barron trump's yerba mate brand

ALSO: Dems can't stop dropping the f-bomb, Gen Z gets angry about AI, the rise of women's sports bars, and more

Apr 10, 2026

Happy Friday, April 10th!

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.

REMINDER: the jobs corner is at the bottom of the newsletter! Today, we’ve got EMILYs List, the Office of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Way Creative Studio.

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 🙏

I returned to my FWIW roots today and made some charts! 👇

Here’s the main TL;DR one:

RFK Jr is launching a podcast to expose ‘lies’ that have made Americans sick

The show, titled “The Secretary Kennedy Podcast,” will launch next week and feature Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine crusader who has reshaped the country’s health policy, in conversation with doctors, scientists and agency staff, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials told the AP ahead of the launch. In the teaser video, in a slick HHS-branded studio with ominous music playing in the background, Kennedy bills it as a new way to expose corruption and lies that have made Americans sick. (AP, 4/8)

Lucy’s note: remember when we were all nervous about ancient diseases thawing out from melting ice caps and posing an immense danger to modern health… crazy that those pathogens really got usurped by RFK Jr.

Democrats are Sticking with Embattled ActBlue But Exploring Other Fundraising Options

For Democrats, there are only a handful of alternatives. Democratic political companies NGP VAN and Action Network feature robust fundraising platforms, and multiple people NOTUS spoke to mentioned GoodChange, Oath and Numero. All three offer fundraising services that are distinct from each other and ActBlue — they all have business models beyond being the payment processor that ActBlue is, and campaigns that use them often do so alongside ActBlue. (NOTUS, 4/10)

Online and on the Stump, Democrats Embrace a Four-Letter Word

Some officials say their embrace of coarse language is simply an authentic response to a moment when many Democratic voters are enraged by Mr. Trump, especially on the issue of aggressive immigration raids. But the widespread embrace of the F-word also comes as Democrats try to rebut claims that they have fallen out of touch with everyday people. (NYT gift link, 4/9)

Would You Buy Yerba Mate From Barron Trump?

According to documents filed in Florida in January, Barron is one of five directors of Sollos Yerba Mate, a company headquartered in Palm Beach a couple of blocks away from Mar-a-Lago. Per their LinkedIn pages, the brand’s founders, Spencer Bernstein and Stephen Hall, both attended Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach at the same time as Barron. (The Cut, 4/9 – free version)

Social Media Companies Are Looking for a New Name

Alphabet’s Google used the same line in the recent trial in California accusing YouTube and its contemporaries of knowingly addicting and harming kids and teens. Google’s attorney argued that YouTube isn’t social media, and when the company lost, it turned again to the idea, emphasizing that “this case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.” (It has also welcomed the description that YouTube is, simply, TV.) (Bloomberg, 4/8 – free version)

Gen Z’s love-hate relationship with AI

Gallup’s poll, conducted in February and March this year, found Gen Z’s feelings on AI have cooled significantly since last year. Only 18 percent said they were hopeful about the technology and 22 percent said they were excited, down from 27 percent and 36 percent, respectively. At the same time, anger is growing: 31 percent of respondents said they feel angry about AI, up from 22 percent last year. (The Verge, 4/10 – free version)

Lucy’s note: full Gallup read-out here

Today I learned what a social media bot farm looks like — and it made me delete my Reddit account (OPINION)

The camera then pans around the room to show the viewer tens of these towers, maybe over a hundred, all equipped in the same fashion. Perhaps 400,000 phones, all with at least one account and probably more when you factor in different sites, all humming and blinking and whirring to themselves, turning water and power into rage and engagement. (TechRadar, 4/9)

Gen Z’s biggest fear is laughable at first. But it’s quietly wreaking havoc on their lives.

A new Yahoo/YouGov poll demonstrates how this anxiety has shaped their lives in very real ways: More than half of adult Gen Z respondents said that they have avoided expressing themselves freely online for fear of coming across as cringe. It has also seeped into their lives beyond the internet: 55% say fear of cringe has prevented them from opening up to someone emotionally; large shares say that it has held them back romantically and prevented them from pursuing hobbies and seizing professional opportunities. (Yahoo News, 4/9)

Lucy’s note: new kelsey weekman (of okay zoomer) just dropped!! as an ancient Gen Z, I shared some of my earliest memories of cringe lol

Prosecutors Put Rap Lyrics on Trial. Maryland Is About to Shut It Down

That ruling set a dangerous precedent, particularly for rap and hip-hop artists in America, and prompted Variety to publish our January 2021 opinion piece. What we didn’t realize at the time was that the article would help spark a national movement — now a united front of influential academics, defense and civil rights attorneys, and prominent music industry advocacy organizations including Songwriters of North America, the Black Music Action Coalition, The Recording Academy, and more. (Rolling Stone, 4/10 – Google Doc version)

At Women’s Sports Bars, Female All-Stars and ‘Safer Vibes’

Women’s sports bars—which are often framed by proprietors as a passion project as much as a commercial enterprise—neatly meet that growing demand. Last March, an NBC News analysis found that the number of women’s sports bars in the US was on track to quadruple by the end of the year, increasing from six to around 24 across 16 US states. (SELF, 4/3)

‘The Housemaid’ author Freida McFadden reveals her real identity

McFadden, whose prolific output includes “The Housemaid” and other domestic thrillers, uses a pseudonym, wig and glasses to maintain her privacy in public. When she first began publishing, she lived a Hannah Montana-worthy double life as a doctor but kept the two personas separate. (USA Today, 4/8)

Why did childhood summers feel endless?

One of the more commonly cited explanations for why childhood summers feel endless deals with simple proportions: a year at age five represents a fifth of your entire life, while a year at age 50 is merely a fiftieth. Although Wittmann acknowledges the popularity of this theory, he questions whether an individual’s experience of time perception really lines up so neatly with the math. (Popular Science, 4/8)