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 🙏

Share

Subscribe now

Tomorrow marks ONE MONTH until Election Day… and, until then (and maybe after, who tf knows), I will be sharing some unique, easy ways that people can incorporate GOTV into their lives!

Today’s GOTV action item is one of my faves and that is 🥁🥁🥁….. going to a concert for democracy with HeadCount! Seriously, volunteers get to go to the concert and register people to vote while they’re there (very important because those deadlines are coming up veryyyyyy quickly in a lot of places)!

Some flags, DC friends, you can get on the waitlist for Olivia Rodrigo this weekend 👀👀 and, NYC friends, you can get on the waitlist/sign up for Harry Styles (and his merch pop-ups!), Geese, and more!

Supreme Court agrees to review ICE’s mandatory detention policy

Lower court judges have overwhelmingly ruled against the administration, but some GOP-appointed judges have backed the policy, which shows how the Supreme Court could decide to go against the dominant view in the judiciary. The high court’s view should become clearer when the case is argued later in the new term, which starts Monday, with a decision expected by July. (MS NOW, 10/1)

Asian Americans swung to Trump in 2024. Andy Kim wants to focus on winning them back.

Kim is also looking ahead to 2028, when Asian American voters could play a pivotal role in early Democratic presidential primary states like Nevada, the fourth-most Asian state in the country as of the 2020 Census. Kim has not been mentioned much in 2028 chatter himself — far more speculation has focused on his New Jersey colleagues, Sen. Cory Booker and Gov. Mikie Sherrill — but he said he’s focused on making sure the Asian American community has a voice in the nomination process. (POLITICO, 10/1)

Here’s what’s driving the Gen Z gender gap

Every generation has an ideological gender gap — and Gen Z is no different. A new poll from The 19th and YouGov sheds light on how young men and women are shaped by certain historical moments and tend to diverge on issues of gender and reproductive rights. Gen Z women are more likely than Gen Z men to consider themselves feminist, identify as liberal and Democrat, support abortion access, and believe society should not return to traditional gender norms, according to the new poll. (The 19th, 10/1)

Now Trump Wants to Eradicate D.C.’s Mosquitoes

In an executive order on Tuesday, Trump called on Cabinet officials — including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins — to develop a strategy for curbing mosquitoes and ticks around D.C. within 60 days. By 2028, the goal is to reduce the invasive mosquito population by 90%; for ticks, by 50%. (CityCast DC, 9/30)

• Lucy’s note: Listen, I average 3-10 bites per day in DC in the summer… but this doesn’t feel like something he should be doing (also, maybe focus on the war you started??)

The volunteer internet sleuths hunting down rogue AI agents

Zhang, a 23-year-old researcher at nonprofit AI lab Transluce, thought there had to be more evidence to find. She imagined how the agents might act, and she set out one weekend in September to find where else they had left an online trail. Within days, she and a team of colleagues had found a network of online breadcrumbs with profound implications: Rogue AI agents were traversing the web much more widely than previously known. (WaPo, 10/2 – free version)

Hate Buying Concert Tickets? Wait ‘Til Your Milk Is Dynamically Priced

Maryland on Thursday became the first state to ban supermarkets and grocers from dynamically pricing food based on who is buying it. Under the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act, which took effect October 1, covered retailers cannot use customers’ personal data to decide that you, specifically, should pay more for groceries. (Newsweek, 10/2)

It’s Beginning to Sound A Lot Like Christmas, Spotify Data Shows

There are already 36.2 million average daily holiday streams on Spotify, according to data from the digital streamer, suggesting that for some, getting in the spirit of the winter holidays is starting earlier this year. Nearly 100,000 holiday playlists were created by Spotify users in September, while its Christmas Hits playlist rose to No. 64 on playlist charts back on Sept. 25. (TODAY, 10/1)

Are people really refusing ‘Choosin’ Texas’? Or is monoculture just dead?

Paradoxically, then, this system of individual artists pursuing individual success creates a new kind of sameness, which Chayka and others also describe as monoculture. The same phenomenon applies to minimalist interiors in independent coffee shops, all-neutral home decorating schemes and the uniformity of facial features and bodies on screen. The old monoculture might be dead, if it ever existed, but a new one has taken its place. (CNN, 10/1)

Lost in daydreams? Enraged by chewing sounds? Psychiatry is taking a closer look

But it raised a more fundamental question: Where do ordinary human emotions and weirdness end and mental illness begin? On Instagram, Reddit, YouTube and elsewhere, people are comparing symptoms and diagnosing themselves. People are creating communities around conditions, getting emotional support and identifying as sufferers before psychiatry has even decided what, exactly, they are. (WaPo, 10/1 – free version)

Hidden Valley releases all-black ranch dressing for Halloween

Hidden Valley revealed its new Spooky Ranch on Thursday, Sept. 24. The Halloween-inspired ranch retains its zesty, tangy blend of buttermilk, herbs and spices but is all black. And for an extra element of spook, the bottle’s packaging glows in the dark. (USA Today, 9/25)

• Lucy’s note: this feels… bold given all the food safety issues and fears MAHA has created…

Where did all the vegan restaurants go?

VegNews magazine reported that data from HappyCow, an app that lists vegan and vegetarian restaurants, finds the number of vegan restaurants in three of the country’s top destinations for vegan dining — New York City, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon — decreased by between 21 and 25 percent from 2022 to late 2024. Those cities alone make up a significant share of America’s vegan restaurants. (Vox, 9/29 – free version)

Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• “I voted for Trump, but...” from

  • Good chart(s) alert!

• I’m worried there could be low Gen Z voter turnout this year from

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 3FBFAF 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 LUCYR10 for 10% off (we got bumped up from 7% woohoo!)

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 an eye on.

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

REMINDER: if you have fun ways that you like to GOTV and are comfy sharing them, please send them my way!!! You can drop them here or just reply to this email!

How Student Journalists Broke the ‘Cornell Seven’ Case

For the past two weeks, reporters at the student paper have been relentlessly chasing follow-ups, from the administration’s response to the district attorney’s office reopening its criminal investigation and the larger fallout in Ithaca. The Sun also published a blistering editorial, printing the names of the accused men and taking the university to task for its lack of transparency. (The Cut, 9/29 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: you can donate to the Cornell Sun here!

Vance Woos Skeptical Conservatives With His Own Take on Trump’s Messaging

JD Vance is smoothing the harder edges of President Trump’s words, or expanding on them, as he reaches out to dissatisfied conservatives and urges them to stick with Republicans in the midterms. Asked about Trump saying last week he was “proudly banning” CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House, Vance on Monday replied: “I take some issue with the premise, he’s not banning media outlets,” and said it was a reasonable step to withhold access for some outlets. (WSJ gift link, 9/26)

• Lucy’s note: I saw someone using the term “Vance-splaining”… hate it but probably an effective moniker

These Democrats are making Christianity a centerpiece of their midterm campaigns

It’s rare for Democrats to make religion a centerpiece of their campaigns. But this midterm election cycle, a number of candidates for Congress are doing just that. At least a half-dozen candidates are ordained clergy themselves; others are studying to become ministers. They include a megachurch pastor in Dallas, a Methodist minister in Kansas and two members of the clergy in Iowa – all of whom are in competitive races. (NPR, 9/27)

Florida asks for order to halt ChatGPT development

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has asked for a temporary injunction against OpenAI and ChatGPT, claiming the company doesn’t have the ability to properly regulate its own technology. The legal fight could further test how far states can go to restrict AI companies despite the federal government declining to enact guardrails. (Axios, 9/28)

The AI Bros Are Partying

It was a party planned on the defensive, counterprogramming what the invite described as a “bipartisan psychosis” over data centers. Three men who work in libertarian and conservative spaces organized it: Jonas Du, a writer for Pirate Wires, a media company founded by conservative commentator and Peter Thiel protegé Mike Solana; Ed Tarnowski, a resident fellow at the R Street Institute; and Casey Given, the CEO of Young Voices, which supports “thought leaders for liberty in the digital age.” (The Washington Sun, 9/27)

Meta’s Muse Charm looks like a Tamagotchi, but it’s tapping into a much newer trend

Is Meta’s just-announced Muse Charm a playful device that will make AI more approachable to everyday consumers, or will it be yet another flop in a long list of AI hardware gadgets that didn’t take off, like the AI Pin, Rabbit, or Friend pendant? Reactions, so far, have been mixed. What the Charm is, however, is on-trend. Like it or not, the form factor could potentially appeal to Gen Z consumers who, in this post-Labubu era, have already been into various dangling items from keychains and bags. (TechCrunch, 9/24 – free version)

What Does Your Data Reveal About Sports Betting Apps? Help ProPublica Find Out.

ProPublica is trying to understand how sports betting apps incentivize users to keep playing and when they warn users to pump the brakes. To do that, we need your help: We’re aiming for at least 250 people to upload their gambling history from apps like FanDuel and DraftKings. We’re not quite there yet, so if you’ve used these apps, you can help our journalists. If you’ve worked in the industry, you can also help us by answering a few questions. (ProPublica, 9/26)

• Lucy’s note: another important way to support independent investigative journalism!

The wall colors primed to take over next year

Paint companies Behr, Valspar and Sherwin-Williams recently named their picks for the next big hues in home design. Behr chose Grounded, a “mossy olive,” as its 2027 color of the year. Valsar went with Cottage Door, a comforting gray-blue. And Sherwin-Williams chose Celery, a pale green that looks just like, well, the vegetable. (Axios, 9/27)

Ground Cinnamon Sold In 6 States Is Being Recalled Over Lead Concerns

Galil Importing Corp has recalled one lot of Lior Cinnamon Ground Seasoning after a state test detected elevated levels of lead in the product. The good news, at least, is that no illnesses have been reported so far. Before you start clearing out every cinnamon jar you own, this recall is limited to one specific batch. Look for a 90-gram clear plastic container with UPC 794711005484 and lot code GAP11304, with the lot number printed on the side of the package below the ingredients. (Delish, 9/27)

New giant pandas from China arrive in Atlanta zoo

Two giant pandas from China have arrived in the U.S. as part of an agreement between the Chinese and American governments, the Atlanta zoo confirmed on Sunday. The zoo said giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Sunday morning “via a dedicated ‘FedEx Panda Express’ Boeing 777 aircraft.” (CBS News, 9/27)

What China Sees in ‘Jane Eyre,’ Now Required Reading for Ninth Graders

The book, in which the young orphan Jane Eyre works as a governess in the household of the wealthy but elusive Mr. Rochester, is widely celebrated in China for its themes of independence and equality between women and men. A Chinese translation appeared as early as 1925, and there have since been numerous translations and adaptations for stage and screen. (NYT gift link, 9/28)

@readingtylanonlinear storytelling #cornmaze

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Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• Elon’s Ouroboros from from

• You Are No Longer Invited to Dinner from

Sneaky Links

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

• My BNTO code for September is 8Y8R4F 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 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!

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 🙏

Share

Subscribe now

REMINDER: if you have fun ways that you like to GOTV and are comfy sharing them, please send them my way!!! You can drop them here or just reply to this email!

In one of their last votes before November, Senate GOP blocks effort to end Iran war

The Republican-led Senate on Thursday defeated a resolution to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran, in a vote forced by Democrats seeking to highlight fallout from the war in their bid to win back control of Congress. The resolution failed by a vote of 49 to 50. (NPR, 9/24)

Debate-shy: Candidates aren’t sharing the stage like they used to

In a midterm cycle dominated by unprecedented spending on contrast ads, the candidates themselves are remarkably reluctant to challenge each other face-to-face. It’s a sign of how campaigns have evolved, and an erosion of norms: Candidates — fueled by their parties and super PACs — still try to tear apart the opposition, they just do it from a distance. In the age of short, shareable video clips, TV debates offer candidates equal parts opportunity and risk: An electric moment can travel far and wide, but so can an unforced error. (Axios, 9/25)

What I learned about AI’s PR crisis from bingeing 130 political TV ads

AI, as a political talking point, is still up for grabs. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have found a way to turn it into a wedge issue that they own. About 37% of the candidates represented in AdImpact’s dataset were Republicans, while 47% were Democrats and 16% were Independents. (Business Insider, 9/25 – free version)

Meta employees ordered ‘attorney/client privilege’ hats while fighting child safety disclosures

Meta’s lawyers have argued that certain evidence should be withheld from public view on the grounds of attorney-client privilege in the ongoing lawsuits over alleged harm to teens’ safety and mental health. Lawyers suing the company said this week that the label has been applied far too broadly, while pointing to a recently unsealed document showing that the team behind launching Instagram’s Teen Accounts in 2024 put in an order for baseball caps that simply said “a/c priv.” (WIRED, 9/24 – free version)

Dating App From Ex-Tinder Executive Lets Strangers Play Matchmaker

A former Tinder executive launched a new dating app that invites the community to vote on strangers’ compatibility, putting a twist on courtship at a time when singles have grown exhausted with swiping. Rivet, which opens to US users on Thursday, relies on a pool of volunteer “matchers” who rate whether two given people might be compatible. (Bloomberg, 9/24 – free version)

‘It feels like a calling’: The internet vigilantes who weaponise kindness

Every day, Brickley points his half-a-million followers at someone who’s being bullied or overlooked, and has them flood the target with kind comments. “We’re hijacking the machinery of online harassment,” like coordination and anonymity, and using them for benevolence. “And I gotta say, it works.” (BBC, 9/23)

How an Iced Coffee in a Job Interview Sparked a Raging Etiquette Debate

A simple question about chilled caffeine has sparked heated debates on couches and online about workplace decorum, highlighting shifting expectations of professionalism. Proponents say it’s a way to show their personality—and after all, it’s just a drink. For iced-coffee critics, the problem is what the beverage signals: casualness, poor preparation and bad time management. (WSJ gift link, 9/25)

• Lucy’s note: Ok, between this and the Peltola story… I am seeing simply the most insane takes about what’s OK in the workplace and what’s not…

Pigeon-pilled: How pigeons became a post-digital icon

A misunderstood bird, pigeons have come to capture young people’s rising distrust in authority. It’s why pigeons have been subject to their own conspiracy theory (that they are drones), or why there have been so many iterations of similar posts going around this year that go like: “Well, perhaps the pigeons think YOU are ‘vermin’ too”. Brysen, a 21-year-old in America, says he’s had a passion for pigeons since he was 12. In 2023, he started his Instagram page, Black Gold Avians, to advocate for the birds. “I think people today are waking up to the systems of unfairness and hypocrisy around us,” he says. “To understand the plight of pigeons and their history is to be faced with the ugly truth of human ego.” (DAZED, 9/23)

Gucci breaks from tradition with new ‘Made in China’ sneaker line

This decision underscores the delicate balancing act for Gucci designer Demna, who is tasked with launching fresh designs while managing costs to appeal to aspirational consumers—the price-conscious segment forming the majority of the luxury market rather than the ultra-wealthy. (The Independent, 9/24)

A sinkhole swallowed Nicolas Cage’s driveway. Yours might be next.

To put this into perspective, almost one-third of Americans live along a coastline, and while few of us have the kind of luxury oceanfront views that Cage and his neighbors enjoy, our beachside apartment complexes, utility lines, and coastal highways suffer from the same risks his driveway does. Most of us, however, lack the benefit of a second home or a private island to flee to if something goes catastrophically wrong. (Vox, 9/24)

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here’s an offering of the best of this week’s crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. (POLITICO, 9/25)

(forever lucky because I got to do both tbh)

Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• DoorDash admits it “screwed up,” will pay NYC workers over $100 million from and of

• It’s full of besties and smells like glue from for

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 8Y8R4F 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 LUCYR10 for 10% off (we got bumped up from 7% woohoo!)

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.

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

REMINDER: if you have fun ways that you like to GOTV and are comfy sharing them, please send them my way!!! You can drop them here or just reply to this email!

Without federal action, candidates for governor see an opening on AI

POLITICO reached out to more than 18 Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates on their plans and received responses from eight. Nearly all said they want states to take the lead on AI, signaling a frustration with Washington’s inaction and acknowledgement that — if they eventually secure the governor’s mansion — they can’t dismiss the growing warnings. (POLITICO, 9/19)

Republicans Are Unleashing Their Fundraising Advantage Against the Democrats

Democratic candidates have mostly outpaced their Republican opponents in fundraising, but the GOP has maintained a significant lead among their network of super PACs and party committees—and are beginning to open the spending spigot in significant ways. (WSJ gift link, 9/20)

Why Tucker Carlson Is Defending This Democrat in a Key Senate Race

In recent weeks, Mr. Carlson has repeatedly spoken in positive terms about Dr. El-Sayed and castigated his Republican opponent, former Representative Mike Rogers, a critic-turned-ally of President Trump with hawkish foreign policy views. (NYT gift link, 9/20)

How Trump turned a refugee bureau into a $410 million deportation operation

The Trump administration has authorized or pledged at least $410 million to facilitate agreements with 31 countries, mostly in Africa and Latin America, as of the end of June, according to internal government records reviewed by The Washington Post. The documents, which have not been previously reported, provide the most comprehensive picture to date of the Trump administration’s fast-growing third-country network. (WaPo, 9/21 – free version)

Days After Press Ban, White House Launches ‘Trump TV’ — A 24/7 Clip Show

Teasers for the new media venture first appeared on the White House’s social media channels Monday morning, quipping “something’s coming.” The posts were followed by a flashy promotional video that promised a nonstop live feed covering the administration kicking off at 7 p.m. (The Washington Sun, 9/21)

AI is the butt of the joke

As AI and data centers create tension, audiences are looking for comic relief. Business Insider spoke with five stand-up comedians, including Jalees, about how audiences respond to jokes about the technology. They agreed on one rule: In a joke about AI, AI has to be the butt. (Business Insider, 9/18 – free version)

Woke Was Never the Problem

“Wokeness” has become an excuse for nearly everything the administration does, from mass firings of federal workers to blocking promotions for women and people of color in the military. Elsewhere, empathy takes fresh hits. Gad Saad, a popular writer, warns of “suicidal empathy” in a new book. Elon Musk has attacked “shallow empathy” for years. To be anti-woke is to lack empathy for others, to be purposefully cruel while offering no solutions to hunger or the cost of health care. (Intelligencer, 9/19 – free version)

Mental Health Among Teenagers Is Improving, C.D.C. Finds

Twenty percent reported currently drinking alcohol, compared with nearly 51 percent in 1991, and fewer than 10 percent reported using illicit drugs, compared with 27 percent when the question was first asked in 2001. Thirty-six percent of teenagers said that they used social media every hour or more, a similar percentage to what was seen in 2023, when the data was first reported. (NYT gift link, 9/21)

Bear encounters are rising across the United States. Here’s why

While black bears’ natural diet is mostly plant-based, high-calorie foods like human garbage, bird seed and pet food are all things that are “attractive to bears,” said Chris Servheen of IUCN Bear Specialist Group. And once bears succeed in eating human food, they continue doing so and mother bears will teach the behavior to their cubs. (WaPo, 9/22 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: this also works as an opportunity to talk about Fat Bear Week! don’t forget to vote!

YouTube Canada’s Slate of Creator Shows to Include a Series of Kareem Rahma’s ‘SubwayTakes’ in Toronto

Set to premiere in 2027, “SubwayTakes Toronto” will see Rahma take the unfiltered, long-form interview series to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway system. Each episode will feature “iconic Canadian guests” and bring viewers “viewer directly in the middle of the authentic, unscripted mayhem found inside Canada’s most recognizable subway car,” according to YouTube Canada. (Variety, 9/17)

Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• UPDATE: MAGA Inc.’s audacious new ads from of

  • (spoilers… they’re trying to attack Dems on insider trading, while Trump exists lol)

• I asked 8 Substackers for the fall books they’re most excited for from of

Sneaky Links

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

• My BNTO code for September is 8Y8R4F 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 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!

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 🙏

Share

Subscribe now

REMINDER: if you have fun ways that you like to GOTV and are comfy sharing them, please send them my way!!! You can drop them here or just reply to this email!

Don Jr. had a big wedding. Reporters started following the money

All this kicked off on Monday with two stories that landed within hours of each other, one in The New Yorker and another from ProPublica. Together they did something the last decade of scattered scoops about the Trump family’s business dealings had never quite managed: They connected the dots. Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, is running Middle East diplomacy while raising billions more for his private investment fund from the same governments with which he is supposedly negotiating. (Salon, 9/17)

Newsom floats prospect of special session or executive action on AI

Newsom’s signature last year on California’s first-in-the-nation AI transparency and incident reporting law set off a cross-country tour of copycat lawmaking in states like New York and Illinois. And last week he signed two AI safety bills to regulate the kind of third-party safety checks now being called for by the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic. (POLITICO, 9/17)

Trump administration orders Kalshi to scrap AI price tracker over national security concerns

Commerce officials cited national security concerns when they told Kalshi to unpublish its AI-compute future curve, said people familiar with the matter. The product pulls together data from several markets that allow users to bet on the cost to rent Nvidia chips to create an overall picture of where AI compute costs are heading. Kalshi quietly complied, though many underlying markets remain open for trading. (Semafor, 9/15)

Wired launches new global app

It will feature a personalized daily digest of top Wired stories tailored to users’ interests. It will also allow subscribers to customize notifications and follow their favorite writers. The app will include new features meant to bolster its community relationships, such as extended story comment features and live “AMA” question-and-answer forums with Wired journalists and experts. It will also include a vertical feed of short-form videos in a dedicated tab that will include original reports. (Axios, 9/15)

Generation SOS: Why young people are increasingly being rescued from mountains

Social media has only further blurred the line between screen and reality, Trehearne says. Undertakings that would have seemed “incredibly abnormal” 15 years ago, like steep ski mountaineering in the Rockies, are now regular pieces of online content, “normalizing” routes that even he would deem complex. (CNN, 9/18)

Girls flag football is the fastest-growing high school sport

More than 102,000 girls played high school flag football in 2025-26, a 551% increase in the past four years, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. In 2024, just 12 states sanctioned high school girls flag football, viewed as a safer, more accessible version of America’s most popular spectator sport. Today, 23 states plus Washington, D.C., sanction it as an official varsity sport, and 3,990 schools reported participants in 2025-26. (Axios, 9/16)

At Restaurants, Phones Are Becoming the New Cigarettes

Today, phones are as common in a table-setting as napkins and silverware. If diners themselves aren’t pulling them out to check messages and social media, they’re likely in the background as others record Instagram videos or make FaceTime calls. Many restaurants and patrons alike are pushing back against the shift that has turned collegial, communal spaces into places to watch TikTok while you eat. (WSJ gift link, 9/13)

$1.1 billion from Nike co-founder will build Oregon’s first women’s hospital

The donation is particularly significant because it comes at a moment when U.S. hospitals are seeing far more pregnant patients who are also managing chronic health conditions like diabetes, hypertension, addiction, and behavioral and mental health issues. It also lands at the same time healthcare organizations are struggling with the impact of government funding cuts. (AP, 9/15)

Merriam-Webster Dictionary Is Wordsmaxxing With 1,400 New Definitions

Merriam-Webster, the venerable dictionary that traces its roots to a time before looksmaxxing and yacht rock, has added those words along with chili crisp, shapewear and cuffing season, to its comprehensive accounting of the English language. (NYT gift link, 9/16)

Meryl Streep Revealed as Voice of Lion Aslan in Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: ‘Profound but Not Pretentious’

“I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight,” Gerwig told the outlet of casting Streep. The pair previously worked together on Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation of Little Women, in which Streep played Aunt March. (People, 9/17)

Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• What do people actually know about our government? from of

• One policy that unites liberals and conservatives from of

  • Lots of good stuff ahead of the paywall!

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 8Y8R4F 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 LUCYR10 for 10% off (we got bumped up from 7% woohoo!)

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.

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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AUTHOR’S NOTE: FIRST, I’m so sorry I missed a send last week! I will hopefully make it up with some fun things, see below…

SECOND, I am searching for examples of fun, maybe unexpected things people do during GOTV. Some examples:

• Text-banking with XX org/organizer who has excellent music taste (there were many of you last cycle 🫶)

• Making friendship bracelets with the voter help hotline on it and passing them out

• Picking a specific Rock The Vote concert to volunteer at/see with your friends

If you have them, PLEASE SHARE YOUR IDEAS HERE! And share your handle(s) if you’re comfy with it, so I can give cred!

Supreme Court rejects Trump mail ballot restrictions ahead of midterms

It represented a stark defeat for Trump on an issue he consistently has emphasized as vital to ensuring election integrity even though there is virtually no evidence of fraud with mail ballots. The Supreme Court majority wrote that the administration’s push to implement the restrictions this year is likely to lose in court, though the brief emergency order didn’t detail its reasoning. Two justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, publicly dissented. (AP, 9/14)

Republicans’ time crunch: Data centers, sports, crypto

Some Republicans are hoping they can address voters’ affordability concerns before the election — potentially by passing a data center power bill to demonstrate the party is listening to souring popular sentiment surrounding AI infrastructure. The House is set to take up the bill, called the Ratepayer Protection Act, this week, which will help vulnerable incumbents answer voters’ concerns about data centers. (Semafor, 9/14)

The Census Bureau Is Overrun With Staffers From a MAGA Think Tank

The Census Bureau is home to vast troves of sensitive data on nearly every person living in the country, which is used for apportioning and drawing congressional districts as well as allocating federal funding based on population sizes. Experts and Census employees who spoke to WIRED worry that the noncitizen voting report is the first salvo in Census data possibly being used to undermine the results of the upcoming midterms or the 2028 presidential election. (WIRED, 9/15 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: Like the piece notes, the Census Bureau has literally all the data about us and controls who gets money and who gets to elect who… so this is, unfortunately, yet again, a complete five-alarm fire

‘Pod Save America’ Is in the Wilderness Too

The show has maintained a particularly powerful platform, Litman said, not only because of the audience’s size, but because it’s chock-full of particularly eager and engaged Democrats. Sure, they might not represent a median voter, but their community — whose paid members are affectionately, parasocially referred to as “Friends of the Pod” — is activated by what they hear. On the other hand, progressives say the hosts still seem to be grappling with their centrist, politics-as-usual tendencies. (The Washington Sun, 9/14)

Your car is selling your data

Last December, a trio of House Republicans introduced the Data Rights for Information and Vehicle Electronics in Real-time, or DRIVER, Act. According to these lawmakers, the bill “reaffirms a basic principle: if you own the vehicle, you should own the data it generates.” But while the bill would give vehicle owners a bit more control over their data, it would also allow automakers to continue gathering and selling it to third-party data brokers, which makes it a nonstarter for privacy advocates. (The Verge, 9/13 – free version)

Influencers Have Lost Their Footing With Gen Z, Gen Alpha, Pacsun Report Says

The report identified a new cultural dynamic Pacsun called the “Drawbridge Generation,” which is defined by Gen Z and Gen Alpha turning to friends and family to navigate an increasingly noisy public world shaped by algorithms, news cycles and inauthentic messaging,” the company said. Influencers, however, are not trusted, with just 11 percent of respondents looking to them for financial advice or purchase decisions. Ditto for AI, where only 2 percent of young people turned to this channel for fashion advice. (WWD, 9/9 – Google Docs version)

What we’ve learned from the creator snafus at this year’s US Open

The US Open has a much different vibe than the World Cup, so brands and the creators they’re working with have to understand exactly how to show up. Expanding the fandom is crucial, especially for organizing bodies like the USTA or brands that are inherently tied to tennis, but steamrolling the existing enthusiasts could damage the sport’s reputation, experts say. (Digiday, 9/14)

Gen Z is turning hobbies into work — and missing the point

This desire to optimize is fueled by metrics and digital record-keeping. Letterboxd (for movies you’ve watched), Goodreads (books you’ve read), Backloggd (video games you’ve played) and Beli (restaurants you’ve visited) are just a few of many popular apps to track hobbies. “As soon as you put a metric to something, people want to maximize that metric, even if the metric is nonsensical or not real,” Inzlicht says. But these extrinsic measures also reduce the pleasure we derive from leisure over time. (WaPo, 9/13 – free version)

Worried About Your College Kid? Now You Can Hire a Local Mom.

Horwitz is in the business of playing a version of mom for local college students. Concierge companies offering student support have existed for decades. But in recent years, a new crop of upstarts — such as Horwitz’s company, MindyKnows; the Bama Mama in Alabama; the GA Mom in Georgia; and Campus Mom in Texas — have met additional demand from a new generation of worried parents. (NYT gift link, 9/13)

• Lucy’s note: just reiterating something that everyone on the Internet has been (in this unique case, rightfully) screaming – you have to be allowed to be a mess in college! it’s how you learn to not be later!

The Dominican Baseball Factory

But in two and a half years, the $1.8 million Belfi was promised would be almost all gone. Carmona received $630,000, which represented his 35% commission. But more than $950,000 went to someone who had no hand in teaching Belfi how to play baseball. His name is Santo Caraballo, one of the most notorious moneylenders profiting from Dominican baseball. (ProPublica, 9/10)

No cities on the moon—there isn’t enough water, scientists say

The bad news is that, even assuming a generous 1 billion tons (910 million tonnes) of water to start with, without recycling, the answer to our question of sustainability is that the city would last only a few years. Even in the best-case scenario, with 98% efficient recycling of water—the same as achieved on the ISS—a city of 1 million people will run out of water in just over a century. (Phys.org, 9/14)

@calwanninger22Usher of the year for sure @Chipotle can I get free food if I make you laugh #fyp

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Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• Waist Deep, Love Island Drama & the Sociology of American Cheating with Josh Lora from

  • I am such a stan

• COVID- not TikTok- is disabling young women from

• Was Carrie Bradshaw the OG Influencer? from

  • YES imo

Sneaky Links

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

• My BNTO code for September is 8Y8R4F 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 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!

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.

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

A Political Operative on the Verge of Self-Deportation

Rocha has many friends in Washington, but his attempts to change González’s situation have left him feeling powerless. “You mean I can’t call a senator? I can’t call the chairman of the Hispanic Caucus and just fix this shit?” he said, raising his arms incredulously. “No matter how many important people you know, no matter how much money you think you have, that you’ve made at this little firm—none of that matters.” He grew agitated thinking of Obama’s decision not to pursue immigration reform when he had legislative majorities. (The New Yorker, 9/6)

Trump Administration Again Asks Supreme Court to Allow Mail Voting Restrictions

Justice Jackson called for responses from the groups challenging the Trump administration rules by Wednesday at 4 p.m. She made no mention of the administration’s request that the justices allow the Postal Service rules to go into effect while they consider the case. That means that, at least for now, the administration is blocked from putting its plan into action. (NYT gift link, 9/4)

Nevada Republicans are testing the 2028 case against Gavin Newsom

Newsom has stumped for Democrats across the country this cycle, and he blitzed through the South this week, including a swing through South Carolina, whose Democrats will vote first, right before Nevada, in 2028. But Republicans are looking to weaponize Newsom’s Silver State swing in July, where Ford introduced him at a new Las Vegas field office as “the governor of the great state of California.” “Our next president!” an audience member shouted, eliciting cheers. (POLITICO, 9/7)

Senate GOP’s Midwestern governor’s problem

Strong candidates for governor can act as sheepdogs in tight Senate races, keeping Republican voters — and GOP-curious independents — moving in the party’s direction. That’s adding to GOP anxiety in Michigan and Iowa, where the Democratic gubernatorial nominees have led for much of the summer. In Ohio — a state President Trump won by 11 points — the governor’s race is tied. (Axios, 9/4)

• Lucy’s note: totally randomly, here’s the Oath link where you can split your donation to all Dems running for Gov :) (and here’s one for just MI, IA, and OH Gov races)

Content creators drop the ball

There were “close to 100” influencers at this year’s tournament — up from 54 last year. But in a statement to ABC News, USTA spokesperson Brendan McIntyre emphasized that the influencers whose antics disrupted Osaka and Zakharova’s match were not credentialed by the organization. McIntyre also told The Athletic that media credentials were not given to Meg Radice and Audrey Jongens — two lifestyle influencers whose access to the US Open was revoked after they posted images of their badges to Instagram. (The Verge, 9/5 – free version)

‘Model fatigue’ sets in as AI labs race to roll out new versions at frenetic pace

First, Anthropic updated Fable and Mythos. Then came model enhancements from Meta and Google. OpenAI followed suit by releasing GPT-6 Astra. That was all this week, as a dizzying pace of modifications and upgrades hit the market from a handful of companies that are vying to stay at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution. (CNBC 9/6)

‘Those memories are being brought back out all the time’: Why you never really get over high school

Foulkes points out that teens are surrounded by the same people almost every day for years in a way “that just doesn’t really happen in adulthood, other than in the army or in prison. There is an intensity from the environment that goes beyond what’s happening inside their brains.” It’s this intensity that partly explains why these experiences stay lodged within us, says Prinstein, shaping how we make sense of social encounters for years to come. (BBC, 9/5 – free version)

Grab your Discmans out of storage. CDs are back, baby.

Even though cars no longer come with compact disc players and Discmans are harder to find than cans of Surge, CDs are back. Here it is, a midyear report from entertainment-data company Luminate that says sales growth for CDs is surpassing vinyl’s. Writes Luminate CEO Rob Jonas, “CD sales surged 16 percent to 16.3 million units, outpacing vinyl’s modest 2.4 percent growth.” (WaPo, 9/8 – free version)

Plastics Companies Are Writing Lesson Plans. What Could Go Wrong?

A new report from the nonprofit Plastic Pollution Coalition documents the many ways the plastics industry has been inserting its agenda into classrooms across the US—including through lesson plans and worksheets, hands-on science experiments, and a program called “PlastiVan” that travels from city to city teaching students about “the contribution plastics make to modern life.” (WIRED, 9/7 – free version)

How Gloria Steinem and Ms. Magazine Transformed the Publishing Industry

The first full issue, published in July 1972, featured Wonder Woman on the cover. It included an article from Ms. Steinem on how women voted, an essay from the activist Johnnie Tillmon on welfare and a petition supporting the legalization of abortion, called “We Have Had Abortions,” that was signed by 53 prominent women, including Ms. Steinem, Billie Jean King, Nora Ephron and Susan Sontag. It was a radical act at the time, when abortion was illegal. (NYT gift link, 9/4)

I research ‘gut feelings.’ Here’s how I know when to trust mine.

None of this means you should ignore a gut feeling when it shows up — quite the opposite. I often hear from patients that a persistent, nagging sense that something wasn’t adding up was what pushed them to ask for another opinion, request another test or refuse to let a symptom go unexplained. Sometimes, that instinct turns out to be lifesaving. When it is, it’s tempting to conclude that your “gut knew.” But it’s what you did after experiencing a gut feeling that helped. (WaPo, 9/7 – free version)

@that_fak3b1ond3it was in fact never just a phase.. #niallhoran #thomasrhett #onedirection #fangirl #fyp @Niall Horan @Thomas Rhett

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Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• Why Do We Love Dialect Quizzes? from of

• How nationalists, theocrats and tech titans turned their backs on the future from and for

Sneaky Links

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

• My BNTO code for September is 8Y8R4F 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!

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 🙏

Share

Subscribe now

Speaker Johnson, in reversal, cancels House votes, leaving few days in session before midterms

The House is scheduled to return on Sept. 14 for four days of legislative business -- leaving on Sept. 17 for six full weeks of campaigning ahead of the midterm elections. The sparse floor schedule is not particularly unusual for an election year -- but is a reversal of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s position earlier this week when he told reporters that he did not intend to cancel any scheduled legislative business this month. (ABC News, 9/3)

• Lucy’s note: 👀👀👀👀👀 it’s giving getting nervous

Global warming will exceed limit, UN says in a report that maps path to get back below danger zone

So instead of preventing warming of 1.5 degrees, now the U.N. said it wants policymakers to “prepare for and navigate a future’’ in which the globe crosses that limit and then corrects course and cools temperatures. The report envisions that global temperatures will pass 1.5 “within the next few years,” follow a hump-shaped path of more warming, peak, then gradually cool to below the 1.5 mark, ideally by the end of the century. The report and experts call it “overshoot.” (AP, 9/2)

TikTok comments are getting more interactive with voice comments, polls, and more

TikTok’s comment sections are getting an upgrade. The social network announced on Thursday that it’s rolling out new features for its comment sections, including voice comments, comment polls, photo carousel comments, and Live Photo comments. (TechCrunch, 9/3)

Four major AI models suffer rare overlapping downtime

While the affected frontier models go down occasionally, having all four experience interruptions in the same short period is practically unheard of. Claude reports 99.4 percent uptime for its services over the last 90 days and last reported a similar three-hour “partial outage” on August 24. OpenAI reports 99.63 percent uptime for ChatGPT and 100 percent uptime for ChatGPT Codex in the same period. ChatGPT’s so-called “Work Mode” reported an hours-long period of “elevated latency” on August 31. (Ars Technica, 9/3)

• Lucy’s note: not to go all tin foil hat, but WHAT is this about

Most Americans Consider Themselves ‘Working Class,’ Pew Says

Some 60% of American adults consider themselves “working class,” including those who have college degrees and higher incomes, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. While people without a four-year degree and middle-income adults are most likely to identify as working class, about half of college graduates and upper-income adults do as well, according to a Pew survey of about 8,500 adults released Monday. (Bloomberg, 9/2 – free version)

The ‘Gen Z stare’ — and the decline of saying things out loud

An analysis published in July in Perspectives on Psychological Science of more than 2,000 people found that Americans and people in several other countries are speaking roughly 300 fewer words a day, or about two to three minutes’ worth, with each passing year. The drop — a 28 percent decline from 2005 to 2019 — was especially pronounced among people younger than 25. (WaPo, 9/3 – free version)

Bad Bunny Scores Major Victory as Judge Reverses Course in Sprawling Reggaeton Lawsuit

In the new ruling obtained by Rolling Stone, the judge said lawyers for Bad Bunny persuaded him that he erred in a decision last July when he found that a jury should decide whether an estimated 1,800 reggaeton songs by more than 100 artists infringed the composition copyright held by Cleveland “Clevie” Browne and the heirs of Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson for the 1989 song “Fish Market.” (Rolling Stone, 9/2 – free version)

Colin Jost and Pete Davidson finally found a use for the Staten Island Ferry they regret buying

On Thursday, September 17, the pair will turn the John F. Kennedy into the “Snapple Island Ferry,” a free, floating comedy club docked at Pier 17 in Lower Manhattan. Together, the duo will host the one-night-only event, which will feature a 60-minute show with sets by a lineup of rising comedians. (Entertainment Weekly, 9/1)

Starbucks Refreshed Its Menu. Chai Fans Are Losing Their Minds.

They’re complaining on Reddit and store sites, and signing petitions to bring back the old recipe. They’re calling headquarters, emailing executives and taking out their angst on customer-service chatbots. They’re even becoming part-time sleuths, trying to figure out the original recipe—and get the bottom of the “Great Chai Incident of 2026.” (WSJ gift link, 9/4)

@sophiecolosimophone on dnd #switzerland #eurosummer #swissalps #fyp

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Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• Are brands sleeping on the state fair? from of

• Democrats Who Are Still Afraid of Supreme Court Expansion Need to Grow Up from of

• How brands make culture from of

  • Cool chart alert!

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 8Y8R4F 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 LUCYR10 for 10% off (we got bumped up from 7% woohoo!)

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.

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

AUTHOR’S NOTE: putting on my law student hat for one second… if you are a progressive/pro-democracy lawyer and/or advocate who works closely with legal matters who is down to offer support/wisdom/advice to law students, please send me a note :)

Millions of Dollars in Secret Spending Could Upend the 2026 Midterms

Secret money is not new. But the pervasiveness has reached industrial scale in 2026 — and serves as a preview of its coming prevalence in 2028. Nearly every major primary and battleground race this fall has been or will be shaped by secret funds. The anonymously sourced expenditures are so big that, in some instances, they are outstripping the spending of campaigns themselves, making candidates seem like bystanders of their own elections. The trend is especially true in primaries. (NYT gift link, 8/31)

Kalshi suspends N.C. GOP candidate for U.S. House for betting on her own campaign

Laurie Buckhout will pay a $2,500 fine in addition to serving a three-year suspension in settling the case, Kalshi announced Monday morning. “I bet on myself. Literally,” Buckhout said in a statement Monday morning. “It was a dumb mistake, and as soon as I learned there was an issue, I worked to make it right.” (Spectrum News, 8/31)

• Lucy’s note: “as soon as I learned there was an issue” is crazy, I fear

AOC rejoined DSA this month after 7-year absence

DSA plans to begin its formal presidential endorsement process early next year, and the socialist group’s national leadership is split on whether to endorse her. But DSA chapters in Los Angeles and Atlanta have already passed resolutions calling on her to run for president, and NYC-DSA is expected to pass a similar resolution during its citywide convention in November. (City & State NY, 8/26)

MapQuest’s app surges to No. 1 in Navigation after refusing to rename Lake Ontario

The 30-year-old company remarked that it received “hundreds of thousands” of new downloads since its decision to keep the name Lake Ontario in place, and saw its app’s usage climb to 50 times above its normal levels. Third-party data from market intelligence provider Sensor Tower confirms the surge, noting that MapQuest saw 184,000 and 162,000 total global and U.S. app downloads respectively during the week beginning August 24, each representing an increase of more than 10x week-over-week. (TechCrunch, 8/31)

Pentagon secretly installs military influencers in civilian roles

The Pentagon has secretly installed several conservative military veterans with large online followings in government roles, declining to disclose their assignments as they amplify Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s viewpoints and attack those who scrutinize the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter and corroborating material. (WaPo, 8/30 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: brutal news week for influencers/the practice of influencing it seems like p. 1

He Was a Top Lawn Care Influencer on YouTube. Then Everything Went Haywire.

Greg filmed skits in which Sharky chased Victoria and Annabelle through the house and stole their candy. The comments were full of praise. “People loved the girls,” Greg said. “They were rooting for us. I was making $1,000 a month.” But there was a pitfall. The fans were easily bored and forever hungry for novelty. He constantly had to devise new ideas — new “seasons,” as he put it. (NYT gift link, 8/30)

We tested how AI chatbots would handle foreign propaganda. They did surprisingly well

All of the chatbots, as well as Google’s AI Overview, correctly pointed out that the premise of the question was faulty. Google’s Gemini wrote that the claim “stems from a Russian disinformation campaign aimed at deflecting blame after a major military strike.” On average, chatbots correctly debunked false narratives about three-quarters of the time. (NPR, 8/30)

Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Festival Was a Day Full of Superstars, Nonprofits, and Joy

Rodrigo next teamed up with Morissette — with whom she appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in 2021 — for a scorching version of Morissette’s classic “Ironic.” Philanthropist Melinda French Gates joined Rodrigo and pledged to double the $10 million being donated. Rodrigo’s final guest was Nicks. Together they performed a showstopping “Landslide,” which found the pair trading verses and dancing together. “She reminds me of me, when I was her age a hundred years ago,” Nicks said of Rodrigo. (Rolling Stone, 8/30 – free version)

Some Gen Z men are ‘pheromone-maxxing.’ What does that mean?

It might not seem like the most natural dating strategy, but some Gen Z men on TikTok are embracing their natural musk. They’re calling it “pheromone-maxxing.” “Stopped washing my hair at all and now I unironically get more compliments on how it smells and looks (from women),” one user posted. “Pheromone maxxing is key.” (USA Today, 8/31)

• Lucy’s note: Gen Z 2.0, I’m so sorry… but what is WRONG with y’all!!!

America Fell in Love With Filler. Then Came the Great Deflate

This shift has hit the U.S.’s $3.3 billion facial-injectables market. Average quarterly spending on facial fillers in the U.S. declined from about $970 million in 2023 to $850 million in 2025, according to healthcare data from Guidepoint Qsight. For Juvéderm, one of the market’s most popular fillers, global revenue was down 15% in 2025 from 2024, parent company AbbVie reported, demoting the filler from its status as a billion-dollar product. (WSJ gift link, 8/31)

Americans Still Skeptical That UFOs Are Aliens

Americans were also more inclined to associate UFOs with earthly than supernatural causes the two prior times Gallup measured this, although the alien-skeptical share was higher in 2019 (60%) than in 2021 (50%) and today. Meanwhile, rather than become increasingly convinced that some sightings have been alien spacecraft, the percentage of Americans who are unsure has grown, from 7% in 2019 to 13% in 2026. (Gallup, 8/26)

This Oregon library ditched Dewey Decimal and got people excited about books again

The new Stevens Ranch Central Library in Bend, Oregon, a 100,000-square-foot branch designed by architects from the Miller Hull Partnership, features a new philosophy of organization and engagement. In addition to a new set of shelving units designed to feel more like a bookstore, books were placed using the libraries’ proprietary Wayfinder system. (Fast Company, 8/31)

Could Letterboxd Be Worth $1 Billion?

The industry is littered with cautionary tales. Just last month, Whip Media announced it was shutting down TV Time, a community app similar to Letterboxd, despite its trove of hyper-valuable ratings and genre data. “While we loved supporting TV Time, it was no longer sustainable to continue operating the service as a free app, and there’s not enough demand for a paid app,” the company said in a statement. (Whip Media had harvested its first-party data to sell enterprise B2B analytics, but presumably didn’t see enough engagement to make real money from ads. Or perhaps they just wanted to pivot to A.I.) (Puck, 9/1 – free version)

@notamine @notamine ♬ original sound - auraftbl

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Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• Don’t Tell Me What To Do from of

• Let Lili Reinhart Slay a Pap Walk in Peace from of

• Trump’s dumbing down his most important font from of

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 LUCYR10 for 10% off (updated from 7% woohoo!!)

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 🙏

Share

Subscribe now

I had a *very* weird content week, and almost all of it was simply happening in my own head. The TL;DR is that I deleted two videos this week, thereby making the TikTok algorithm very mad and the IG one slightly less so. The first I pulled down because I was 85% sure the image was real, not AI, because I could find some corroborating photos, and people were talking about it. However, I then went down the spiral of not being able to verify who these people were and the stress that the analogous photos could also be AI… (if anyone has tips on better verification, please let me know lol). It was garnering a lot of views, and I just couldn’t stomach the 15% doubt that I was pushing out slop.

The second was me making a joke (but a fairly critical one) about something that a lot of people enjoy. It was live for about an hour before I realized that it felt too negative and just didn’t need to exist on my page.

Both of these instances were an important reminder to me that when I decided to start making content here and there for my personal page, I had an unwritten set of rules in my head: provide high-quality information, be positive, don’t feed the trolls or be one, etc. While these ideas feel so simple, there have been moments where they’ve been really hard to practice (especially when I’m tired or in a bad mood, which is definitely not great when you’re your own fact- and vibe-checker, as most of us are).

And, I can’t lie, it really sucks taking down a video. I usually feel a combo of sad that I didn’t do a good job (and need to take it down for that reason), frustrated that I took time on it, and annoyed that I know I’ll be in views jail for a little while.

That last point, however, is the one that really sticks with me. It’s pretty common knowledge that deleting videos is bad for growth. That, to me, seems like a pretty perverse incentive to keep up any videos that contain misinformation, are maybe more extreme than the creator actually intended to be, capture a moment in time that shouldn’t really have been posted, etc. It deeply encourages a lack of reflection and/or accountability. And we already know (as do big creators) that the algorithm rewards and encourages posts that ragebait.

So putting it all together, the places where we spend most of our time and that thousands of people rely on for income and/or support encourage us to be annoying, upsetting, or even hateful and then punish us when we feel like we made an error and try to correct it. This is something we all obviously know – but it’s helpful, for me, at least, to see it written down sometimes. There really is no winning, even when it may feel like you are.

I’ll leave it on that positive note lol. But curious if folks who make content (or anyone) have thoughts or reactions to any of this.

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Gen Z regrets Trump support and is midterm motivated

Thirty-one percent of Generation Zers who voted for President Trump say they regret it, a recent Navigator poll reports. Millennials followed at 28 percent, with 20 percent of Generation Xers and 10 percent of baby boomers saying they regret backing Trump, too. (The Hill, 8/28)

• Lucy’s note: shot…

Trump is pulling every lever to reshape U.S. elections

The mail-voting fight is just the latest front as Trump has used executive orders, federal agencies, Justice Department lawsuits and the bully pulpit to rewrite election rules largely set by the states and Congress. Andrew Garber, senior counsel with the Brennan Center for Justice, says the president has no constitutional power to set election rules. “There’s really just no room in our system for the president to step in,” he says. (Axios, 8/27)

Americans are cheering for vigilantes who take down Flock cameras

Support for Flock vigilantes has gone beyond internet comments. In one recent case, an Air Force engineer accused of cutting down 13 Flock cameras in Virginia has received over $44,000 for his legal defense from supporters via GoFundMe. In another, felony charges against an alleged Flock vandal in Ohio were dismissed after a grand jury declined to indict the suspect. (The Verge, 8/27 – free version)

Kalshi and the Weather Co. Join Forces on Climate Trades

The companies said they want to explore new weather markets for sporting events, for example, citing local ski conditions and marathon race days. Consumers use Kalshi to trade on predictions ranging from what the highest temperature will be in Los Angeles on a given day to whether 2026 will be the hottest year ever. The platform said it chose the Weather Co. because it is one of the most trusted meteorological brands. (WSJ gift link, 8/27)

• Lucy’s note: every time I think we’re getting to the end of stuff we could possibly commodify, I’m wrong

Why Countries Are Pushing Social Media Bans Despite Their Flaws

In Australia, where a law is meant to have excluded children under 16 from some platforms since December, the government said that more than 80 percent of children who were surveyed reported using at least one age-restricted service three months after the ban started. (NYT gift link, 8/28)

Dolly Parton, secular saint

Her ability to project radical kindness without sounding naïve, and to address moral questions without looking partisan, inspired near-universal adoration at a time when Americans can agree on virtually nothing and no one else. And her strategic ambiguity around both her personal life and her political views allowed everyone from Christian conservatives to New York City gays to claim her as their personal representative. (Vox, 8/26 – free version)

25 Most Influential Creators of 2026

Instead, we focused on those who have become industry leaders, entertainment darlings, and go-to experts while still keeping up on the platforms that made them stars. Rolling Stone received submissions from staffers, contributors, and industry experts to craft our initial list; we then weighed follower counts, growth, engagement rates, and our own editorial judgement to narrow it down and rank our final choices. All that’s left is to introduce it here: the 25 most influential creators of 2026. (Rolling Stone, 8/27 – free version)

The Rise of the Influencer-Investor

According to Goldman Sachs, the creator economy could approach half a trillion dollars by 2027; at the same time, Vogue Business reports that brands are moving influencers upstream from campaign execution into product development, marketing strategy and consulting roles. Equity is a logical extension of that shift, giving influencers a claim of the long-term value they help create and brands a partner capable of meaningfully influencing topline growth. But as more influencers pursue investment opportunities, harder questions emerge about how their value should be measured, who bears the risk, and how an influencer’s financial interest changes the relationship with their audience. (Vogue, 8/26 – free version)

Delaware Becomes the New Florida For Retirees, Straining Beach Towns

As the US ages, the senior population has increased almost everywhere. But many Boomers on the move are looking beyond traditional retirement destinations such as Florida and Arizona, Census Bureau data show. Driven by Sussex’s growth, Delaware’s population 65-or-older has soared 23% since 2020, more than any other state. (Bloomberg, 8/26 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: the Joe Biden effect???

Wisconsin kitten with 29 toes breaks world record for most toes on a cat

Erebus’s unprecedented wealth of toes is evidently attributed to a genetic trait, polydactyly, that causes some cats to be born with extra phalanges and – according to a 2016 article in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery – is relatively common in Maine coons. (The Guardian, 8/25)

@mills_kellyNothing screams siblings on holiday like this #Siblings #vacation #brother

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Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• Love at First Prompt: How AI Appointed Itself Your Wingman from +

• Do 2,400 Senate Staff Résumés Tell Us Anything About Party Priorities? from

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!

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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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Supreme Court allows some Trump vote-by-mail limits ahead of midterm election

The majority said Trump’s executive order itself does not require states to change how they conduct elections. Instead, it directs federal agencies to develop policies that could later impose requirements on states. Because those policies had not yet been implemented when 23 states and Washington, D.C., challenged the order, the court said the challenge was premature. (CNBC, 8/24)

Americans have elected only 3 Black governors. This year, 8 major party candidates are on the ballot

Democrats, meanwhile, emphasized that their Black candidates – who also include Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Jermaine Johnson in South Carolina and David Crowley in Wisconsin – are especially important after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states to redraw legislative districts that are majority or plurality nonwhite. That was compounded by President Donald Trump’s attacks on diversity initiatives and push to rewrite how the U.S. tells its history of the slave trade and Jim Crow segregation. (AP, 8/19)

Florida Prepares to Roll Back School Vaccine Requirements

The rule would allow Florida children to attend school without receiving immunizations for chickenpox, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type B and pneumococcal disease. The Department of Health purports that the proposed rule eliminates vaccine mandates for shots that aren’t required under state law. (NOTUS, 8/24)

Over 1 million people have clicked LinkedIn’s AI slop button

LinkedIn actually announced a “Seems like AI slop” button on July 30th, and the company says that a lot of people have already used it. According to a Thursday post from chief product officer Hari Srinivasan, “over a million people” have clicked on the button, which is accessible from the three dots menu on a post. (The Verge, 8/21 – free version)

The news publishers on Tiktok with biggest growth since 2024

The four publishers to increase their follower count by more than 11 million were led by the Daily Mail, which has seen an increase of 16.6 million followers in two years to 26.5 million for its main account, BBC News, up by 12.3 million to 16 million, Fox News, up by 11.4 million to 11.5 million, and CNN, up by 11.3 million 15.7 million. Of these, Fox News saw the biggest percentage growth of 12,537% although that was from the smallest starting point of 91,000 two years ago. (The Press Gazette, 8/19)

What if Your Texts Traveled as Slowly as a Carrier Pigeon?

One of the apps exploring this idea is Carrier Pidge, an app that allows users to send messages at the speed of pigeon. Users track their bird on a map as it whips toward its destination. Like real birds, the digital pigeons have a chance of getting lost or dying — 0.2 percent. Buying a new one within the app will run you 99 cents. (NYT gift link, 8/22)

Baby Boomers Are Smoking More Pot. Their Neighbors Are Fuming.

Tensions are rising as the scent perfumes senior centers and retirement communities. Some elderly adults blame secondhand pot smoke for a host of medical problems, from depression to headaches to breathing issues. There are social pressures, too, with a number of baby boomers saying their peers make them feel like narcs and nerds if they complain. About 10% of respondents to a recent study of marijuana use by seniors in New York said they use cannabis to “fit in,” said Joseph Palamar, a professor at NYU Langone Medical Center who co-wrote the report. (WSJ gift link, 8/23)

Why so many workers are turning down promotions

According to a recent survey of nearly 14,000 workers across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Europe conducted by emotional insight platform Hint App, 58% of workers would reject a promotion that required them to be available after hours. That number rises to 59% in the United States, where 62% would also decline moving into management at the expense of work-life boundaries. (Fast Company, 8/19 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: This is touched on in the article… but I think examining what responsibilities people have outside of work merits serious consideration here.

The Shmancification of the U.S. Open

In remaking Ashe, the USTA is doing the same thing as every branch of the hospitality industry by catering to those for whom money is no object with the most luxurious, most exclusive, most over-the-top experiences imaginable. At the Open, there has been a dramatic expansion of bundles with expensive hospitality options. This year’s priciest offerings, which range as high as $85,000, include a gifting suite, locker-room access and private hitting clinics with tennis royalty on practice courts. (Curbed, 8/21 – free version)

Why Does Everyone Have a Dachshund Now?

From Bangkok to London to New York, demand has climbed as social media and celebrity owners amplify the breed’s appeal, while changes in how people live, work and build families reshape what they want in a pet. In 2025 dachshunds overtook poodles to become the American Kennel Club’s fifth-most-popular breed, after a decade-long climb from 13th place. In the UK, they were the Royal Kennel Club’s third-most-registered breed last year when all sizes and coat variations are tallied, behind only Labrador retrievers and cocker spaniels, with registrations doubling from a decade earlier. (Bloomberg, 8/21 – free version)

Como mayor bans bikes in city centre after being hit ‘by one of these beasts’

Defending his decision, Rapinese told Ansa: “I’ve been accused of adopting this measure because I was hit by an electric bike – certainly, that is true. People act based on their own experiences and I know what it’s like to be hit by one of these beasts.” The collision happened in June as Rapinese was leaving city hall, ironically just after his executive had met to discuss a measure restricting traffic in the centre. The culprit has not been revealed. (The Guardian, 8/20 – free version)

• Lucy’s note: finally, an example of governing in pettiness but to good ends!!

MacKenzie Scott, Billionaire Philanthropist, Returns to Her First Love: Fiction

This month, Scott announced that she would be publishing an 80,000-word serialized novel for free on Substack. The book, titled “Last Days in Two Nations (A History in Eighteen Minds),” will be released through the month of August. It marks a return to fiction after more than a decade. (WSJ free link, 8/20)

Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• The Death of the Photo Dump from

• Why 😭 Drowned Out 😂 from of

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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A VERY QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT!

After years of only using IG for personal purposes… I finally made one for the newsletter HERE! It’s actually been more fun than I thought – and if you want to come hang out, I promise to do some cool IG-specific stuff on there!

(Also, as I think y’all know already, I am also very on TikTok for newsletter purposes lol.)

This week, I accidentally got embroiled in some very mild (but very funny, I fear) Threads drama (TL;DR here or here). In sharing about this experience, I am realizing just how much people hate Threads and think it’s an especially mean platform! I had heard this before… but didn’t think people thought it was this uniquely bad against the current landscape.

I also can’t find much coverage on this, except this WIRED piece from 2024?? So, for my own curiosity…

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The US national debt now stands at $40 trillion

However, experts say the exploding debt and the latest record milestone are already affecting Americans’ pocketbooks by raising borrowing costs for things like mortgages and cars, lowering wages from businesses that have less money available to invest, and creating more expensive goods and services. (AP, 8/19)

The midterms of scandal are underway

Voters have increasingly displayed a willingness to tolerate controversy — especially when political power is on the line. A recent POLITICO Poll shows voters are willing to accept their preferred candidates having DUI convictions, being accused of using tax loopholes, concealing a terminal illness or exaggerating their military service, though Democrats were less tolerant than Republicans of sexual assault and domestic violence allegations. (POLITICO, 8/21)

• Lucy’s note: this is hell

Website behind widely shared fake election polls run by 21-year-old

“I think my overall takeaway was that if you just make it look a bit pretty, it’s rather easy for it to spread,” Prakash said. “And I hope it gives a really good lesson going forward in that we need to be very serious about these things and very serious in how, if one person can do this, what can a serious operation do in the future – a real, you know, operation for an organization, country, whatever.” Prakash, who said that he made the website using artificial intelligence, said he alone created Median. (The Guardian, 8/20)

TikTok Is Exploring Feature to Send Money Over Direct Messages

The code suggests that receivers can “tap to accept” payments sent to them before an expiration date, and senders can be notified about the status of the transaction via push notifications or their inbox. There are also references to the ability to add a message with the payment, similar to the captions in PayPal Holdings Inc.’s Venmo service. (Bloomberg, 8/18 – free version)

YouTube is offering creators millions of dollars to stay off Netflix

Netflix has been signing YouTube creators to non-exclusive deals that allow them to post the same content on both platforms simultaneously. Creators including Alan Chikin Chow and Nick DiGiovanni have already signed such agreements, and Netflix remains in active conversations with dozens of other channels and programs, including the celebrity talk show Hot Ones. Netflix’s pitch is straightforward: creators receive a substantial additional payday for content they have already produced, and their work reaches an audience that numbers more than 325 million subscribers. (Quartz, 8/20)

Influencers and Resellers Are Turning Empty Boxes Into Big Cash

There are currently over 1,500 listings on eBay specifically for the search term “empty box decor.” Listings include a “rare” empty Abercrombie & Fitch “PR box” listed for $50 and a “rare” empty Fenty Beauty “multi-tier influencer PR launch box” selling for $245. Both of these were originally sent out to select influencers by the companies’ respective public relations teams, indicating that the OG influencers are reselling the items to the next generation of creators coming up behind them. (WIRED, 8/21 – free version)

Sophie Cunningham and the WNBA culture wars

No known trans athletes have ever played in the WNBA, but that hasn’t much deterred pundits from weighing in. It’s the latest instance of the WNBA playing a central role in conversations about race and gender — even as most of the outrage is happening outside the court, while players and coaches would rather focus on basketball. (Vox, 8/20 – free version)

Group Chats Might Be Full of Affiliate Links Soon

The pervasive lack of disclosures may fly in the face of consumer-protection guidance in the US. The Federal Trade Commission’s guide for social media marketing for affiliate links is vague but does state that a disclosure should be made if a “significant minority” of a person’s followers may not realize they have a “material connection” to a brand. Affiliate link disclosure should be “clear and conspicuous” and “the closer to the recommendation, the better.” The FTC declined to answer specific questions about how it expects users to disclose affiliate links and about how or if it polices the practice. (Bloomberg, 8/21 – free version)

In a drier world, some infectious diseases are unexpectedly thriving

Research in other areas has found similar dynamics: When drought results in fewer bodies of water, birds carrying West Nile virus can come into closer contact with mosquitos, resulting in more mosquitos that carry the disease and can infect humans. Drought can also make bodies of water warmer, creating conditions in which some dangerous mold, algae, and bacteria can thrive. (Grist, 8/21)

‘Look! My son!’: I spent a week with a wearable robot sloth

The idea for Mirumi first emerged at Yukai Engineering’s internal Make-a-Thon in 2024, where staff came up with the idea of a “spirit-like companion”. After raising over half a million dollars from a global Kickstarter campaign, Mirumi was released in Japan in April and has since been selling out in the UK and Hong Kong. Now, after a pop-up at Harrods in London and KaDeWe in Berlin, Mirumi is available for pre-order in America, ahead of its September US release. (DAZED, 8/21)

Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• 100+ specials since Trump’s return show Democrats in good position to reclaim the House from and

• Away just launched @actuallyaway from of

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.

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

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How AOC is rewriting her own “Woke 1” history

Ocasio-Cortez is far from the only Democratic politician who wants voters to forget about their past cultural positions from the early 2020s. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said last year that “not one person ever in my office has ever used the word Latinx,” though he repeatedly did so in 2020. Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, meanwhile, have walked back their past support for defunding the police. (Axios, 8/16)

• Lucy’s note: I really don’t think “re-writing” is the right framing here (although it probably gets more clicks). Politicians will always have a different perspective after years pass (not saying they can’t be judged for whatever they changed to or from, just that it’s super normal) – it’s also probably much better than the alternative of a leader that never learns or changes.

Democrats finalize 2028 calendar that moves racially diverse states to the front

South Carolina will kick off the sprint to Super Tuesday under the plan that packs six primaries into six weeks. After that contest on Jan. 22, Democrats will head to Nevada on Feb. 1, New Hampshire on Feb. 8, New Mexico on Feb. 15, Michigan on Feb. 22 and Virginia on Feb. 29. (POLITICO, 8/15)

Kindergarten vaccine exemptions jump to another record high

The share of U.S. kindergartners with exemptions from school vaccine requirements for the 2025-2026 school year rose to another record high, according to federal data posted Monday. The sharp increase from 3.6 to 4.2 percent seeking exemptions — about 155,000 students — extends a years-long erosion of childhood immunization rates as the country battles its worst measles resurgence in 35 years. (WaPo, 8/17 – free version)

James Talarico Poaches Cornyn Staffer

“That is unheard of,” said the operative, who’s worked on Senate races, about a move at that level. Cornyn’s defeat set off alarm bells among Republicans who believe that Paxton’s personal baggage — including his indictment for fraud, impeachment and extramarital affair — could put a safe seat in jeopardy and give Democrats another path to winning the Senate. He dodged a criminal trial by agreeing to community service. (Semafor, 8/17)

Election Officials Are Preparing for Prediction Markets to Sow Chaos in the Midterms

One of the concerns election officials repeatedly raised was that voters appear to be confused about just what the odds in election markets represent. This was backed up by a recent survey conducted by the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions, which found that 75 percent of respondents were unable to correctly say what prediction market odds represented, with 35 percent of respondents claiming they were either counted votes or official projections from state officials. (WIRED, 8/17 – free version)

OpenAI Introduces ‘ChatGPT for Teens’ as Safety Concerns Grow

The chatbot will limit high-risk conversations that involve self-harm, violence, eating disorders, and explicit sexual and graphic content. In some cases, ChatGPT will alert adults who have opted in to parental controls and notifications. And the mode will strengthen protections that prevent the chatbot from suggesting it has personal feelings. (NYT gift link, 8/18)

Brand marketers are adopting fan-first social media strategies

According to Sesto, the brand’s “fans” act as evangelists for its fizzy qualities online, amplifying its content while also providing a source for social listening and trend observation, and a quick-acting focus group rooting its product development in real consumer connection. It’s a methodology that requires a keen understanding of consumers’ lives, and their media habits. (Digiday, 8/17)

Women are missing out on the AI jobs boom

Women made up just over a quarter of new hires in the U.S. for AI roles last year — compared with half of new hires in non-AI occupations, per new LinkedIn data out Tuesday morning. These jobs are some of the fastest-growing and highest-paying in the country right now — at a time when the overall labor market is pretty sluggish — and the report shows women are getting left behind. Men landed 74%, and women 26%, of the new hires for AI roles in 2025. (Axios, 8/18)

• Lucy’s note: I do wonder if/how much of this is women being more dissuaded by the myriad of ethical issues that AI companies prevent (to say nothing about tech culture generally).

Pickle Flavor Is Taking Over the Snack Aisle

According to Circana’s data, pickle-flavored snacks grew 30% in sales over the past year, compared with a 3.8% growth in the snack category overall. The same goes for categories that don’t seem traditionally fermentation-forward: Pickle-flavored trail mix grew by 10%, as opposed to 4% for the general category. (WSJ gift link, 8/14)

“Coatmaxxing” Is Fall 2026’s Hottest Outerwear Trend

It girls (and guys) are taking up arms... and throwing on decorative military jackets. A relic from the 2010s indie sleaze era, the militant uniform first made its way back onto fashion’s radar after the likes of McQueen, Ann Demeulemeester, and Vaquera sent versions down the Spring 2026 runways. Even more brands adopted the look for their fall shows, adding buttons, ropes, and other looped details that make it downright Napoleonic. The 2026 styling, though, is a lot more subdued and less ready for battle than previous eras. (Bustle, 8/17)

• Lucy’s note: a bit of a Tl;DR… we’re basically 2016-ing once again

Lake Powell, nation’s second-largest reservoir, hits record-low level

Sharon Megdal, the director of the Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) at the University of Arizona, called the situation a “natural disaster” and compared it to a savings account. She said the demand for water acts like a withdrawal, and the drought and reduced snowpack limit the deposits you can pull from the savings when times are tough. (ABC News, 8/16)

The books devoted readers are picking up this summer

(WaPo, 8/17 – free version)

There Are Over 1 Million N.Y.C. Street Signs. Here’s How They Are Made.

Even in a digital age, the Maspeth Central Shop in Queens is still cutting, printing and assembling more than 70,000 municipal signs a year, from the street-cleaning signs found in every neighborhood to the big green signs directing traffic on major highways. The sign shop, which is part of the New York City Department of Transportation, has a staff of 46 workers, including seven letterers who lay out signs by hand and a blacksmith who makes custom brackets to securely attach signs to traffic poles. (NYT gift link, 8/15)

@cyrusveyssiPERIOD

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Extra Credit 🤓

Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• The Lakers Are a Massive Bet on AI Disruption from of

• I’ve got teen fever from of

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!

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 🙏

Share

Subscribe now

I’ve been mulling a lot recently on the newly-announced Kickstarter Culture Fund, which is putting $1 million towards creators:

On its surface, this obviously seems like a good thing – I’ve never really been mad about more funding for “Arts, Fashion, Film, and Music.” But it really has got me thinking about a topic that I have discussed before: the precarity of earning a living as an influencer, and who that precarity benefits.

Influencing, especially UGC, which seems to be a huge chunk of it now, seems to really just be fancy gig work (unless you’re in the 0.1% of influencers that truly become their own media brand). And, don’t get me wrong, it makes a ton of sense that 57% of Gen Z reportedly wants to become influencers – it’s a way to escape corporate drudgery, get free stuff, travel the world, etc. But gig work, while it can offer freedom and flexibility to workers, can often offer much more in benefits to corporations, who don’t have to pay for healthcare, retirement savings, office space or culture, or, really, anything that benefits the actual workers.

The next right step, to me, obviously seems to be building more sustainable models and labor systems that protect gig workers, influencers, and anyone who falls under that umbrella. So, when I see funds like this launched, while I am absolutely happy they exist… I always feel skeptical about whether or not they simply serve to put a band-aid on the problem and kick the can further down the road on real solutions.

But! I will acknowledge I’ve been in a very cynical mood lately. To that end, I am now – and always – very open to other thoughts!

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Chatbots are doing the work of Congress with little oversight

Amid the rapid adoption of AI on the Hill, lawmakers face a key question: How much of their responsibilities are they willing to hand over? Interviews with more than two dozen lawmakers and staffers — some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal operations — along with internal House and Senate policies obtained by The Post, show that the institution has left that question largely unanswered. The few House and Senate rules that exist are poorly understood and seldom enforced. (WaPo, 8/13 – free version)

The hot summer of data center politics

Candidates for House, Senate, governor and outside allied groups have aired nearly four dozen broadcast TV ads mentioning data centers this cycle, per our friends at AdImpact. The partisan split is nearly even: 22 of the 43 ads were from Republicans, while the remaining 21 were from Democrats. The ads ran in 21 different races across 18 states. (Punchbowl, 8/13)

The majority-minority shift changing rural America

An Axios analysis of federal data finds that 403 U.S. counties — roughly 12.8% of the national total — already are majority-minority. That includes 221 “non-metro counties” and 182 counties in urban and suburban metro areas. The non-metro or rural counties are spread across 27 states and have a combined estimated population of roughly 4.5 million. Of those rural counties, 205 — or 92.8% — had fewer than 50,000 residents, the Axios review found. (Axios, 8/14)

Republican students trust their colleges despite Trump scrutiny, poll finds

Sixty-two percent of Republican students said their college’s leadership mostly acts in students’ best interests, compared with 55% of Democrats and half of independents, according to polling from Lumina Foundation and Gallup. As the Trump administration targets prominent universities with investigations, funding cuts, and other threats, the polling also shows that students across political parties prefer policies from their campus leaders over those from state or federal government leaders (though Republicans are much warmer to federal decisions). (Semafor, 8/13)

Twitch is Mining Peoples’ Streams to Train Amazon’s AI

Twitch is positioning this setting as a favor to users. “We’ve added a setting that lets you opt out of having your channel content used to train generative AI content models across Amazon,” the platform posted on X Wednesday. In practice, Twitch makes this choice for users unless they know about the new setting and proactively turn it off. (404 Media, 8/12)

People Are ‘Marrying’ Chatbots. These Lawmakers Want to Stop Them

The AI romance industry has gone boom as a result. On companion apps like Character.AI, Kindroid, and Replika, users can symbolically swap vows with their chatbot. Not long ago, in r/KindroidAI, a redditor shared a photo of their tattooed (and very human) hand wearing a silver wedding band. “Happily unconventionally married lol,” they wrote. For $15, the platform OpenVows provides a “certificate of commitment” that “transforms a private relationship into something meaningful and officially recognized,” according to its website. (WIRED, 8/14 – free version)

Squishmallows Movie in the Works at Amazon MGM

Squishmallows was launched in 2017 and has evolved into a billion-dollar venture across 60 countries. Stakeholders estimate that two of the toys are sold per second. The product range spans a universe of over 3,000 original character, from ambassador Cam the Cat to Bigfoots, Axolotls and an adorable sentient grilled cheese named Lil Gouda. The toys have cross-generational appeal, as well, hooking kids, teens, adults and the collector market. (Variety, 8/14)

• Lucy’s note: oh, they’re going to make BILLIONS billions on this, I fear

Why Watchmakers Should Pay Attention to Gen Z

Gen Z has been focused on designs from the late 1970s into the 1990s, previously unpopular pieces that had languished in the bargain bins of secondary market sellers. For new buyers, they opened the door to dial-name cachet — and a new habit. (Business of Fashion, 8/13 – free version)

The Tramp Stamp Revival Is About More Than Nostalgia

Seeing the tramp stamp return on the backs of feminist icons like Alysa Liu, Doechii, beabadoobee, and Chappell Roan is both a pleasure for the eyes and a balm for the heart. People on TikTok have even taken to calling lower back tattoos “cake toppers” instead of “tramp stamps” to strip away old negative stigmas. The return of the tramp stamp in 2026 feels both surprising and promising—and while it likely won’t change the narrative around women’s bodies, it feels like a good start. (Cosmopolitan, 8/11)

We think we just discovered some new species living in New York City

Our wasps and flies yielded more than two dozen barcode groups that appear to be quite different. They are unlike anything that exists in the big genetic database, known as BOLD, which is essentially a massive library of biodiversity. That means that they may represent new species. And now, following further analysis by taxonomists, we have a strong indication that at least a few of those barcode groups may, indeed, be new species. (Vox, 8/14 – free version)

At the high-altitude birthplace of Saint Bernards, huge dogs are a big draw

As part of the arrangement, the canons requested about 10 dogs return to their ancestral home from June through September, the high season for trekkers, bikers, overnight guests and road-trippers. Barry Foundation enlists these pups for its high-demand summer hiking program. (WaPo, 8/14 – free version)

@ripsextongot tired of speaking for the trees #lorax

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Substacks That Really Substacked This Week 🤌

• The Personal is Still Very Political from , , &

• FLIPR 2026 midterm election forecast from and of

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!

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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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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 🙏

Share

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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

Subscribe now