bye bye bondi
ALSO: the womanosphere behind the manosphere, Claude apparently feels emotions (???), a Reece's family controversy, and more
Happy Friday, April 3rd! Hope you didn’t get fooled this week.
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 ParentsTogether – The Dads Initiative, Morning Brew, Catalist, and O2O Group.
ALSO want to do a super fun, super cool rapid interview for this newsletter like the one below??? 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, like probably everyone, had some thoughts on the collective rediscovery of JFK Jr.’s George magazine here 👇👇👇
IF YOU ONLY READ ONE LINE:
A record number of congressional lawmakers aren’t running for reelection in 2026. Here’s the list.
There are 39 retiring from public office with the rest running for a different office — 15 looking to become governor of their state, 16 looking to make the jump from House to Senate and one, Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, is looking to become his state’s attorney general. (NPR, 3/30)
Bondi out, Blanche in: what will a new justice department head mean for the Epstein investigation?
For Olivarius, Bondi’s firing portends more to image than accountability. “Bondi was fired not because of what she did as much as how she looked doing it. She had an impossible task to begin with, and she executed it with less panache and flashy belligerence than Trump would have liked,” she said. (The Guardian, 4/3)
Mamdani puts New York City government back on TikTok
The city will now allow agencies to start posting again on the short-form social media site as long as departments follow a set of security precautions, according to a memo from city cybersecurity officials provided by the mayor’s office. The prohibition was established by Eric Adams, Mamdani’s predecessor, in 2023 as the federal government and many U.S. states restricted the app from government-owned devices over concerns that its parent company, ByteDance, could share data with the Chinese government. (AP, 3/31)
Inside the OpenAI project where freelancers train ChatGPT on everything from farming to commercial flying
As AI gets smarter and more capable, data-labeling platforms have shifted from generalist work to increasingly specialized tasks that require field expertise or postgraduate degrees. According to Handshake’s website, expert taskers can be paid up to $500 per hour for contract work in job listings that were not explicitly tied to OpenAI. (Business Insider, 4/1 – free version)
Anthropic Says That Claude Contains Its Own Kind of Emotions
Anthropic’s findings may help ordinary users make sense of how chatbots actually work. When Claude says it is happy to see you, for example, a state inside the model that corresponds to “happiness” may be activated. And Claude may then be a little more inclined to say something cheery or put extra effort into vibe coding. (WIRED, 4/2)
Meta’s natural gas binge could power South Dakota
Last week, Meta announced it would fund seven natural gas power plants — on top of the three it had already committed to building — to support the $27 billion data center. When combined, the 10 power plants in Louisiana will generate around 7.5 gigawatts of electricity, slightly more than the capacity of the entire Mount Rushmore State. (TechCrunch, 4/1)
Nasa’s Artemis II rocket lifts off for historic moon mission
Their 10-day test flight, which will not land on the moon, is a mission packed with milestones. Two of the crew, Nasa’s Christina Koch and Victor Glover, will become respectively the first woman and first person of color to fly into cislunar space, the area between Earth’s orbit and the moon. (The Guardian, 4/1)
Lucy’s note: an article for anyone else who also suddenly wondered why we launch rockets from Florida
The Women Who Love the Manosphere
In the manosphere, a new-media universe where bro-friendly hosts like Von and Joe Rogan reign supreme, women fans represent an undertapped market. Podcasts increasingly run on advertising revenue, and women are the ultimate audience to reach, as they influence the bulk of household spending. (WSJ gift link, 4/1)
Emma Chamberlain Brings Her Cool-Girl Aesthetic to West Elm
In 2022, when AD featured the Los Angeles residence of Emma Chamberlain, the wildly popular internet phenom was already immersing herself in the world of home decor, gaining confidence and inspiration from her work with the interiors firm Proem. Always a quick study, Chamberlain has followed up that initial foray with a collection of furniture and decorative accessories for West Elm. (Architectural Digest, 3/30)
Lucy’s note: Casey Lewis is out with a good video explaining the Gen Z cultural implications here
Hershey says it will shift back to classic recipe for all Reese’s products after criticism
“How does The Hershey Co. continue to position Reese’s as its flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients (Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter) that built Reese’s trust in the first place?” Reese wrote in the letter, which he posted on his LinkedIn profile. (AP, 4/1)
World’s largest Cadbury Mini egg weighs as much as an emu
It took chocolatiers Claire Fielding, Dawn Jenks, and Donna Pitt two days to craft the giant egg entirely by hand. The 27.5-inch-tall, 121-pound egg weighs about as much as an emu. The Mega Mini Egg has a pastel pink sugar coating on its crisp shell and some subtle speckles on the surface. (Popular Science, 3/30)
Extra Credit 🤓
“If y’all are gonna keep talking about him, I’m going to tell you where he came from” from kelsey weekman of okay zoomer
Hint: “him” is everyone’s least fave looksmaxxer
That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Tuesday!
Have a job or opportunity (full-time, part-time, contract, or a secret fourth option) to share? SUBMIT IT HERE!
Showrunner / Sr. Producer, ParentsTogether – The Dads Initiative
JD HERE, $7,000-9,000 per month, contact: adam@parents-together.org
Social Media Manager, ParentsTogether – The Dads Initiative
JD HERE, $3,000-3,500 per month, contact: adam@parents-together.org
Associate Booking Producer, Morning Brew
JD HERE, $70,000-80,000 per year
Absentee & Early Vote Specialist, Catalist
JD HERE, $20 per hour
JD HERE, $6,000-8,000 per month, contact: info@o2ostrategy.org