Happy Friday, September 25th!
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 🙏
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 Rebecca Crosby and Noel Sims of Popular Information
It’s full of besties and smells like glue from Thom Bettridge for i-D
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!