from the chat: "fcc you"
ALSO: SO MANY people bought Meta AI glasses in 2025, six primary races to watch in 2026, Netflix is pulling a Barbie movie for Bridgerton, and more
Happy Tuesday, February 17th! It’s the Chinese New Year, ushering in the year of the Fire Horse, the “Ring of Fire” solar eclipse, and Mardi Gras – so take a leap, book your vacation, treat yourself, etc., because what a day!
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 🙏
Quick note: The wonderful Josh Klemons was kind enough to have me on his podcast, Hello Merge Tag, to chat about all things independent progressive media, digital strategy in 2026, etc., which you can listen to here!
Six congressional primaries that explain where the country is headed
This year’s election will be played at the margins. Given how many districts and states are safely in the hands of one party or the other, the vast majority of congressional races will effectively be over when a primary winner is crowned. Cook Political Report rates only 18 of 435 House races and four of the 35 Senate seats up this year as true toss-ups in November. (WaPo, 2/15 – free version)
Stephen Colbert Defies CBS, Says Network Banned Him From Interviewing James Talarico On ‘The Late Show’
New FCC guidance, though, signaled to those talk shows that they no longer should believe that they would fall under the so-called “bonafide news” exemption. Carr said that a determination on whether a show is exempt would come down to a number of factors, including whether there was a “partisan motivation” in featuring a political candidate as a guest. “If you’re fake news, you’re not going to qualify for the bona fide news exemption,” said Carr. (Deadline, 2/16 – free version)
Lucy’s note: possible silver lining, I bet the Talarico fundraising texts and emails about this are raising a whole lot
Americans spend less of their income on food than almost ever. Why doesn’t it feel that way?
The aggregate picture is not “Americans are blowing their paychecks on delivery apps.” It’s “Americans are tightening their belts on eating out because groceries got more expensive.” That’s a real affordability concern — but it’s a very different story than the one going viral on social media. (Vox, 2/16 – free version)
The art of the squeal
But in the last two years, a spate of X posts, Substack open letters, and public statements from prominent artificial intelligence researchers have created a new literary form — the AI resignation letter — with each addition becoming an event to be mined for meaning. Together, the canon of these letters — some of them apparently bound by non-disclosure agreements and other loyalties, legally compelled or not — tells us a lot about how some of the top people in AI see themselves and the trajectory of their industry. Overall, the image is bleak. (Business Insider, 2/16 – free version)
AI’s big biosecurity blind spot
Researchers from Johns Hopkins, Oxford, Stanford, Columbia and NYU are calling for guardrails on certain infectious disease datasets that could enable AI to design deadly viruses. Once high-risk biological data hits the open web, it can’t be recalled — and regulation won’t matter if the knowledge itself is already widely distributed. (Axios, 2/17)
Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica says it more than tripled Meta AI glasses sales in 2025
The French-Italian eyewear brand said it sold over 7 million AI glasses last year. That’s up from the 2 million that the company sold in 2023 and 2024 combined, according to its quarterly report last February. (CNBC, 2/11)
Mog, maxxing and the other manosphere lingo that has taken over social media
Derived from the manosphere acronym “AMOG,” or “Alpha Male of the Group,” to “mog” someone means to visibly outshine them: to have a sharper jawline, a better outfit, a stronger presence in a group photo, or more “rizz” (charisma). Whether it’s delivered as an insult or intended as praise, the message behind the word is always the same: achieving dominance over someone else. (MSNBC, 2/16)
Live Your Bridgerton Dream with These Must-Haves Fit for Royalty
While you’ll have to wait until Feb. 26 for Part 2’s premiere, you don’t have to delay adding a generous helping of Bridgerton to your world. Netflix and Shondaland have partnered on a vast array of fashion, beauty, food, and lifestyle collaborations so you can live out your Bridgerton fantasy all year long. (Tudum/Netflix, 2/12)
Lucy’s note: This is just a massive list of all the activations and collabs that Netflix is doing around the new Bridgerton season – which I very much see as further proof that the Barbie movie marketing did change things in the longterm
Robots and Draco Malfoy: How China is celebrating the Year of the Horse
In the grand Chinese tradition of Spring Festival wordplay, another unlikely mascot has also emerged: the “Harry Potter” character Draco Malfoy. Some households are decorating their doors with pictures of a smirking Malfoy — played by English actor Tom Felton — because of the auspicious Chinese translation of his character’s name, “ma er fu,” which contains the words for “horse” and “fortune.” (NBC News, 2/15)
In the video game News Tower, as in real life, running a newspaper isn’t easy
As my paper grew, the perception of my paper became more and more important. In a slight twist from the left-right politics of the real world,I could choose to chase stories that would make readers think of it as informational (the game’s “left”), sensational (“right”), or a moderate middle. A story about a new scientific discovery for example, nudged the perception left, while a story about a spate of murders moved it to the right. (Nieman Lab, 2/12)
Constant Sexual Aggression Drives Female Tortoises to Walk Off Cliffs
This uninhabited island in a country that once was part of Yugoslavia is crawling with around 1,000 Hermann’s tortoises — especially males. They pursue mates aggressively, making life unhealthy and short for the island’s scarce females. (NYT gift link, 2/14)
Lucy’s note: what in the HELL?? and they published this on VALENTINE’S DAY
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Extra Credit 🤓
Some newsletters I thought were excellent recently:
“It’s Chinese New Year” from International Intrigue (just recommend them in general for anyone who, like me, focuses a lot on domestic current events and has a harder time staying informed on international events)
“What Will American Men Be After the ICE Age?” from Equimundo
That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Friday!
Thank you so much for the shoutout!! Huge fan of your Substack!!