “substantially human made.” (The Verge, 7/31 – free version)

YouTuber Hank Green Is Facing a Fan Revolt Over His AI Use

In a now deleted tweet, Green denied that he was reading something generated by an LLM, but acknowledged that he uses LLM notes, and that the video has an “AI feel.” In his lengthy apology and explanation on Reddit, he describes using LLMs, specifically ChatGPT, as something of a crutch. He describes it as useful for quickly accessing scholarly papers, and—more troublingly—for giving himself frequent hits of “dopamine,” a habit that other people in his life have noticed. (Gizmodo, 8/1)

Your favorite TV show has taken years to return. How did we get here?

Those spaced-out shows are among the most beloved on television. But keeping up with a series after a long pause can be easier said than done. Last month, Bloomberg reported on Netflix’s struggles to retain viewers for second seasons. One likely factor: Many of the series taking lengthy breaks between seasons are the same ones that rely on intricate plotting and complex characters to enchant audiences. (WaPo, 8/3 – free version)

‘Glee’ creator Ryan Murphy considering a reboot

Speaking to People at the New York premiere of his new FX series The Shards, Murphy said that he had noticed that younger audiences have discovered Glee, giving it a renewed sense of relevance. “That show is interesting because it’s come back around,” he said. “So many young people now watch it. And I’m like, ‘Maybe we should revisit that show’.” (NME, 8/1)

More Americans now support than oppose all-day school cellphone bans

About half of U.S. adults (48%) back “bell-to-bell” school cellphone bans for middle and high school students, up from 36% in 2024. Still, 43% oppose the idea, while 8% are not sure. (Gallup, 8/1)

Why cereal box toys are making a comeback

Cereal giant WK Kellogg is reintroducing box toys in a bid to spoon up nostalgia and reignite interest in a declining category. For the first time in more than a decade, the cereal giant is putting toys back inside boxes of Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops — playable spoons shaped like Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie — tied to the release of “Toy Story 5.” (Food Dive, 8/3)

Women’s Professional Baseball League makes a rainy debut in front of enthusiastic crowd

A steady rain fell for much of the day, soaking the 101-year-old home of the WPBL’s inaugural season. But much of the crowd of more than 4,000 started lining up hours before the game, hoping to grab a Davis bobblehead on the way to the metal bleachers. The line for the main merchandise booth stretched all the way to the outfield along one side of the ballpark. (AP, 8/1)

You could be taking way better photos on your phone

The reason driving this is what people generally use their smartphone cameras for. Smartphone cameras are mostly optimized for information transfer — sending photos of menus, signs, faces and objects that are clear and easy to see. This means phones will usually pull down highlights and pull up the shadows, creating a flatter image that makes it easier to see more information in the frame. But showing more information does not automatically make a photo better. (The Verge, 8/1 – free version)

@jordan.randMale genitalia doesn’t shows up until weeks later! Yes queen! 💃🏽 #women #relatable #fyp

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Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• no data centers in my backyard from

• Nara Smith Has Always Been Ragebaiting Us from

• A paywall-free stretch of summer. from

  • Free for the first two weeks of August! Love this, wish more people did it.

The Niche Survey

Sneaky Links

TL;DR I’ve inexplicably started receiving codes to stuff… here are the things I actually like :)

• My BNTO code for August is LC7QE5 for $20 off (if you know me IRL, you know my rant about the Nuulification of the 20-something city dweller)

• I also have a code for CampSnap??? And I do love my CS8 camera from them but like I don’t think I said that online? Either way, it’s LUCYR7 for 7% off

• I also somehow got Glossier PR last month… and if you are an obnoxious New Yorker like me, you will probably also really enjoy the I <3 NY Balm Dot Com

  • Speaking of Glossier, if you like gossipy journalistic books, I highly recommend Glossy by Marisa Meltzer!

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Tuesday!

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WELCOME :)

Just a reminder: every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

ALSO want to do a super fun, super cool rapid interview for this newsletter??? Reply to this email or hit the button below. Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, ☕️, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

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This is a quick one just to say I’ve become utterly fascinated with the accidental performance art that is the viral “No Influencers” sign at a random store in Nantucket…

… such that I’ve made two videos about it in the last 48 hours, HERE and HERE. At risk of yapping far too much about it (which I could), I’ll just leave it there lol.

Musk Plans to Spend at Least $100 Million to Help Republicans in the Midterms

Mr. Musk, the world’s richest person, has authorized his super PAC to spend $100 million to $120 million on a new field program in at least eight states to help elect Republicans in November, according to two people briefed on the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. (NYT gift link, 7/30)

• Lucy’s note: The states are reportedly, of course, the big 8 for Senate: Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia and Texas. Also, for House, California, Wisconsin and Washington.

State Department map of Africa mislabels every country at AIDS conference

A Reuters analysis found the image of the map included in the presentation contained an artificial intelligence watermark that signals it was made with OpenAI tools. The company said it was investigating the report. The State Department said it took “full responsibility” for the confusion caused and that the map had been produced by a team member who hastily changed the slide deck before the event. (NBC News, 7/30)

Political profanity is having a f*cking moment

Presidents, vice presidents and presidential hopefuls have used profanity at least 692 times in public since 1919, according to data from Cardiff University. And 605 of those instances occurred in just the past 10 years. Trump and former President Biden account for 78% of all recorded profanity. Biden prefers words such as “damn,” whereas Trump has used more colorful language like “fuck,” “shit,” “bastards” and “shithole.” (Axios, 7/29)

Inside an AI TikTok Shop Slop Factory That Shills Supplements Recalled By the FDA

The lawsuit reveals new details about how this group of 20-something YouTubers built their army of AI-generated influencers. In practice, Rosabella is more of a social media AI content hustle and AI marketing exercise than a supplement company. What happened in this case is the same type of spam and buy-my-course to get-rich-quick strategy that we have repeatedly written about, only this time the slop is being used to shill supplements largely to the elderly. (404 Media, 7/30)

The ‘dead internet theory’ is real. And it’s killing the web as we know it

What makes this moment different from the bot traffic of years past is what the machines are doing. According to Human Security’s 2026 benchmark report, traffic from AI agents that take action on the web—such as clicking links, filling out forms, and completing tasks—grew 7,851% year over year. Not scraping. Doing. (Fast Company, 7/28)

HBO Max is putting on vertical shorts

The feed, called “HBO Max Shorts,” will be accessible from an icon on the bottom navigation menu. It will show you things like trailers, clips, and bonus content from the HBO Max library, and it’s tailored to you based on your watch history. You can jump into a show or movie right from the HBO Max Shorts clip or add it to your list if you want to bookmark it for later. (The Verge, 7/28 – free version)

US bans humanoid robots from China, citing ‘unacceptable risks’

The restrictions apply only to robot and inverter models that have not yet been released. However, the FCC has the authority to ‌revoke authorizations for sales of models that have already been authorized for purchase in the US. Humanoid robots, topped with ‌AI-enabled “brains”, are forecast by some analysts for broad adoption in ‌consumer and industrial arenas, while explosive datacenter construction in the US will depend on reliable sources of inverters. (The Guardian, 7/28)

The brutal math behind Gen Z’s lonely weekends: $15 drinks are driving a generational ‘spending hangover’

The Harris Poll, in a separate survey of 4,100 American adults conducted in late May and early June, found a harsh set of economic conditions that conspire to leave half of the generation lonely every weekend: and that’s because they can’t afford to go out. Nearly three-quarters spend their weekend time at home, and according to the pollster who ran the numbers, the connection between them isn’t psychological, it’s a “spending hangover.” (Fortune, 7/28 – free version)

Forget Franzia—Boxed Wine Went Bougie. Now Sales Have Surged More Than 144 Percent

While alcohol sales and consumption rates remain stuck at historic lows in the United States, premium boxed wine has exploded. Over the past 12 months, off-premise sales have soared by more than 144 percent, according to Nielsen data through June 13—making the industry roughly two and a half times larger than it was this time last summer. This boom has turned bougie boxed wine into one of the few bright spots for an otherwise languishing alcohol sector, which has faced a continuing string of bankruptcies and closures. (Inc., 7/23)

The ultimate digital detox? Playing a trumpet

In today’s digital age, there’s a growing anxiety around our shrinking attention span, which is backed up by research – notably, a 2023 study indicated that as our attention spans diminish, our perceived stress levels and heart rates rise. Playing an instrument can offer a kind of pure absorption that’s difficult to find elsewhere, with all the health benefits that carries. But there’s also a draw in being able to share the beautiful mahogany and strings online. In the same way that posting classical literature or a Letterboxd review of a three-hour-long film has become a status symbol, playing an instrument signals to the world that your attention span is longer than most. (DAZED, 7/28)

The 7 weirdest TSA finds of the summer

Weapons and explosives aside, the recurring find that defined the summer was ranch dressing, which captured the hearts of international World Cup travelers. Countless bottles of buttermilk goodness were confiscated thanks to TSA’s liquids rule. If you’d like to take some ranch on your upcoming travels, remember to decant it into containers of 3.4 ounces or less (you could pack as many minis that will fit into a quart-size plastic bag) or bring a full-size bottle in your checked bag. (WaPo, 7/29 – free version)

Why You Should Always Follow This Georgia Farmer’s Brilliant “Palm” Rule to Pick Out the Best Peaches

The squeeze test is reliable, but the devil’s in the details. For instance, many shoppers test the pointed tip to avoid hurting the fruit, but “oftentimes, the tip is soft before the peach is ready, whereas squeezing the whole thing in the palm of your hand is a better indicator,” Lawton says. If it’s ripe, it’ll be strongly fragrant and “soft with a slight squishiness like a tennis ball.” (The Kitchn, 7/28)

@simonjnkmjiYou never know who could be listening #intern #hilltern #dc

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Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• The Loneliest Diet from &

• It Tastes Like Data from , , &

Sneaky Links

TL;DR I’ve inexplicably started receiving codes to stuff… here are the things I actually like :)

• My BNTO code for July is UQG7S9 for $20 off (if you know me IRL, you know my rant about the Nuulification of the 20-something city dweller). I’ll update with August as soon as I have, but should work for today!

• I also have a code for CampSnap??? And I do love my CS8 camera from them but like I don’t think I said that online? Either way, it’s LUCYR7 for 7% off

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Tuesday!

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FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR OPEN TABS :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

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Money usually wins elections. Billionaires have already poured $433 million into the 2026 midterms—and 80% of it is going to Republicans

That’s according to an analysis released by the Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF), a progressive advocacy group, which examined Federal Election Commission data through March 1. The group found the 50 biggest-spending billionaire families had funneled $344.3 million, or about 79%, to Republican candidates and conservative organizations. (Fortune, 7/27)

Senate Democrat’s new bills would restrict AI-powered ads and paid influencers

On Monday, California Sen. Adam Schiff plans to introduce two new bills that would attempt to illuminate who is paying influencers for political speech online and restrict AI-generated likenesses of politicians. The Promoting Authenticity with Influencer Disclaimers Act would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to require labels on some posts from influencers paid for by political committees. If passed, the legislation would mandate “audiovisual or audio-only content” explicitly state whether it was paid for by a political committee. (Semafor, 7/26)

• Lucy’s note: shot…

Inside the world of Gen Z political influencers, where the money is messy, but the work keeps coming

Not all posted political content is paid, but posters are not federally required to disclose if they have been given money by a campaign or outside source for a piece of political content. Many creators who post in support of candidates also do so for specific causes or industries, but do not have to register as lobbyists. And it is hard to track the source and amount of money being paid to them. (CNN, 7/25 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: …chaser

Why the right is freaking out about “third worldism”

Read in this light, the right-wing allegation that third worldism is supplanting woke is more confession than anything else. From McCarthyism to the Reagan era and on through Newt Gingrich warning of Barack Obama’s “Kenyan, anti-colonial” worldview, the right has deployed fearmongering about foreign subversion as a central tactic to delegitimize its opponents and rally the base. The sweeping allegations about the entire Democratic Party being overtaken by third worldism represent a fusion of this old Red Scare blueprint with the new Rufo tactics of mimetic-conceptual warfare. (Vox, 7/27 – free version)

How Bots Took Over Our Lives

Extreme voices with high follower counts, such as Chaya Raichik, the woman behind the right-wing X account Libs of TikTok, are usually at the center of the skirmish, and then bot networks swarm to boost the message. It’s like pouring gasoline onto a few embers, which then appears to be a bonfire. (The New Yorker, 7/27 – free version)

Viral iPhone App Warns Users When Smart Glasses Are Nearby

AntiZuck is a new iPhone app designed to alert users when smart glasses could be close by scanning for Bluetooth signals associated with devices like Meta Ray-Ban glasses, Snap Spectacles, Amazon Echo Frames, and RayNeo smart glasses. The app takes a privacy-focused approach, performing all detection locally on the device without collecting user data, tracking locations, or accessing cameras and microphones. (PetaPixel, 7/23)

One in Four U.S. Employees Locked in Jobs for Health Insurance

Nearly one in four U.S. workers (24%), the equivalent of about 23 million adults, report “job lock” — staying in their current job, even though they want to leave, because they are afraid of losing their health insurance — according to a new study from the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America. This marks an eight-percentage-point increase since 2021. (Gallup, 7/21)

Once you hear it, the ‘Gen Alpha melody’ is everywhere

Over the years, he would keep hearing those four notes elsewhere. He first noticed it with “Apt.,” 2024’s hit song by Rosé and Bruno Mars. Then he heard it throughout K-pop, American pop, dance music, indie records and hits all over the world. (WaPo, 7/27 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: side note, if you like stories like this one and below, you should subscribe to !

Admit It: ‘Choosin’ Texas’ Is the Song of the Summer

If the song stays Number One on the Hot 100 this week, “Choosin’ Texas” will surpass Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” as the only non-holiday song by a woman to hold the top spot for more than 15 weeks. According to the Billboard Summer Songs Chart, it’s already the clear winner, with Drake and Taylor Swift trailing behind. (Rolling Stone, 7/27 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: Ella Langley is, to me, the best current example of how much culture has splintered… like I know she is insanely popular, yet no one I know listens to her or really knows much about her???

Expedition to find Amelia Earhart’s plane will begin this year

A 16-person team of archaeologists, logistics experts, scuba and safety personnel, filmmakers and Kiribati representatives will leave Tarawa, Kiribati, by boat on Oct. 7 and travel about 830 nautical miles over six days to Nikumaroro Island. The expedition will spend multiple days on the island before returning to Tarawa. (NBC News, 7/24)

Jetting off for a summer vacation? How to eat and drink to minimize jet lag

One way to minimize jet lag is to begin gradually shifting the timing of your meals as you get ready for travel. Schmidt suggested first moving them by 15 minutes, then a half hour, then an hour closer to the destination time zone. (AP, 7/25)

@slamminsalmonn0Apparently I didn’t think 28 inches was that big

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Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• Gen Z Just Did the Math on Your $14 Billion Data Center from

• Why the Tech Right Failed from

• NOT Substack, but I’m really enjoying this newsletter The Lobby which is customizable and gives you a weekly, super digestible brief on bills in Congress

Sneaky Links

TL;DR I’ve inexplicably started receiving codes to stuff… here are the things I actually like :)

• My BNTO code for July is UQG7S9 for $20 off (if you know me IRL, you know my rant about the Nuulification of the 20-something city dweller)

• I also have a code for CampSnap??? And I do love my CS8 camera from them but like I don’t think I said that online? Either way, it’s LUCYR7 for 7% off

• I also somehow got Glossier PR last week… and if you are an obnoxious New Yorker like me, you will probably also really enjoy the I <3 NY Balm Dot Com

  • Speaking of Glossier, if you like gossipy journalistic books, I highly recommend Glossy by Marisa Meltzer!

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Tuesday!

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WELCOME :)

Just a reminder: every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

ALSO want to do a super fun, super cool rapid interview for this newsletter??? Reply to this email or hit the button below. Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, ☕️, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

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People are watching the Reflecting Pool like reality TV. What does that say about us?

It’s a source of memes, a conversation starter, a form of escapism from heavier headlines about global conflict and climate change. But, he says, it’s also a microcosm of many issues critics have with the Trump administration, from its perceived disregard for expert input to financial dealings with political allies. (NPR, 7/22)

Louisiana Rep. Cleo Fields won’t seek reelection after Democrat’s seat was redrawn

The majority Black congressional district was redrawn by the state legislature in May to favor Republicans in November’s midterm elections. A month earlier, the Supreme Court ruled that Fields’ district relied too heavily on race and was an “unconstitutional gerrymander.” (AP, 7/21)

• Lucy’s note: important to see the real costs of that SCOTUS decision, i think…

Social media is becoming less social

The results reflect what broader trend data suggests. First, in terms of posting, the data found that 55% of respondents are posting less to social media now than they did five years ago. That aligns with other trend data, which showed that fewer people are posting online, and more people are sharing posts and updates with their closer friends within private DM groups. (Social Media Today, 7/22)

Instagram is now banning pickup artists and pranksters who use Meta glasses

It’s unclear how many videos have been removed under this new policy. Business Insider found that two large accounts of pickup artists who filmed themselves approaching women in public while wearing the glasses had been deactivated. (Both previously had more than a million followers.) (Business Insider, 7/23 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: literally what did they think people were going to use these glasses for

4 Prompts That Can Tell You What Chatbots Really Know About You

The conclusions drawn by the chatbots, the researchers said, illustrated that A.I. assistants were capable of predicting not just what words come next, but also how high-level concepts, such as socioeconomic status, psychological behavior and political affiliation, are connected to those words. (NYT gift link, 7/23)

How Netflix Broke TV’s Most Important Promise

Netflix’s competitors have been turning away from the binge-drop model in favor of more or less weekly schedules, because they’ve realized—or relearned—that the time when a show’s not on the air is as important to building its audience as the time when viewers are actually watching. The all-at-once approach didn’t just take away our weekly date with our TV friends; it made it more complicated to share the experience with our friends in real life, because there’s always someone who failed to power through the entire season in a single day and is nervous about spoilers. (Slate, 7/23)

Evangelists say they are heeding a biblical command to preach on flights

There have been viral guitar-led worship services in the air, hours-long prayer and song sessions, and quick messages during a flight delay. Where some people see admirable boldness, many recoil at the thought of an unwanted sermon. (WaPo, 7/23 – free version)

What Is Entropy, Really?

So you might think, why should you clean up your office if it will only get messier? That might be true, but you can’t blame it on entropy. The messy-room metaphor is often used to introduce the idea (it’s usually a teenager’s bedroom—can you relate?), but it’s misleading. See, disorder doesn’t mean messiness or chaos; it refers to the number of ways the parts of a system can be arranged without changing the overall state of the system. (WIRED, 7/24 – free version)

Great Apes kiss and cuddle to keep the peace, says study

Touching, embracing and kissing before stressful events may be an ancient way of building trust, according to scientists studying the behaviour of our closest ape relatives. Researchers at Durham University studied chimpanzees and bonobos using physical contact to reassure each other ahead of conflicts over food. (BBC, 7/21 – free version)

Hot Honey Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies get their heat from two sources: hot honey and cayenne pepper. The flavor and spice level of hot honey varies depending on the brand, so make sure to taste it before using. If you like it on its own, you’ll love it in these cookies! (Delish, 7/24)

• Lucy’s note: not news, just exciting lol

@mynahhowardSTOP DOING IT. PLEASE. I BEG. #aiflyers #usecanva #stopusingchatgpt

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Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• The 34 new rules for Gen Z weddings from

• The Big Bias in AI Is Economic from

Sneaky Links

TL;DR I’ve inexplicably started receiving codes to stuff… here are the things I actually like :)

• My BNTO code for July is UQG7S9 for $20 off (if you know me IRL, you know my rant about the Nuulification of the 20-something city dweller)

• I also have a code for CampSnap??? And I do love my CS8 camera from them but like I don’t think I said that online? Either way, it’s LUCYR7 for 7% off

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Tuesday!

Share

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Hi all!

Just a brief note to say that GCC will be coming to your inboxes on Substack again moving forward!

I really enjoyed my time on Beehiiv, but as I was planning content and new ideas for this fall… I came to the realization that the features on Substack were the best fit! So, here I am back again. I fear this is very October Libra of me (from my admittedly limited actual knowledge of zodiac signs) – and thank you for coming along on this journey.

All the newsletters that I sent while over on Beehiiv are now here, there, and everywhere. There shouldn’t be any disruption in how things function – but, as always, if you have any questions/issues/thoughts/concerns or just want to chat, please feel free to reply to this email or send me a message.

And thanks, as always, for being part of the Group Chat.

~LR

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FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR GROUP CHAT CORRESPONDENT :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

Subscribe now

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Federal Agents Were Told F.B.I. Will No Longer Investigate ICE Confrontations

Federal agents around the country were told in recent days that the F.B.I. would no longer investigate confrontations with immigration agents — cases that sometimes yield evidence that could be used to prosecute Department of Homeland Security agents implicated in violent encounters, according to people briefed on the decision. (NYT gift link, 7/19)

Israel’s $50 Million Experiment to Change U.S. Public Opinion

Israel has retained at least six firms to help with the effort in the U.S. over the past year. Three dozen new people, many of them marketing professionals, have registered as foreign agents for Israel. The country is on track to spend more than any other on U.S. influence disclosed with the federal government this year, said Nick Cleveland-Stout, a researcher who studies foreign lobbying at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. (WSJ gift link, 7/18)

Democratic senators want answers about Hegseth’s military testosterone plan

Senate Democrats are pressing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for answers about his directive requiring the military to measure troops’ testosterone levels, seeking details on how the policy will be carried out amid concerns over how it will apply to women and whether it could inadvertently encourage service members to self-medicate with potentially dangerous supplements. (ABC News, 7/20)

How period trackers share your private details

Mozilla uncovered numerous privacy problems across various apps, but Stardust was the only one found sharing detailed reproductive health data with another company. The report found that Stardust sends users’ health information to a data management company called RudderStack, which isn’t named in its privacy policy. (BBC, 7/15)

Social platforms draw consumers in, but conversions falter

About half of consumers discover new products on social media. That rate rises among Generation Z, with three-quarters using social for discovery. In comparison, only 38% of global shoppers find new items through search engines and 36% through physical stores. Trust limits purchases, however. In the U.S., about one-quarter of consumers trust social commerce checkout experiences. (Social Media Today, 7/20)

• Lucy’s note: shot…

Etsy Is In Its Flop Era, and Sellers Are Fleeing

Once a quirky bastion of amateur vulva jewelry and twee crocheted dolls, longtime Etsy sellers like Olson are now migrating from the platform in large numbers due to their frustration with policies they feel are lax. Competitors are emerging. Fybe, for instance, a new online crafts marketplace, will open to vendors August 1. It explicitly prohibits AI-generated content and drop-shipping on the platform, and will rely on volunteer moderators and direct conversations with sellers to ensure all products are human-made. (WIRED, 7/21 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: …chaser

Want to Bet on My Wedding?

The Stahls said that more than 25,000 couples so far had created a betting pool using their app, which costs a one-time fee of $49.99. Guests can monitor the status of their bets on their phones via a live leaderboard throughout the wedding. At the end of the event, the app sends a notification to all participants letting them know how they performed and, if applicable, whom they may owe money to. (NYT gift link, 7/19)

World Cup revives America’s drinking culture

Beer sales across the U.S. are up 5.5%, according to the D.C.-based Beer Institute, with 45% of tournament watchers planning to drink beer while watching matches. Before the tournament began, fans were expected to drink an extra 1 billion pints globally, according to a Financial Times report. (Axios, 7/19)

‘Zara death pants’: are these the world’s most dangerous trousers?

There are many more videos on social media of people tripping and saying how they’ve been left battered and bruised, hence they’ve been dubbed the deadly Zara trousers or Zara death pants. Zara’s flowing palazzo trousers are also deemed particularly perilous. (The Guardian, 7/15)

Here’s how your peanut butter jar — and nearly everything else — can be recycled

A quick scrape is all you need to recycle your peanut butter jar. Just don’t leave enough to weigh it down. In fact, scrubbing in hot water at home may negate the energy savings of recycling them (tossing the jar into an already-full dishwasher is fine if you want). (WaPo, 7/21 – free version)

Extra Credit 🤓

The hot-or-nots for this week:

HOT

• Peaches and Amaretto

• Any video of Zendaya explaining her Odyssey press tour looks

NOT

• Starting Halloweeen stuff now, we’re gonna ruin it people!!!

• Getting Canadian maple syrup :(

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Friday!

Share

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FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS like the one below :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

Subscribe now

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Today, we have some texts from the wonderful Max Levy, who is an expert on all things communications, digital, and political strategy (you probably know him from, among many other things, the Kennedy Center livestream, which we discuss below!). He is also the author of The Short Answer, where he gives incredibly helpful answers and advice on his many areas of expertise. Enjoy :)

LR: As a digital comms expert, what are three things that you see people doing online, or in texts and emails, that you desperately want them to stop doing?

ML: My latest crusade is to get everyone on our side to stop introducing themselves at the beginning of their videos, and start using hooks that actually keep your audience’s attention! If I never see another video starting “Hey everyone, it’s ____, running for ____ in ____,” it won’t be soon enough. In fundraising, I think we’re slowly but surely seeing a shift back to focusing on our opt-in audiences over text and email instead of just blindly swapping lists, but there’s still a lot of work to do there. And generally, I want people to stop thinking of paid ads as the only way to reach people online (sorry, paid media teams) and start investing more in content and infrastructure for your organic channels. Your socials, your website, and your emails are the main things so many people associate with your organization or candidate, so you should treat them like the tentpoles they are. And I have to add one more — no more acronyms or legalese! Anywhere! (Sorry, Lucy and all other current or aspiring lawyers.)

LR: You recently livestreamed the physical removal of Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center – it was such a cool and unique piece of content. Can you walk me through the process, from having the initial idea to watching it take on a life of its own online?

ML: I’m always looking to see how people are spending their time online outside of politics, and long-term livestreams (like PandaCams, or even Casey Wilson setting up a ‘Rat Watch’ in her home) have consistently been a fun way to draw attention and gather a digital community. I’d actually been talking to organizers working to save the Kennedy Center about a ‘Demolition Watch’ livestream when there was a real possibility that Trump was just going to bulldoze the place. Then, when a judge ordered the Kennedy Center to take Trump’s name off the building, we knew it was time to sprint with that new livestream and catch the moment his name came down. We hustled to find someone with the right vantage point who would let us leave a webcam on their balcony, got up the stream, and ended up pulling in more than 100,000 people! It was so exciting to see people not just show up to the stream, but to stay engaged in the chat as a real community. The thing I’m happiest about, though, is that the livestream helped massively grow the social media and email audiences for Hands Off the Arts, so they have a whole new base of support for the next actions they take moving forward.

LR: I loved this piece you published on getting started in digital politics. This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot… what are three things that you think we should do as an industry and/or party to make getting good digital jobs more accessible?

ML: It’s crazy — for a world where it feels like we’re all running around trying to do 100 jobs at the same time and there’s so much more work to do, it’s still hard for people to break in. First thing I’d change is investing in local digital talent across the country. There are so many grassroots organizations and candidates that could massively scale their impact if they had help implementing just a few digital best practices — from social to fundraising and more — and there should be more jobs for people to do exactly that in their own communities. Second, while I do think there’s value in some jobs being in-person (at some point, you’re going to have to be on the ground to capture great social content), we’ve got to keep remote options available. And third is we have to take bigger swings! The only way we’re going to do better online is by doing things we haven’t done before — and that means bringing in as many new people and ideas as possible to try things out and see what sticks.

LR: Who are your favorite political influencers or messengers to follow? Bonus: Who are your favorite NON-political influencers to follow?

ML: How long do you have? Gabbi Zutrau for all things digital, political, and especially social; Josh Nelson and the Civic Shout newsletter for email and fundraising; Josh Klemons for ads at a scale that works for both grassroots and major campaigns (and everyone go read about the Bedrock Approach); Al Gore’s Internet for a digest on the online right; and so many more I’m forgetting right now. On the non-political side, Rachel Karten’s Link In Bio is required reading to keep up with how the brand world is innovating in social, Hunter Harris is right about everything always, I could talk about the YouTuber Anthony Po for hours, and Terrence O’Connor does a public service for us all with his weekly cultural digests (now back from hiatus, thankfully)!

LR: If The Short Answer was a breakfast order… what would it be?

ML: Even though I’m a breakfast burrito guy myself, The Short Answer is definitely a build-your-own omelette! Straightforward without too many frills, but you can mix and match enough to keep coming up with fun discoveries.

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What Does It Mean to Be a Working-Class Candidate?

The question about his base is harder to answer without a firm definition of the American working class. As the writer Osita Nwanevu pointed out in a piece for The Guardian, Platner was “down by roughly 15-20 points among voters without college degrees,” and one poll showed him “25 points behind among white men without degrees specifically,” which pokes holes in simple narratives about the oyster farmer and his rise. Still, polling can only tell us so much about the working class and who’s in it. (Intelligencer, 7/16 – free version)

Graham Platner Was the Perfect Twitter Candidate

No one has yet curated the perfect user base or algorithm to map people’s feeds exactly onto the preferences of the country, or even Maine primary voters. But what happened on X around Platner was something different. In a fractured party where some of the loudest online voices had left for a different platform, a lot of people who remained on Musk’s platform were sure that they were the ones who had the story straight. (Slate, 7/14)

Rare Lincoln Documents Exposed to Unsafe Heat in New Exhibit, NPS Staff Say

But three National Park Service employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, described a facility with faulty security measures. Notably, the employees said, the Park Service has struggled to maintain proper conditions for its rare and delicate documents. Screens designed to shield the records from harsh light have been defective and temperatures inside the display case have repeatedly reached more than 80 degrees, according to the Park Service officials. (City Cast DC, 7/15)

I Got Slopped

The book is flattering, fabricated and absolutely packed with em dashes. It bears all the signs of A.I. slop. I clicked on the author, one John Crane Miller. His bio page described him as a “seasoned biographer and cultural analyst,” and his portrait was a widely used stock photo of a white man in a suit speaking at a conference. (NYT gift link, 7/16)

• Lucy’s note: shot…

AI Fiction Is Easy to Detect Because It’s Stupid and Bad, Research Finds

Fiction written by artificial intelligence is easy to detect because it struggles with complex story structure and tends to moralize in clunky ways, according to a preprint study from researchers at University of Maryland, College Park and Google DeepMind. They found that AI fiction has tells that go beyond stereotypical overuse of em-dashes and other obvious AI tropes and have more to do with the formulaic nature of the text itself. (404 Media, 7/10)

• Lucy’s note: … chaser!

14% of Americans judge your phone background

According to the data, younger Americans are most likely to use phone backgrounds as a vital piece of information about someone. An astounding 33% of Gen Z Americans admit to judging someone based on their phone, with 17% of millennials agreeing. (Talker Research, 7/16 – PRESS RELEASE)

Everyone Thinks They Have the Diarrhea Parasite

But if you’re scrolling through Instagram, you might think that everyone you know—in every corner of the country—is impacted: bad for the bowels, good for the algorithm. Even if the parasite isn’t actually everywhere, social media is making it feel that way, triggering anxieties up and down your feeds. (WIRED, 7/16 – free version)

Music influencers are getting paid to promote songs — and they’re not telling you

Some of the music content she posts — like artist interviews, which she says she’s been spending more time on — are unpaid. When it comes to song and artist promos, Bogie says her rate per video ranges from $150 to $400 per post, depending on the scope of the campaign. Recently, Bogie says she was paid $400 each for two videos about a major label pop star coming off the success of a Billboard Hot 100 entry. (NPR, 7/13)

Fragrance clubs are the new book clubs

They’re similar to wine or book clubs, but with a lower barrier to entry (e.g., no assumed knowledge or required reading, and occasionally no cost), making them more welcoming of casual hobbyists and novices. Plus, the emphasis is typically on how a scent makes the smeller feel, not on how well they can identify its ingredients, which can produce more meaningful conversations about memory and taste, versus those centered around terroir or other insider jargon. (The Hustle, 7/15)

These ‘dopamine sites’ deliver the thrill of shopping without the cost

A growing category of “dopamine websites” simulates the pleasures of online shopping or ordering a meal from a food delivery app — without the insult to your bank account. Among the most popular is Eumsigman-an-wayo (roughly translated to “only the food is not coming”). It lets users customize toppings, read customer reviews and watch their order make its way to their door. (WaPo, 7/16 – free version)

This Chicago Spirit Quadrupled Sales With Ads Likening It to Fermented Back Sweat

A new marketing campaign beginning this month will prompt consumers to share their harrowing tales of trying the extremely bitter Malört for the first time—and to taste it if they haven’t before. Last year, a campaign called “Malört Tastes Like” featured consumer comparisons to “fermented back sweat” and “moist dumpster residue.” (WSJ gift link, 7/14)

• Lucy’s note: After making so many non-Midwest friends try Malört… I would say I’m sorry, but I don’t think I am!

The hot-or-nots going into this weekend:

HOT:

• A side of fries for the table

• Three-person group chats

• Rain-checking (but then actually picking a new date for the event)

NOT:

• New York being so up that the universe gave us a collapsing building, Legionnaire’s disease, wildfire smoke, and explosive diarrhea in our lettuce and raspberries

• The number of communities on Threads (not enough!!)

• Sandal blisters in exactly the wrong place

That’s all for now – I’ll see you next week!

Subscribe now

Share

FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR GROUP CHAT CORRESPONDENT :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

Subscribe now

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CDC Stopped Monitoring Parasite Now Causing Explosive Diarrhea Across The Country

Prior to that date, a collaborative CDC program called FoodNet helped federal and state regulators track eight foodborne pathogens. Among them was cyclospora, a heat-loving spherical parasite that’s sickened 1,000 people in an ongoing outbreak in Michigan (the state’s worst), with similar illnesses cropping up in 28 other states. In addition to cyclospora, surveillance of campylobacter, listeria, shigella, vibrio and Yersinia was cut. FoodNet now only regularly monitors two diseases: Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. (HuffPost, 7/10)

New York imposes first moratorium on data centers

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a centrist Democrat, is signing an executive order pausing permitting for hyperscaler data centers for a year, giving the state time to establish a regulatory framework to soften the impact on utility bills, the energy grid, and the environment. (Semafor, 7/14)

Confidence in U.S. Institutions Remains Near All-Time Low

Americans’ confidence in U.S. institutions remains historically low, as reflected in their average view of 14 institutions measured each year since 1993. Currently, 27% of Americans express “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in these core institutions, one percentage point above the record-low average in 2023. (Gallup, 7/14)

One of sci-fi’s most difficult questions about AI is becoming real

If plaintiffs can indeed prove that chatbots had done something that would have been illegal had a human done it, judges will be motivated to find the companies liable in some way, said Gabriel Weil, a senior fellow at the Institute for Law & AI, a think tank that studies the legal implications of AI. Existing product liability law may be one route that lawyers take to try to find AI companies liable for harm connected to their tools. But existing law may not be enough to handle the potential scenarios that could arise as AI becomes more capable and independent, Weil said. (WaPo, 7/13 – free version)

Spotify is now an AI chatbot, too

The updated AI capabilities are more conversational than older features like Prompted Playlist, which automatically builds playlists based on descriptions. Now, you can ask the Spotify chatbot to “play some songs I haven’t heard before,” and control what’s being played with further instructions like requesting specific artists or asking to make it “more upbeat.” (The Verge, 7/14 – free version)

Peter Thiel and other tech billionaires are publicly shielding their children from the products that made them rich

Scientific research backs up their parenting instincts. A 2025 study of nearly 100,000 people found that short-form video use was consistently associated with poorer cognition and a decline in many aspects of mental health across both younger and older social media users. (Fortune, 7/12)

Threads, Meta’s ‘Twitter Killer,’ Finds Its People

Threads now increasingly resembles the social message board Reddit, as well as X. Users gravitate to specific communities on the platform, rather than a feed of news, to discuss television episodes, game recaps, celebrity gossip and current events. Among the most popular topics are K-pop, the W.N.B.A., dating, dramedy books and television shows like “Heated Rivalry.” (NYT gift link, 7/5)

It’s a sin: Why gen Z are turning against ‘lust’

But gen Z’s rejection of organised religious institutions is only part of the story: the majority of young Americans today still describe themselves as at least somewhat “spiritual”. In many online spiritual spaces, you’ll find repackaged puritanical ideas around sin: like not having sex before marriage because it causes a “soul tie” or staying abstinent to protect your “divine feminine” energy. What is considered a “moral failing” reflects the culture we exist in. (Dazed, 7/13)

Cigarettes are back in vogue. How did this happen?

Depending on who you ask, cigarettes never really left. But the attitude toward cigarettes and smokers has shifted. After a period of exile to the cultural fringes — when a cig was something you snuck, or that might have gotten you scolded or side-eyed — cigarettes seem to be creeping back to the aspirational center, among both civilians and celebrities. (WaPo, 7/14 – free version)

Space jam: astronomers detect ‘raspberry sugar’ on dust cloud in Milky Way

The simple sugar erythrulose appears to be produced through chemical reactions on tiny interstellar dust grains, which then rain down on nearby worlds or reach them after being incorporated into comets that eventually clatter into planets. (The Guardian, 7/13)

Golden Age Mysteries: A Starter Pack

In one attempt to codify the genre, an English priest and writer named Ronald Knox drafted a “Ten Commandments of Detection” in the late 1920s. His rules for mystery novels included no ghosts, minimal use of twins, no reliance on cheap stereotypes and only one secret passage per novel. (NYT gift link, 7/12)

Extra Credit 🤓

The hot-or-nots for this week:

HOT

• a libra legend winning love island!!!

• pinball

• getting fries instead of salad to avoid cyclosporiasis

NOT

• the world cup final four (sorry)

• second record-breaking dangerous heat wave of the month

• back-to-school/fall-related ads in the MIDDLE OF SUMMER

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Friday!

Share

Subscribe now

FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS like the one below :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

Subscribe now

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Today, we have some texts from Josh Klemons, who heads Reverbal Communications and Hello Merge Tag amongst many things (we also used to write the #FYP newsletter together back in 2024!). Enjoy :)

LR: The 2026 primary results thus far have already offered a pretty rich set of lessons about which candidates, messages, and platforms are resonating… and which aren’t. What are the top three things you are taking away from all this?

JK: Three things I keep coming back to:

1. Early money on Meta matters more than most campaigns realize. The campaigns that started building presence months before Election Day have a significant advantage over the ones that turn on their ads six weeks out. I’ve been writing about this a lot lately — I call this the Bedrock Approach, and this cycle continues to validate my thinking on this. If folks want, they can nerd out with me on this at joshklemons.com/bedrock.

2. Campaigns that focus on the people, not the candidate, do better. The content that breaks through is rarely the overproduced stuff. It’s often candidates showing up as real humans in their communities, talking about things their voters actually care about. The audience is always the hero of the story.

3. There is no such thing as too much content. Campaigns that post often, without overthinking production value, are the ones building the kind of familiarity that can translate to votes.

LR: What is something that you wish Democrats – or progressives, more broadly – talked about a lot more?

JK: Conservatives invest in their movement on a generational scale. They build infrastructure, they fund media, they think long term. Meanwhile, we’re waiting until six weeks before Election Day to turn on our Facebook ads. Then we wonder why we lose.

We need to start earlier. In everything. Not just campaigns — in building the kind of presence and familiarity that makes our candidates and our ideas feel like the obvious choice before the fight even starts. That’s the whole premise of the Bedrock Approach, and I think it applies to the progressive movement as much as it does to individual campaigns.

LR: What is the best piece of digital political content – paid or organic – that you’ve seen this cycle?

JK: Pretty much everything Kat Abughazaleh did throughout her race was exceptional — she understood instinctively the power of content to connect with her audience.

Abdul El-Sayed giving directions to the Senate was adorable.

Liz Warren’s graphics breaking down Senate testimony hit hard every single time — clear, shareable, and always on message.

LR: You offer a ton of free resources to digital staffers. On the production side, do you prefer doing a podcast or writing a newsletter more? And why?

JK: I love writing. It’s how I got my start in this field, and there’s something about putting ideas down on the page that never gets old.

But podcast. No question.

Finding guests, prepping good questions, editing, launching — it’s a lot of work. But I get to sit down with some of the smartest people in this space (people like you!) and ask them every question I’ve been burning to ask. There’s nothing else like it.

My podcast is called Hello Merge Tag: where social media and politics intersect. It has genuinely made me better at what I do, and I’m grateful every time I get to hit record. If folks want to check it out, they can find the pod at HelloMergeTag.com.

LR: If you could snap your fingers and create your dream social media platform right now, what would it look like and how would it work?

JK: Twitter pre-Musk?
But honestly, I had a vision years ago for a social platform built specifically for the left — a space where progressive organizers, candidates, advocates, and everyday people could connect, share, and build without fighting for attention against rage bait and bad faith actors. I had a whole road map and everything. But I’m not the guy who’s gonna build it, and I was busy working campaigns. So it never went anywhere.

Interestingly, in a lot of ways, Substack built what I had sketched out. A subscription-based, creator-forward platform where ideas actually have room to breathe. Sadly, they’ve decided to monetize some pretty awful people, so it’s not quite perfect. But it has potential if any cool billionaires want to buy it, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Popular Instagram creator sues JD Vance after she was allegedly banned from event

In May, McGonigle signed up to attend an event in Bangor, Maine, where Vance was scheduled to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to fight healthcare fraud. Keith Sonderling, the acting labor secretary, also attended the event. Court documents state that after registering and waiting in line outside the Bangor airport, McGonigle was identified by name by armed Secret Service officers, denied entry to the event, and told: “We know where you stand.” (The Guardian, 7/8)

Trump fires all Election Assistance Commission members, leaving agency unable to act

President Donald Trump fired all three remaining members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Thursday, abruptly disabling the only federal agency devoted solely to election administration at a moment when Trump has sought to reshape federal voting rules. (VoteBeat, 6/9)

US officials compiling ‘menu’ of Spanish goods, as Trump weighs embargo

The U.S. has imposed trade embargoes on countries before, including on Cuba and North Korea, but it requires a declaration of a national emergency and evidence that the country facing the embargo poses an “unusual or extraordinary threat” to U.S. interests. If challenged in court, it would be hard for the administration to demonstrate that Spain, a NATO treaty ally, represents such a threat. (POLITICO, 7/8)

After Swalwell and Platner, Cheyenne Hunt is building a new #MeToo movement

Hunt has since resigned as executive director of the advocacy organization Gen-Z for Change and started Reckoning Action, a political organization with the goal of ending misogyny in places of power. Fodor is an adviser to the group, as are some of Swalwell’s accusers. Hunt said the group’s goals are to change sexual harassment laws and raise enough money to build a robust network of legal aid and other support services for victims. (SF Standard, 7/7)

LinkedIn and X Are Flooded With AI Spam, Browsing Data Suggests

A shocking amount of the content that users encounter on popular social media websites is likely AI generated, according to data from a company that detects AI writing. As much as 41 percent of longform written content seen by users on LinkedIn is likely to be fully AI-generated and roughly a third of longer posts on X are AI-generated; roughly one-in-ten longer Reddit and Substack posts are AI, according to the data. (404 Media, 7/9)

Meta tests ‘super sensing’ AI glasses that can record every moment

The $1.5tn social media platform has been advancing a new hardware line of smart glasses that would continuously record audio while taking photos every few seconds, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. A user could then use AI to help query what they saw or heard, or recall their day. (FT, 7/8 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: hey so… this feels super bad and also insane

I’m Done With Photo Dumps — Let Me Just Post 1 Picture In Peace

Now, every image seems to require an entire slideshow to complement it. One scroll through my feed, and roughly 3 out of 4 posts are carousels. If you want to share a ’fit pic, it apparently needs to coincide with a quirky storefront, a dish at the hottest new restaurant, a blurry cocktail, a screenshot of a funny text, and at least one meme that proves you’re plugged into pop culture. Photo dumps are meant to look random — the visual representation of being carefree. Ironically, though, they’ve become the most labor-intensive way to post. (Bustle, 7/8)

Poll Finds Young Audiences Prefer Short Movies

A recent survey conducted by a marketing research firm in New York reveals that today’s movie audiences, particularly younger viewers, prefer shorter films. According to the Talker Research survey, adults on average favor movies that are about 88 minutes long. The survey results show a variance in preferences based on age groups. Gen Z viewers, for instance, prefer films to be around 82 minutes, while Baby Boomers are comfortable with movies lasting up to 93 minutes. (iHeartRadio, 7/9)

• Lucy’s note: shot…

Netflix Is Exploring Live TV and Bundles as It Struggles to Keep Viewers Hooked

To bolster engagement, executives at the company have recently discussed adding live channels that would continuously stream certain programs, or shows and films from a certain genre, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has also explored bundling other subscription-based streaming services, including NBCUniversal’s Peacock, into its offering. (WSJ gift link, 7/9)

• Lucy’s note: … maybe chaser??

Why Are Berries Everywhere, in Every Season? Driscoll’s.

Today the company is the undisputed global market leader, shipping four billion containers of highly perishable fruit across 60 countries each year. (The company developed its signature hinged, ventilated plastic clamshell in the 1990s.) According to Circana, a market research firm, Driscoll’s is now the second-highest-earning brand in American supermarkets, behind only Coca-Cola. (NYT gift link, 7/7)

What it’s like to live in the world’s most liveable cities in 2026

The annual ranking assesses 173 cities worldwide across stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure to identify those offering the highest quality of life. Vienna, Melbourne, Sydney and Zurich rounded out this year’s top five, reflecting both Europe’s enduring dominance and Australia’s continued strong showing. (BBC, 7/7)

The hot-or-nots going into this weekend:

HOT:

• Lena Dunham’s memoir being proven to be a book of spells

• trying two new hobbies in one day for a direct comparison

• Manhattanhenge !!

NOT

• that 11-minute f*ckass video obviously

• happy hours that are above $10

• dew point

That’s all for now – I’ll see you next week!

Share

Subscribe now

Image credit: NBC News

FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR GROUP CHAT CORRESPONDENT :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

Democrats want a Platner replacement

Sources close to Nirav Shah, who lost last month’s gubernatorial primary, and Jordan Wood, who lost the primary in the 2nd Congressional District, said they’ve been fielding calls about the nomination, which Maine Democrats could give to another candidate by July 27 if Platner quits by July 13. (Semafor, 7/7)

In Trump’s Second Midterm, Democrats Are Looking for Fighters

Eight years ago, Democrats won the House after elevating scores of candidates calling for good government and incremental health care improvements. This time, many Democratic voters are making clear their hunger for systemic change — charting a course in the first half of the primary season that could point toward a different type of general election in the fall. (NYT gift link, 6/6)

• Lucy’s note: Re the story immediately above… I think it’s very important Dems prioritize picking good humans at this point over everything else

Conservatives rage over re-funding of Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood’s beleaguered network of clinics will regain access to hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding this weekend — the fallout of Republicans’ failure to pass an extension of the one-year defunding provision they approved last year. (POLITICO, 7/4)

‘Tip of the iceberg’: nearly 500,000 New Yorkers lose health insurance due to Trump cuts

Nearly 500,000 moderate-income New Yorkers will be dumped from their health insurance plans on 1 July – the first of major coverage losses expected as a result of HR 1, the Republican-led law signed almost exactly one year ago. (The Guardian, 7/1)

Can Partiful keep the party going?

For offering such a straightforward product, Partiful has attracted significant industry attention and more than a few thinkpieces: It’s been called a “vibey nightmare,” with invitation etiquette that’s “out of control.” “Stop sending me Partiful invitations,” GQ pleaded, saying the platform was essentially “yassified Evite.” But Partiful has another perennial PR problem: Murthy and fellow cofounder Joy Tao previously worked at Palantir, the data-mining company whose clients include Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Israeli government, among other public and private entities. (The Verge, 7/6 – free version)

X adds a video editor to encourage creators to post original content, not stolen reposts

X, the social network that can’t seem to win its perennial battle with bots, is introducing new video editing and recording features in hopes of encouraging creators to publish original content on its platform instead of recycling others’ material. (TechCrunch, 7/7)

The Fun Shortage Is Real, and It’s Making America Miserable

Since its 2003 inception, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey shows double-digit percentage drops in the hours spent each year on arts and entertainment activities, attending sports or recreational events, and attending or hosting social events. In a 2024 US Census Bureau survey, almost 80% of respondents said they saw friends or relatives fewer than three times a week. (Bloomberg, 7/2 – free version)

Even fans who don’t speak Spanish are watching the World Cup on Telemundo. Here’s why

Unlike Fox, which runs commercials during hydration breaks for the players, Telemundo keeps its cameras on the field. That’s something very much appreciated by fans like comedian Trevor Noah. “We’re seeing the players on the pitch discussing what’s happening. You see which coach is more stressed…This is part of the game,” Noah said during one of the World Cup parties he hosts on his YouTube channel. (NPR, 7/2)

Bath & Body Works Is on a Quest for Another Billion-Dollar Scent

As the chief “nose” for Bath & Body Works, Ms. Testa-Gough is in charge of finding the next Japanese Cherry Blossom. That single scent has generated more than $1.5 billion in sales over the last 20 years, filling millions of homes with the aroma of Asian pear, white jasmine and basmati rice. (NYT gift link, 7/6)

The travellers who go on holiday to hunt cult sun cream

The most coveted options come from the Asia-Pacific region and the Mediterranean, where summer temperatures can be intense. Rena Kim, Olive Young’s global communications lead, told the BBC that foreign visitors from over 190 countries accounted for more than 25% of the company’s offline revenue in 2025, with sun care emerging as a standout K-beauty staple, particularly among US and Brazilian shoppers. (BBC, 7/5 – free version)

Extra Credit 🤓

The hot-or-nots for this week:

HOT

• Erling Haaland buns

• Staring wistfully across a body of water

• Mr. Softee (is this regional??? it’s our soft-serve ice cream truck!)

NOT

• People defending indefensible actions!

• Sleep deficits

• Intentionally non-descriptive headlines (as always)

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Friday!

Share

Subscribe now

Image credit: NBC News

FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR GROUP CHAT CORRESPONDENT :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

Subscribe now

New Hampshire becomes the Senate midterms’ sleeper race

With President Donald Trump’s help, Republicans successfully recruited former Sen. John E. Sununu, R-N.H, a scion of one of the state’s first families. The Senate Leadership Fund super PAC has $17 million in TV reservations this fall, and the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity Action super PAC has already plowed $2 million into the race. (Semafor, 6/29)

Voters Think A.I. Is Terrible. In Campaigns, It’s Everywhere.

After their chat ended, one of the canvassers, who was volunteering with Swing Left, a Democratic political group, recapped what Mr. Bond said into a phone app. That memo was then analyzed by an A.I. tool alongside hundreds of other memos from similar door-knocks happening around the district. The A.I. tool synthesized what voters like Mr. Bond were saying, feeding reports that the campaign could use to tailor its messages and turn persuadable voters like him into supporters. (NYT gift link, 6/29)

Mars is rolling out MAHA-friendly versions of M&M’s, Skittles, and Starburst. Here’s why.

While Mars has already come up with all-natural alternatives for the dyes used in the other colors of M&M’s—red, yellow, orange, and green—the McLean, Virginia-based company hasn’t yet figured out the right formulations for blue and brown candies. Finding a natural ingredient to make blue has proven especially difficult, and is key to the brown candies, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. (Fast Company, 6/29 – free version)

‘This bargain is eroding’: Inside the youngest generations’ view of the American Dream

Older Gen Zers who’ve landed “good jobs” struggle with worry, stress and depression, says Blanchflower. The traditional U-shaped curve of happiness has flattened, with young people becoming increasingly unhappy over the course of their lives, according to an August 2025 study he co-led. (CNBC, 6/29)

What short news videos reveal about the Messi–Ronaldo debate — and news distribution today

Researchers surveyed more than 10,000 adults in 26 countries and found that people who identified as more liberal tended to prefer Messi, while people who considered themselves more conservative prefer Ronaldo. Another differentiator? People who frequently consumed short-form video news preferred Ronaldo. The consumption of traditional news media, however, wasn’t a significant predictor of either preference. (Nieman Lab, 6/30)

Starbucks and its barista-creators are piloting TikTok’s new custom ad networks

TikTok, like everyone else, is at Cannes Lions this week, and among its biggest announcements is the reveal of Custom Creator Networks, which it says will “allow advertisers to build a curated pool of creators, employees, partners, or brand advocates to receive campaign briefs or turn their existing brand-relevant videos into high-performing ads.” (Tubefilter, 6/24)

Ad-free streaming is a luxury now

Streaming services often target ad-free tiers with the biggest price increases, with Netflix most recently raising the price of its standard and premium plans by $2, compared to $1 for its ad-supported tier. Now, the price to go ad-free on Netflix is $19.99 / month (or $26.99 if you want 4K HDR) — more than double the original $7.99 / month subscription. (The Verge, 6/28 – free version)

Remote work continues to thrive

Working from home is mostly for workers with more education. 57% of those with an advanced degree did some work at home in 2025, per the data from the American Time Use Survey. That’s compared with 30% for those with some college or an associate degree. (Axios, 6/29)

Hollywood may have its best year at the box office since 2019, but streaming audiences are still obsessed with old content

Across the first quarter of 2026, Luminate data shows that every major streaming platform, with the clear exception of Netflix, keeps viewers hooked with older classics from its catalog, rather than fresh original content; Luminate highlighted the staying power of comfort TV like “Friends” and “Suits” as key retention drivers. (Sherwood, 6/29)

Inside the Food Truck Mafia Wreaking Havoc Around the National Mall

None of this seems to surprise Park Police. “When we get a report of an assault at the National Mall, it’s more often than not vendor-related,” an agency spokesperson says via email. The agency has gotten reports of trucks hitting each other or hitting other operators who are standing in parking spaces to save them. While officers haven’t been directly threatened, vendors have made derogatory comments to them and tried to intimidate the police by congregating around them. (Washingtonian, 6/29)

A passenger jet reported hitting a drone approaching NY. A helicopter had a near miss hours later

“We collided with a drone back there in the turn,” the pilot told an air traffic controller, according to ATC.com. “It hit us right above the cockpit.” The airline said all the passengers deplaned normally, and then the plane was removed from service so it could be inspected. (AP, 6/29)

The Viking word hidden in the Declaration of American Independence

Old Norse, a Scandinavian language, was spoken by Viking raiders and Scandinavian settlers who brought the word to Britain from around AD800 onwards. Happ appears, for example, in the nickname of the Norse explorer Leif Erikson, who was also known as “Leif the Lucky”, Leif heppni Erikson. He was a member of an early voyage to North America in the 11th Century, and saved a group of shipwrecked sailors – which may have partly inspired his nickname. (BBC, 6/27 – free version)

Extra Credit 🤓

The hot-or-nots for this week:

HOT

• blue summer fruits and berries

• new release tuesdays at the bookstore

• the coolest hat for anyone who does non-profit/grassroots/advocacy/direct services work, in my very non-biased opinion

NOT

• this “long and dangerous heat wave”

• dropping all episodes of a TV show at the same time

• the red line rain river

That’s all for now – I’ll see you next week!

Share

Subscribe now

FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS like the one below :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

ONE OTHER QUICK NOTE: something you should know about me is… I’m never actually joking about merch. After this tweet got a whole, whopping 43 likes, I decided to take action.

SO, now these incredibly niche hats are available on Bonfire HERE! This is a good vibes venture, not a for-profit one (and also a drop-shipping one), so I made the cost as close to the actual production cost as I could!!! Ok, now on with our regularly scheduled programming…

Today, we have some texts from executive producer & video creative extraordinaire (and my former boss!), Kevin Dreyfuss – spoilers, he has very good movie takes. Enjoy!

LR: You’ve worked in Hollywood and in electoral/cycle politics… what are the lessons that you think that the entertainment world can learn from the politics world and vice versa? Bonus: which world is crazier?

KD: Can I assume baseline here is GOOD Entertainment World content and GOOD Politics World content? Plenty of terrible shit coming from both sides, made by timid untalented hacks, which I will ignore. With that in mind:

- Entertainment World 👉 learn to harness how genuine feelings of mission and passion can lead teams to create incredibly fast, high volume and high quality content at a scale beyond your imagination. You need a mission!

- Politics World 👉 learn from Entertainment World that individual talent does matter, and creative people aren’t interchangeable -- there are unicorns out there when it comes to this work, and you need to recognize who that is and lock that shit in when you find it.

& which is crazier? I think people who CROSS STREAMS are the worst. Politicians who get into entertainment, or entertainment figures who get involved in politics, ugh. Dealt with both kinds -- fucking nutters. One H’wood bigwig involved in the Biden campaign was the absolute worst; we all just called him Gollum.

LR: Imagining we had a crystal ball and could look five years into the future, what do you think the media landscape looks like in 2031? What platforms, formats, or habits do you think are dominating – and what do you think has fallen by the wayside?

KD: I’m a big “yes, and” guy here. I think we are in for a media world that continues to fragment, but one without any “🏆 winner.” Short-form algorithm-driven video is here to stay, and you can tell that because stuff like YouTube Shorts or IG Reels, which were meant for phones, are seeing huge growth on living-room TVs. But I also think old-school movies-in-theaters are here to stay. I saw OBSESSION with my kid a few weeks ago, and that theater was full of young people going fucking apeshit. And I think episodic TV is also here to stay. And I think audio podcasts are here to stay. I think you can catch my drift.

What goes by the wayside? I think AI slop won’t win. It’s just not gonna. AI tools getting infused in production processes? Sure. But actual finished-product AI “shows” at scale? No. I think video podcasting will live on somehow, but not in its current form, which feels awkward for all involved. My one big swing is that I think we are in for the death of binge TV viewing. Shows like THE PITT and others are reminding people how much they like experiencing a show together in real-time every week, and that show lasting for more than like 6 episodes, and that show not disappearing for years at a time.

LR: Along those lines, if you could design the media landscape for 2031, how would you build it? What do you think the best ways of communicating and storytelling are – or could be?

KD: Communal entertainment is the answer. People coming together in physical space to watch and enjoy things as one. Big spectacle IMAX movies, of course, we expect that. But we also see it for word-of-mouth horror movies like WEAPONS or SINNERS. Then for weird, upsetting movies by YouTube creators, like BACKROOMS or IRON LUNG or OBSESSION, which I mentioned, and which broke records by being the first movie to actually increase its audience in theaters for 4 weeks running since, like, ET (I think). And then we saw it for the aforementioned Knicks run in NYC, which was made triply special by the huge outdoor watch parties happening in the city, in Jersey, in the suburbs, everywhere. And then the World Cup comes along and does that internationally.

And just to go off on a tangent, I think we should all just acknowledge that sports isn’t just popular because of the games themselves, or the players, or the gambling (although, yeah). It’s because they create content worlds in and of themselves. The Knicks magical run, the World Cup, Fantasy Football, F1 -- they show how these worlds can support an entire storytelling universe. The games, the reactions to the games, the stories about the games, the videos about the games, the videos of the reactions to the game videos... I heard someone call shit like Fantasy Football essentially reality TV for dudes who can’t admit they like the Real Housewives, and I think that’s correct.

At any rate, communal experiences with real humans -- this is the way.

LR: What is your favorite app that is NOT a media app?

KD: Is Letterboxd a legit answer, or is that cheating? I mean, it’s an app ABOUT media, so dunno. But I love how many things it does at once -- it helps organize the voluminous amount of stuff I watch all the time and gives me a reason to log it and share thoughts for myself to remember later, since my brain no work good. And then it provides access to the thinking of all sorts of other people, non-famous, famous, professional critics, friends and family members. The amount of new stuff I explore because I see it on Letterboxd is ridiculous. And THEN it throws off a ton of video stuff onto Instagram and elsewhere that is super-fun just on its own. It’s basically an app that brings John Cusack’s rant from HIGH FIDELITY to life in digital form.

LR: What’s one piece of new content that you think absolutely everyone needs to consume?

KD: WIDOW’S BAY WIDOW’S BAY WIDOW’S BAY. It’s so goddamn funny, it is legitimately scary. And it springs from the brain of the same woman who posted one of the funniest Tweets from the Before Times, Katie Dippold, when she accidentally went to a casual Halloween party in full Babadook makeup. In fact, that Tweet is the vibe of the show.

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Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Hits New Low With Gen Z Voters

A June Economist/YouGov poll found Trump’s net approval (those who approve minus those who disapprove) among Americans aged 18 to 29 at minus 45, the weakest reading for that group in the survey’s tracking series. (Newsweek, 6/25)

Vance, an admirer of Richard Nixon, says Watergate would be ‘a 12-hour news story’ today

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon would have been a blip in today’s news cycle, and he drew parallels between Nixon and President Donald Trump — arguing that both were targeted by “deep state” forces. (AP, 6/26)

Instagram wants to monopolize your attention

Scrolling through Instagram’s discovery page is something to do while you’re bored and already swiping through your phone. It’s easy to fire the app up and send videos to friends while you’re commuting, waiting for an elevator, or using the bathroom. But Instagram’s latest pivot is geared toward a more stationary experience that’s meant to be shared with people in the same room. This is a big bet. (The Verge, 6/25 – free version)

OpenAI, Microsoft Sued by Publishers for Scraping Articles

These generative artificial intelligence products—made possible by the publishers’ work—have made billions of dollars in market value for the defendants, and not “a cent of it has gone” to the publishers, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. (Bloomberg Law, 6/24)

Why the South is the only U.S. region growing across every age group

One major contributor, according to the Census figures: The population boom in “outlying counties,” or those that sit adjacent to major metro areas and often are home to feverish development and armies of commuters. (WaPo, 6/25 – free version)

The new ‘cash-poor’ is six figures and up

According to the 2026 Cash Poor Report, nearly half of the U.S. population (44%) identify as being cash-poor with less than $200 in their savings account and two-thirds reporting their financial situation is worse than expected. The proportion of cash-poor Americans unable to pay an unexpected expense increased nearly 17% since our first report in 2023. (Fast Company, 6/24)

The Plight Of The Filler & Floater Friends

DeRose identifies as a “floater friend,” a concept that, along with that of the “filler friend,” has been increasingly discussed online in recent years. Across social media, both men and women have opened up about “the very specific pain” that these individuals endure in lacking a core group of friends. (Bustle, 6/23)

Vermont is the first state to ban paraquat, a weed killer linked to Parkinson’s disease

Vermont has become the first U.S. state to ban paraquat, one of the most commonly used herbicides, with lawmakers citing a possible link between the weed killer and Parkinson’s disease. The ban has been widely celebrated by advocates who hope Vermont’s move will prompt similar action in other states to prevent the neurologic disease that robs people of control over their movements and affects about 1 million Americans. (AP, 6/25)

‘The cult of Saint Sebastian’: How a brutally tortured 3rd-Century saint became a gay icon

Sebastian’s emergence as a gay icon can be traced back to the culturally transformative Renaissance period of the 14th to 17th Centuries, when prominent artists including Guido Reni, El Greco and Sandro Botticelli depicted his arrow-pierced body with a smouldering homoerotic subtext. (BBC, 6/24)

Mystery of Gracie the giraffe deepens as sheriff calls recapture claims a tall story

On Wednesday, the mystery of the free-roaming mammal’s odyssey deepened further, when a local sheriff disputed an account that it was reportedly found safe a “little farther out than expected” from its hill country home, and said the search was most definitely still on. (The Guardian, 6/24)

Extra Credit 🤓

The hot-or-nots going into this weekend:

HOT:

• My Torrone addiction that I brought back from Spain

• ScotusBlog

• This fund offering microgrants for neighborhood block parties!

NOT

• The devils who walk this earth called Corbin and KC on Love Island

• SCOTUS (minus Jackson, Kagan, and, ofc, Sotomayor, who continues to write banger dissents)

• People who spread sunscreen misinfo for clicks???

That’s all for now – I’ll see you next week!

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NOTE: this is my first (!!!) ad with Morning Brew… but if you’ve been here for a while, you know I’ve stanning for many years :)

FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR GROUP CHAT CORRESPONDENT :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

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QUESTION FROM THE AUTHOR: should we make these hats??? not for profit, just for the vibes lol

yea or nay?

• yes, I will buy one

• no, i h8 it

• nuance (send a note in reply)

The ‘Mad Scientist’ Behind Graham Platner’s Scandal-Plagued Rise

It is the latest example of the mix of ambition, bravado and corner-cutting that Moraff has shown in a political career that has had a measure of success in elevating populist, Bernie Sanders-style candidates but also a trail of missteps that has left some political partners feeling betrayed. (WSJ gift link, 6/21)

FEC filings confirm GOP meddling in Dem primaries

A Republican-linked group was the sole funded of two pop-up super PACs that spent more than $4.3 million across a swath of Democratic congressional primaries to support candidates seen as less electable. Democrats had speculated that the two groups, Real Change PAC and Lead Left, were Republican meddling as they spent heavily across Democratic primary races in Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nebraska and Maine in recent months. (POLITICO, 6/21)

Conservatives are dying at higher rates than liberals. A new study points to mistrust in medicine

That crisis of trust accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, with fights over masks and vaccines spilling out from social media into everyday life. Now it extends to other health matters, such as taking blood pressure medication or seeing a doctor for chest pains. (Fast Company, 6/19)

Former Olympian denies vandalising Washington Reflecting Pool after arrest

Hearn told BBC News that he had removed his cycling glove to simply touch a long strip of rubbery material which appeared to have “delaminated” from the bottom of the pool, when he was stopped by US Park Police and National Guard troops. (BBC, 6/21)

The unsettling world of the ‘TikTok Farlands’

The goal of “entering” the Farlands is uncovering hard-to-find videos. Some are genuinely weird, made by people who don’t understand or care about the norms of social media. Other videos are intentionally artistic or edgy. But some of these supposedly “obscure” Farlands posts have millions of views. (BBC, 6/19 – free version)

Data centers become the face of AI backlash

The public is still divided on data centers, with direct opposition not yet a majority view. But nearly half of respondents support a temporary construction ban, according to Milltown’s findings. 38% of respondents said they would support a data center being built near their home, while 34% would oppose it. Meanwhile, 49% say they support a moratorium on construction of new data centers, while only 16% oppose a moratorium. (Axios, 6/22)

The Hot New Place for Singles

In this environment, newsletter-based personals have a lot going for them. As you might imagine, readers of The Eastside Rag are likely to have a good deal in common with one another. They probably live on L.A.’s east side and have access to a fair amount of disposable income. In many cases, newsletter readers may also be somewhat like-minded. (The Atlantic, 6/22 – free version)

The New Odyssey Movie Is Sparking a Right-Wing Backlash. This Female Scholar Knows It Well

For all their squealing about fealty, the assumptions that some fans, armchair historians, and trillionaire rocketeers bring to The Odyssey tend to betray their now narrow understanding of the works they claim to hold so dear. Likewise, describing Odysseus as “complicated,” or casting a Black actress as Helen of Troy, raise hackles not because it is ahistorical—neither Homer’s hero nor Helen were actual historical figures—but because it disturbs modern, conservative assumptions about male heroism and female beauty. (WIRED, 6/23 – free version)

Hollister partners with Target to tap into $89 billion back-to-college shopping market

The collaboration, dubbed The Hollister Collection at Target, will launch online, in most Target stores and select Hollister locations on June 28 and will feature almost 60 items across men’s and women’s apparel and bedding. Hollister’s tie-up with Target comes as both companies contend with declines in discretionary spending and waning consumer confidence, which have forced retailers to get creative to entice shoppers to spend. (CNBC, 6/18)

There’s a cottage cheese shortage. Is private equity to blame for the squeeze?

Cottage cheese is in a squeeze as consumer protein trends have led to a shortage of the dairy product. On top of that, private equity firm L Catterton has purchased a major stake in cottage cheese maker Good Culture. (Yahoo Finance, 6/22)

NPR staffers share their favorite fiction reads of 2026 so far

Facts by day, fiction by night! At the end of a long day in the newsroom, many of our journalists head home and escape into novels of all types. We asked our NPR colleagues what fiction they’ve enjoyed reading so far this year, and these are the titles they shared. (NPR, 6/23)

Extra Credit 🤓

The hot-or-nots for this week:

HOT

• Mambo sauce (as always)

• Audiobooks on Libby

• Sneaker flats

NOT

• Amazon Prime days

• The Michigan Senate primary (sorry y’all, but what a mess)

• The big storm –> power outage inevitabilies of DC

That’s all for now – I’ll see you next week!

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WELCOME :)

Just a reminder: every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

ALSO want to do a super fun, super cool rapid interview for this newsletter??? Reply to this email or hit the button below. Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, ☕️, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

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I came across this fairly viral TikTok this week, currently sitting at 2 million views – the premise is hosting a 2020-themed sleepover complete with cloud bread and whipped coffee.

It made me feel deeply existential. In part, I think, because of how bizarre and scary that time was – I was back home in NYC, where makeshift morgues were being built in Central Park. But also because this video encapsulates, to me, just how much the nostalgia cycle has accelerated.

The idea of the nostalgia cycle is simple: that after a certain amount of time, people bring back an aesthetic or a vibe. There seems to be a healthy debate on Reddit about whether the nostalgia cycle is 20 years or 30 years. Well, a healthy debate that may be completely obsolete now because we have become very obsessed with nostalgia, especially those of us who are Gen Z. Apparently, our nostalgia cycle is only 6 years long now.

There is a lot (and bad) writing on why nostalgia is so prominent right now – the loneliness epidemic, the loss of third spaces, the toxicity of social media, etc. But, right now, I’m just curious about what the acceleration of this cycle means for us. My first instinct is that it’s like playing holiday music all year round – you can’t appreciate and fully enjoy the distinctive times and moments if you force them to blend together. And how long until I see a video that’s nostalgic for 2022? For brat summer in 2024? For this current summer, once fall rolls around? My (possibly alarmist) working thesis is that by trying to solve our current anxieties by reaching into the past, we won’t live in or respond to the moment, thereby making all those problems worse…

As always, very curious to hear your thoughts, comments, or questions. Let me know!

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Kash Patel accused of directing $1m to ‘slush fund’ to pay bonuses to loyalist agents

According to information received by the House judiciary minority committee, some agents received payments of nearly $8,000 every two weeks, despite already earning at the federal salary ceiling. While the exact total received by each individual remains unclear, the committee says it can confirm a number of agents received at least five such payments in consecutive pay periods, amounting to close to $40,000 per person. (The Guardian, 6/17)

Why Richard Nixon Has Suddenly Gone Viral

The Nixon Foundation videos — which include snippets of EsDeeKid’s “Rottweiler” and BIA’s “We on Go,” as well as a clip of Mad Men’s Don Draper throwing his support behind RMN (“Kennedy? I see a silver spoon. Nixon? I see myself”) — are a whole other thing, more posthumous political rehabilitation than nose-tweaking satire. And they appear to be working: The foundation’s Insta account has 107,000 followers, while its most popular video has 1.4 million views. (The Hollywood Reporter, 6/16)

A tech worker-backed PAC is bringing a $5M knife to Big Tech’s $100M gunfight

Guardrails positions itself as a populist political movement that runs on small donations from people in the trenches of the AI boom. The PAC has about $5 million at its disposal today and plans to raise $15 million this cycle — small potatoes compared to deep-pocketed adversaries like Leading the Future, which has more than $100 million from tech leaders like OpenAI president Greg Brockman. (TechCrunch, 6/18)

It Is Trivially Easy to Use Reddit to Manipulate AI Search, Research Suggests

The preprint research, done by Hal Triedman, Tingwei Zhang, and Vitaly Shmatikov of Cornell University, is called “Deep-research agents can be poisoned via user-generated content” and provides a mechanism and research basis for a problem that has been noticed by Reddit moderators and Wikipedia editors, namely that their websites are getting flooded with promotional content from brands trying to do AEO, or AI-engine optimization. (404 Media, 6/15)

Instagram Expands Carousel Posts with Dedicated Captions for Photos and Videos

The change is expected to make carousel posts more useful for creators, businesses, and everyday users who rely on the format to share detailed stories, travel experiences, tutorials, or product information. Instead of placing all details in one lengthy caption, users can now add relevant text alongside each slide. (Analytics Insight, 6/19)

Caitlin Clark announces first signature Nike sneaker

Clark becomes the fifth active WNBA player to currently have her own signature shoe with a major brand, joining Angel Reese (Reebok), Breanna Stewart (Puma), Sabrina Ionescu (Nike) and A’ja Wilson (Nike). “This is like your debut album, you want it to be killer,” Clark told ESPN. (ESPN, 6/17)

Froyo is back like it’s 2010

After years of froyopocalypse that followed the froyo boom of the late 2000s and early 2010s, the number of frozen yogurt servings sold in the year leading up to March rose 26%, according to Circana. The research firm attributes the renaissance to health-conscious Gen Zers, whose idea of a wild night is a cup of milky sugar with probiotics and protein. (Morning Brew, 6/17)

Ugg Brand Owner Deckers Outdoor Corp. Loses Patent Case Against Quince

The jury found that Quince’s Australian Shearling Mini Boot had infringed on Deckers U.S. patent for its Ugg Classic Ultra Mini Boot, meaning that it essentially copied the Ugg design. But the jury also found that the design patent was invalid, paving the way for a Quince win. (WWD, 6/15)

The Major Oak, Ancient Tree of Robin Hood Legend, Has Died

The Major Oak, a tree that grew to tower over Sherwood Forest as the Black Death swept England and the Wars of the Roses sundered it, shading huntsmen who spoke of Robin Hood and outlasting the reigns of six Henrys, six Georges and two Elizabeths, among others, has died. (NYT gift link, 6/18)

• Lucy’s note: this feels… ominous

M&M’s Just Quietly Launched a Brand-New Flavor That’s Even Better Than Classic Peanut M&M’s

I definitely could finish off a bag (or two) of these banana nut bread M&M’s, and suspect that any peanut M&M-loving person could too. This flavor is only available at Kroger stores for now, and it is a limited-time offering. (The Kitchn, 6/15)

Extra Credit 🤓

The hot-or-not for this weekend:

HOT

• Spending all my money at Black-owned businesses today and every day!

• Trader Joe’s striped mini totes

• Frio Frio in DC and Myka in NYC

NOT

• Lack of ranked-choice voting on Love Island

• Non-breathable shoes

• The current America 250 logo

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Tuesday!

Share

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FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR GROUP CHAT CORRESPONDENT :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

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Do internet super stars matter in elections?

It’s becoming a more common goal for campaigns to seek out viral moments and the support of popular internet stars as part of an effort to reach more voters online. It’s a strategy Democrats and Republicans alike watched Donald Trump ride to victory in 2024. But the strategy, albeit flashy, has yielded mixed results in key races this cycle as candidates try to figure out how much political power an influencer can have. (NPR, 6/15)

What right-wing influencers just did to a major US church

Some of this has been organic: the work of conservative pastors and firebrand preachers who would have decried this moderation in any case. But observers also see a more concerted, digital-first project driving the rightward lurch. “This is being driven, at least in part, by social media influencers who very much want to see the SBC move in a more conservative direction. They think that anyone on their left is literally Bernie Sanders,” Burge told me. (Vox, 6/15 – free version)

UFC to pay White House fighters in crypto issued by Trump company

The UFC said some fighters will receive bonuses in World Liberty Financial crypto called “stablecoins,” whose value is pegged to the US dollar. World Liberty named the currency “USD1”. World Liberty is a venture of the Trump family and the family of Steven Witkoff, Trump’s friend and special envoy to the Middle East. (The Guardian, 6/14)

Trump Ordered ‘American Flag Blue’ for the Reflecting Pool. It’s Green Again.

To repair the pool, Mr. Trump’s administration awarded no-bid contracts to two handpicked vendors, bypassing a legally required process of seeking competitive bids because of what officials declared an urgent need. (The administration said the urgency was justified because of the nation’s 250th birthday party.) (NYT gift link, 6/15)

• Lucy’s note: please note that the $14.2 million it took to do this came from the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service budget….

Amazon Data Centers In Mississippi Have Already Raised Electricity Rates for Local Customers, Report Suggests

The report estimates that residential customers of Entergy Mississippi, one of the state’s regional energy monopolies, have paid $38 million as of March 2026 for infrastructure and other costs related to data centers and will have paid $74 million by the end of the year. The average Entergy Mississippi customer is now paying at least an extra $10.60 a month to finance the data centers, the report says. (404 Media, 6/11)

• Lucy’s note: To be clear… these data centers aren’t even up and running yet

Britain announces social media ban for under-16s starting early 2027

A large-scale poll of Australians aged 12 to 15 conducted by the Molly Rose Foundation and research agency YouthInsight found that ~61% of respondents who previously held accounts on restricted platforms still had access to active accounts as of March 2026. Proportionately, over half of teens who previously used YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram were still able to use these platforms, with more than a fifth of the cohort overall still having accounts on each of the top 5 platforms in the survey. (Sherwood, 6/15)

The Tumblr Girl (& Her Aesthetic) Never Really Left

In an analysis on technology and nostalgia by Wired back in 2017, Southampton University researcher Tim Wildschut explained that nostalgia gives people a “sense of social connectedness,” especially during periods of loneliness and uncertainty, which makes sense. Nostalgia today is no longer just an aesthetic trend; it has become a psychological comfort mechanism operating within the digital exhaustion of constantly performing online. (Refinery29, 6/11)

Tyra Banks Sues Netflix for Defamation, Claims ‘Manipulation’ of Her Participation in America’s Next Top Model Doc

In the Netflix documentary, viewers were taken back to the beginning, when Banks first conceived the idea with the help of Ken Mok, who co-executive-produced the show with her and also took part in the docuseries. In the three-part project, Banks was asked to address head-on some of the more controversial moments from the show’s tenure. (People, 6/15)

Meet Merlin the duck, a Mexico City streetside regular turned World Cup mascot

Images of Merlin parading through Mexico City, wearing a Mexican national team jersey — and socks — as thousands of fans celebrated, quickly went viral, racking up millions of views across social media. Overnight, and as if by the magic of the famous wizard who inspired his name, Merlin had captivated the internet. (AP, 6/15)

The Books Times Readers Are Most Excited About This Summer

Thousands of you have also registered your enthusiasm by saving books to your personal reading lists. As summer kicks off, here are the books published so far this year that New York Times readers say they’re most eager to dive into, any one of which could be a perfect companion for the season. (NYT gift link, 6/12)

Extra Credit 🤓

Some current obsessions:

• The Land and Its Peoples by David Sedaris

• Coconut Cult yogurt (particularly the lemon flavor)

• Bags by Monty (particularly the Domino ones, of which I have two already lol)

That’s all for now – I’ll see you next week!

FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS like the one below :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

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Today, we have some texts from the wonderful , who is, among many things, a comms extraordinaire and author of here on Substack. Enjoy!

LR: Now that we’re getting deep into primary season… what are the key narratives that you think will define the 2026 cycle? And how should Dem candidates be speaking about them?

EH: The conventional political wisdom says cost of living and AI are the main issues on voters’ minds. But issue-based political surveying doesn’t capture vibes, and the vibes right now across the political spectrum are increasingly “eat the rich/fuck the elites.” I’m more interested in the sentiment underneath policy discussions: the sense of elites at the top forcing change on the rest of us. Unelected tech CEOs changing our futures without our buy-in or consent. The impunity of everything from Jeffrey Epstein to Iran war insider trading to blatantly partisan gerrymandering– all of it feeds this sense of “the people at the top are getting away with it” that is animating so much of this moment.

That means midterm Dems 1) can’t run on a return to the way things were, 2) have to harness legitimate grievances without turning them even more sour, and 3) meet local audiences where they are (even as they’re all clearly road-testing possible 2028 national messages). Jon Ossoff’s “Epstein Class” messaging is, so far, one of the better examples of meeting these objectives.

LR: As an expert communicator in the national security space and in general, how is messaging about conflict, especially when it’s international, different than addressing other issues?

EH: First: when the stakes are literally life and death, that trumps everything else. But even when you’re not dealing with troop movements, hostages, or civilian casualties, you’re keenly aware of the power your words have– not because of who you personally are, but because speaking on behalf of the U.S. government is a massive responsibility.

Like many national security comms pros, I’m a Boucher Rules devotee: former State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher’s one-pager that has sat atop press officer desks for decades. My favorites:

• Good guidance can explain the issue to your mother

• Know the difference between what you think you know and what you know you know

• It’s better to be right than to be fast. You can’t be both.

LR: I know you led global policy comms for Twitter back when it was still the place we knew and loved. These days, in this insane and splintered social media landscape, it seems pretty clear that people on the left and center are losing the social media wars. Can anything – and if so, what – be done to change that?

EH: It’s an interesting question: what are the social media wars for? Does dominance on social media necessarily translate into real-world political power? Like most things, the answer is, “it depends.” Look at the LA mayoral election, where Spencer Pratt failed to turn online dominance into real-world results: because, it turns out, only 15% of Los Angeles voters are even registered Republicans!

Social media dominance is a microcosm of PR generally: if you have a shitty product (or candidate), attention can only get you so far. At some point, you either deliver on your promises or you don’t. Edge-lording and outrage-maxxing can only distract your audiences for so long. Good product, authentic and consistent messengers, and a willingness to engage with your audiences where they are (not where you think they should be) all matter way more than a single viral video or social media campaign.

LR: What is your favorite piece of media that you’ve consumed in 2026 thus far?

EH: Longform: Kerry Howley’s devastating New York article “Could the Girls of Camp Mystic Have Been Saved?”. Podcast: I’m a relatively new “Diabolical Lies” listener, and especially loved their re-examination of #Girlboss narrative and backlash cycles. And Good People is my best book of 2026 so far.

LR: If Spin Class were a coffee order, what would it be?

EH: A large dirty chai latte with this foam art:

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ICE has detained over 500 babies and toddlers under Trump

ICE has dramatically increased detentions of children aged 3 and under, holding 25 of them in custody on an average day between January 2025 and March of this year, according to a new analysis by The Marshall Project and MS NOW of records obtained by the Deportation Data Project, a group of academics and lawyers who collect and share federal immigration data. That number is 10 times higher than it was in the previous 12 months under former President Joe Biden. (MS Now, 6/9)

Party over purity: US voters unlikely to turn backs on troubled candidates, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

The poll gathered responses from 4,531 U.S. adults nationwide, including 546 Democrats familiar with Platner and 712 Republicans familiar with Paxton. ​It had a margin of error of 2 percentage points for respondents overall and 4 points for Republicans and Democrats familiar with the two candidates. Some 76% of poll respondents, including similar shares of Democrats and Republicans, said they often had to vote for the lesser of two evils in U.S. elections. (Reuters, 6/9)

The rise of the ‘botsitters’

A new report from Glean’s Work AI Institute, produced with researchers from universities including Notre Dame, Stanford, and UC Berkeley, found that white-collar workers spend an average of 6.4 hours a week “botsitting” AI — feeding it context, checking outputs, debugging mistakes, and cleaning up errors. (Business Insider, 6/11 – free version)

Momfluencers Are Pitching AI as a Better ‘Coparent’ Than Men

While most momfluencers concede that the risks to the environment or the human workforce are real, those worries tend to take a backseat to framing AI literacy as a tool of liberation from household drudgery, similar to the invention of the vacuum cleaner or the washing machine in the mid-20th century. “Women already have so many reservations about using this tool,” says Schmidt. “And we just don’t need another one.” (WIRED, 6/8 – free version)

You can just tell the Instagram algorithm what you want now

The company has been slowly giving users more agency over some algorithms on Instagram, having already launched the Your Algorithm feature for your Reels feed and the Explore page. With Wednesday’s announcement, Mosseri is taking the opportunity to get a little philosophical. (The Verge, 6/10 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: which now begs the questions… how well do you know yourself?

Gen Zers are arriving at college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates

The confidence issue is something that Brooke Vuckovic, a professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, has seen among business school students. Each term, about 40% to 50% of her students describe themselves as novice or reluctant readers, but once they are encouraged to begin reading, she said, the shift can be immediate. (Fortune, 6/7)

The World Cup will likely be the biggest gambling event in history

The U.S. sports-betting market has matured rapidly since the last men’s World Cup in 2022. About 65% of the U.S. population now has legal access to sports betting, compared with about 40% during the 2022 tournament, according to the American Gaming Association. Sportsbooks have also improved same-game parlays, live betting and soccer-specific products, which could make the tournament more commercially valuable than past World Cups. (CNBC, 6/10)

They Tracked Fitness, Food and Sleep Obsessively. Now They’re Tuning Out.

The gamification of health metrics is more complicated for those experiencing anxiety or related disorders — which the C.D.C. said in 2024 was about one in five people. Adam C. Frank, a professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Southern California, has studied how wearable devices affect those with obsessive-compulsive disorder. For people with O.C.D., it “can kind of trigger obsessions, and then compulsions,” he said. (NYT gift link, 6/11)

Refinery29 alum Paula James-Martinez launches a new teen magazine

Paula James-Martinez felt that void acutely — as a fashion media veteran and as a mother of a tween she didn’t want on TikTok. So last year she made a half-joking Threads post asking who wanted to make a teen magazine with her. The post ended up getting more than 12,000 likes and 3,000 people emailed her within two days. Cuqui, pronounced like cookie and means cute in Spanish, was practically willed into existence. (La Fronde, 6/4)

The 10th Annual Uber Lost & Found Index

From AirPods becoming an everyday essential, to vaccine cards and face masks taking over in 2021, Ozempic making its way into backseats in 2025, and viral Labubu plushies riding shotgun this year, the Lost & Found Index has become an unexpected time capsule of the past decade. (Uber, 6/2)

@jorjabayleeit’s embarrassing to admit but this might be the closest i’ve ever been to singing the song successfully…. those vocals though 🫣✨ #nz

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Extra Credit 🤓

Some newsletters I thought were interesting recently:

• “How Phia Is Using Its Celebrity-Stacked Series A...On Tik Tok” from of

  • If you’ve been here a minute, you know we are stans in this house!

• “Boardroom Kids and Optimization Fatigue” from

  • The subtitle took me out

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FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR OPEN TABS :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

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Democrats Set in Motion Plan to Redraw Congressional Maps in as Many as 13 States

So Democrats plan to be more aggressive on the redistricting front ahead of 2028, and taking advantage of a favorable election environment in 2026 is key. Williams tells me her committee sees hundreds of statehouse seats as flippable this fall. Of those, just 19 targeted races would deliver Democrats a trifecta—the governorship and majorities in the state House and Senate—in four states: Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. (TIME, 6/8)

How the World Cup became a front line for the U.S. immigration debate

And some fans who live in the United States remain wary that ICE will carry out arrests at stadiums during the World Cup. Tournament organizers have said federal officers will not be conducting broad immigration sweeps around the matches. But Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has not ruled out enforcement actions involving people suspected of criminal activity, leaving questions about how officers will operate in and around the venues. (WaPo, 6/8 – free version)

Jared Kushner-backed luxury resort stokes days of protests in Albania

Demonstrators rallied against a billion-dollar resort development in Albania linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump for a seventh consecutive day on Saturday. Activists have dubbed it the “Flamingo Revolution,” adopting the pink flamingo as a symbol of the wildlife they say will be destroyed if the project goes ahead. (CBS News, 6/6)

‘Unbelievable how accurate’: How paid influencers hype Polymarket’s odds

During the 14-month span reflected in the payment records, they posted about Polymarket at least 490 times on the social media platform X without clearly disclosing a paid partnership. The analysis of payment records and concurrent social posts highlight the company’s under-the-radar campaign to generate buzz in the political world around the highly controversial prediction market. (POLITICO, 6/7)

ChatGPT failed to kill Google Search

With Google incorporating AI into all parts of Search, the success of its stand-alone chatbot Gemini is becoming less important, as evidenced by the overall growth in Google traffic. Many have previously remarked that Gemini lagged the popularity of ChatGPT, but even that is doing pretty well, recently growing market share and gaining on leader ChatGPT, according to data from Apptopia. (Sherwood, 6/8)

Spotify is reportedly looking to add live streams of concerts

The streaming giant has approached concert promoters about licensing the rights to show live video of music festivals, according to people familiar with the talks. Adding live video would be a new initiative for the Swedish company, which previously experimented with live audio shows. Spotify has already started adding some videos from live events, including a Dua Lipa show in Mexico City. (Bloomberg, 6/8 – free version)

AI Has Come for Serif Fonts

The shift away from slicker, more conspicuously computerized typefaces is something the San Francisco Bay Area writer, designer, and type practitioner Keya Vadgama has termed “the serif renaissance.” In a recent newsletter, published on her Substack, Vadgama suggests the move is a bid for companies to project more “personality and warmth.” (WIRED, 6/5 – free version)

The Influencer-ification of the Bridal Party

But if you’re not one to spend time cold DM-ing ahead of the celebrations, a cottage industry has also cropped up to meet the same cost-cutting impulse. Like premade Etsy kits for around $25 each, marketed as the affordable alternative to custom-curated boxes that can balloon to $150 per bridesmaid when all is said and done. One bride interviewed for this story says she found ribbon-tied bridesmaid boxes on Temu for $7 a bundle, though she admits these are “just the boxes,” not the swag. (The Cut, 6/9 – free version)

Cosmeticorexia: How girls are falling down a skincare rabbit hole

As well as young influencers like Ellie-May, there are many more young girls who have multi-step skincare routines embedded in their day. A snapshot by Pai, a skincare brand, of 1,500 nine-to-12-year-olds suggests that nearly half are using multiple skincare products weekly, with half of those saying that they use it to fix what they perceive to be problem skin. (BBC, 6/6)

The Sound of Summer

In only 16 years, New York’s Governors Ball has proven to be a pillar of pop culture and a launchpad for music’s next breakout stars. The undeniable hustle the city is known for, mixed with the insatiable ambition of rising artists performing to a sea of people, seems untouchable—but it becomes a reality for one summer weekend in Queens’ Flushing Meadows Corona Park. (Cosmopolitan, 6/8)

Utah Has Banned Its 35th Book from All Public Schools

The state of Utah has been on a book banning blitz in 2026. On Friday, June 5, the state added its 35th book to the list of books that must be removed from every public school in the state: Lucky by Alice Sebold. The ban comes amidst a lawsuit challenging these state-sanctioned bans filed in February, and it comes after banning 15 other books in 2026 alone. (Book Riot, 6/8)

Under Notre Dame cathedral, a ‘dig of the century’ unearths 1,700 years of history

Below them lie Merovingian and Carolingian grain pits, from the sixth to the 10th centuries; below those, darker and deeper still, a dense Roman quarter from the fourth and fifth centuries. Twenty centuries are stacked in 4 meters (13 feet) of earth — or about the height of two-and-a-half Napoleon Bonapartes standing on top of one another. (AP, 6/2)

@dillpicklepal#alittleodd #oddities #iceman #drake #prettygirl

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Some newsletters I thought were interesting recently:

• “doomspending redux” from

• “i think we’re all looksmaxxing” from

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WELCOME :)

Just a reminder: every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

ALSO want to do a super fun, super cool rapid interview for this newsletter??? Reply to this email or hit the button below. Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, ☕️, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

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This video from Plain Jane New York, a shop that sells white t-shirts made in Detroit, recently slid across my feed:

@plain.jane.new.yorkPLAIN JANE NEW YORK. MADE IN DETROIT. MADE TO LAST.

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I liked the video, don’t get me wrong… but when I clicked on their product link, I had a fairly good idea of what I was going to see, and I was right: these shirts retail for $68 each.

Luckily, the comment section is mostly good vibes (if you know me, you know I am engaged in a personal crusade to try to make comments section slighly less horrible). However, the one I was expecting did pop up first:

For me, this exchange highlighted something I’ve been ruminating on a lot lately. The absolute majority of Democratic messaging – and most messaging these days – is in the economic populism vein. People in this country need good-paying jobs and strong unions that advocate for them.

And that likely means… buying things that are made here in this country. Which necessarily means paying a whole lot more for those things. The days of the strong middle class that we often idealize – where one parent’s factory job could support an entire household – were also days when people generally had far less access to many consumer goods.

So, truly, what do we do about that? Trump has already started giving his characteristically horrible messaging on it – which, surprise surprise, does not seem to be popular.

I think we need to take seriously that we live in a country where buying “little treats” has become a legitimate coping mechanism – and not necessarily a “bad” or unexpected one. Are we not built to gather? But, to me, given the tangled web of globalism and off-shoring, it does raise some serious dissonance about what rebuilding the American economy and middle class could feasibly, actually look like.

And I’m curious – what and how do you think about this?

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Trump officials planned to mark 2.7 million living people as dead, whistleblower claims

The Trump administration had plans to classify 2.7 million living people — including some U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents — as dead as part of its immigration enforcement efforts, according to a former senior Social Security executive. (WaPo, 6/5 – free version)

Tech ‘got spanked’ in this week’s primaries. It could be a preview of more to come.

The anti-tech mood is rising across the U.S., with the California results just the latest demonstration of populist opposition. Voters are angry about water and energy-hungry data centers in their communities, and parents are concerned that chatbots are harming their children. Tech is poised to suffer more electoral defeats this summer in New York, Florida and elsewhere, where detractors challenging the industry are frontrunners in their upcoming primaries. (POLITICO, 6/4)

Amazon’s search bar will invent AI-generated products you can’t buy

Amazon’s updated search bar will now show you AI-generated images of products as you describe them. For now, the in-app feature only surfaces AI images of clothing and home goods, allowing you to tap on the image that best matches what you’re looking for and search for similar-looking items. (The Verge, 6/3 – free version)

Jeff Bezos Is Funding a Wild Hunt for the Brain’s ‘Core Algorithm’

The goal, Reardon tells me, is to build “a synthetic artificial intelligence brain that runs on 50 watts or less.” It should adapt to its conditions, be as nimble as a human mind, and burn a tiny fraction of an LLM’s compute power and energy. The proof of concept is thriving inside our skulls. (WIRED, 6/4 – free version)

The Loneliness Influencers

Since this trend is playing out on TikTok and Reels, it’s natural to wonder whether the isolation on display is hyperbolized in order to draw clicks and generate revenue. The concept itself feels somewhat disingenuous: How introverted can a person be while also making public-facing content about their private lives? The legitimacy of one loneliness influencer, Paulina Cee, was recently the focus of a thread on r/NYCInfluencerSnark, where someone posted “Paulina Cee can’t be real, can she? It all just looks so fake.” Commenters accused Cee of copying Isa, of being AI, and of secretly being a marketing account made to promote infrared yoga mats. (The Cut, 6/2 – free version)

Hedging a $15,000 New York Knicks bar tab on Kalshi

After a similar promo during the Eastern Conference finals cost him $3,700 in free drinks, Kalshi reached out to suggest that he hedge his risk. Freedman said he’d dabbled in prediction markets as “emotional hedges” when his alma mater, the University of Michigan, played Ohio State, but this was his first foray into financial hedging. (Semafor, 6/2)

Teens hit summer break with nowhere left to go

Teens seeking to socialize together in public this summer are discovering that their presence is often treated as a problem. The decline of malls, cheap hangout spots and welcoming public spaces has left teenagers with few places to gather without money or access to a car, urban designers and youth researchers say. (Axios, 6/5)

Sleep scientists just calculated how much shut-eye you really need as you age—and it’s not 8 hours

And while doctors have traditionally equated getting eight hours with a good night’s rest, new research suggests something different. A new sleep study, published in the journal Nature on May 13, finds for those in middle age and older, the “sweet spot” is somewhere between 6.4 and 7.8 hours. (Fast Company, 6/2)

Honeybees and shrimp are now getting vaccinated

The existing honeybee vaccine is made from inactivated Paenibacillus larvae, a bacterial pathogen that causes American foulbrood, a disease that infects and kills larval honeybees. When the vaccine is fed to the queen and she reproduces, her offspring become more resistant to those bacteria, as well as a virus that bees get from varroa mites. (ScienceNews, 6/5)

Extra Credit 🤓

• “Why there is no ‘Cut for men’ (by a men’s magazine editor)” from and of

• “Paxton Blasts Talarico’s Lack of Criminal Record” from of

  • I fear I did lol

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Tuesday!

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