this tent ain't big enough... or is it?
ALSO: Gen Z is saving PG-13 movies, you can hang up on spammers for your grandpa, micro-dreaming, and more
Happy ST. PATRICK’S 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.
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I feel like I’ve been seeing increasing discourse about what we on the Left cognitively do with all the former MAGA members who are deserting Trump in this new era of his chaos. These two articles are big ones that popped up for me this week:
The Women Leaving the New Right
Young women drawn to the cause in recent years for more traditional reasons — religious convictions, pro-life politics, a preference for conventional gender roles — are having a rude awakening of their own, finding that MAGA sexism is not the same as the old patriarchy. On the New Right, male licentiousness, violence, and domination are not only acceptable but valorized. (Intelligencer, 3/12 – free version)
Trump sold young voters on his vision. Many are having buyer’s remorse.
Those same influencers who helped Trump connect with young voters during the election are now using their platforms to criticize the war in Iran and reconsidering their actions in the election. Rogan, who endorsed Trump after his 2024 interview, on Tuesday called the Iran War “so insane” and said Trump had “betrayed” the Americans who supported him. (WaPo, 3/16 – free version)
“We Should Make It As Easy As Possible”: People Are Debating Whether Or Not To Accept Former Trump Supporters, And It’s Not Exactly Warm And Fuzzy
The Democracy Fund Voter Study Group identified five distinct types of Trump voters — American Preservationists (driven by racial and Christian identity), Staunch Conservatives, Anti-Elites, Free Marketeers, and the Disengaged — with fundamentally different motivations. A Free Marketeer voting on tax policy and an American Preservationist voting on white Christian identity have almost nothing in common, but they show up as the same data point. (Buzzfeed, 3/15)
This all has left me with a few major question: how big is our tent exactly? How far can someone go and still be redeemed? Do they need to apologize or, at least, acknowledge that they put their support behind a man who murders and cages innocent people (in addition to assaulting women, giving platforms to Nazis and other white supremacists, profiting off the destruction of nations, etc. etc. etc.) who was very much a known entity in 2024?
I truly don’t know my answers to this beyond the fact that I do believe in redemption generally… but I, for example, vehemently disagreed with the Dems who tried to argue that there was space in our tent for Elon Musk after he and Trump had their falling-out. So, I’m curious: what are your thoughts? Who, for you, can come on in – and under what circumstances?
Trump Admin to Receive $10 Billion From TikTok Deal
Those investors include Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi–based investor MGX. The group and its backers paid about $2.5 billion to the Treasury Department when the deal closed in January and are expected to make additional payments until the total reaches $10 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. (Newsweek, 3/14)
In Texas, an Unyielding Gun Culture Jumps Off YouTube and Into Politics
In this respect he is similar to many guntubers, whose work and influence are essential to understanding the new American gun culture. The popular hosts are often men with devout followings and sponsorships, whose channels are clearinghouses for information — trainings, history lessons, product reviews — and, secondarily, for politics. (NYT gift link, 3/15)
Meta and TikTok let harmful content rise after evidence outrage drove engagement, say whistleblowers
An engineer at Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, described how he had been told by senior management to allow more “borderline” harmful content - which includes misogyny and conspiracy theories - in user’s feeds to compete with TikTok. “They sort of told us that it’s because the stock price is down,” the engineer said. (BBC, 3/16 – free version)
Truecaller now lets you hang up on scammers — on behalf of your family
With this feature, the tech-savvy member of a family or friends group can become the admin of an up to five-member group. Once the other members join the group, the admin can get alerts about potentially fraudulent calls those members receive. If the admin believes that the call could harm the member, they can remotely end the call as well. (TechCrunch, 3/12)
Lucy’s note: this seems like it could be a really powerful tool given that in 2024, older Americans were scammed out of more than $2.4 billion – and also see below…
‘100 Video Calls Per Day’: Models Are Applying to Be the Face of AI Scams
The rise of AI models comes as cybercriminals are broadly adopting AI and using face-swapping as part of their online scamming. Typically, fraudsters will use fake personas to contact potential victims on social media or messaging platforms. They will often use stolen images of celebrities or attractive men or women to entice a person into talking to them. (WIRED, 3/16 – free version)
Can Gen Z Save Hollywood?
Last year, Gen Zers ranged in age from 13 to 28; this year, they will hold even more clout by occupying an even larger share of the two most coveted age brackets in the film business: 18-24 and 25-34. And with Zoomers now occupying the 13-17 age bracket, PG-rated movies are back and studios are reconsidering the hard-won knowledge that PG films repelled millennials when they were 13- to 17-years-old. Gen Zers don’t feel that way, helping to explain why four of last year’s top movies were all rated PG (Zootopia 2, Lilo & Stitch, A Minecraft Movie and How to Train Your Dragon). (The Hollywood Reporter, 3/11 – free version)
Why Is Gen Z Romanticizing the Nine-to-Five Job?
Part of the broader #romanticizemylife trend, these videos have skyrocketed in recent years, especially in a post-pandemic world where those making them are reassessing their relationships to office jobs. The structure of these videos, usually cut into different segments, emphasizes small daily rituals rather than the work itself. For these creators, filming lunch breaks, coffee runs, or even new desk setups becomes a way to reclaim sanity and control amidst the endless cacophony of Teams notifications. (Harper’s Bazaar, 3/10)
The Full-Contact Sport That Scares Parents: Signing Up for Summer Camp
Mothers in Facebook groups compare it to the “Hunger Games.” Lamenting the logistical nightmare, exorbitant costs and strain on working families, they offer tips and tricks for locking in sought-after sessions: Pay attention to countdown clocks. Log in on multiple devices. Assign one adult per child in need of programming. (WSJ open link, 3/13)
The Oscar was never really Timothée Chalamet’s to begin with
But here’s the thing: Chalamet’s comments about opera and ballet took off on March 5, the same day that Oscar voting closed. So, while it’s possible his overexposure didn’t sit right with some Academy voters, it’s very likely that many had already submitted their ballots and that his loss had nothing to do with the controversy at all. (Vox, 3/16 – free version)
Cognitive shuffling: The micro-dreaming game that helps you sleep
The technique involves thinking of a random, emotionally neutral word, for example, “cake”. You take the first letter of the word, in this case “C”, and think of as many items or objects as you can that begin with the same letter, such as “car,” “carrot” and “cottage” – visualising each item as you go. Once you can’t think of any more words beginning with C, you move on to the second letter. (BBC, 3/13)
Why the Swan Has Emerged As a Pervasive Motif in Fashion, Jewelry and Design
Situated next to mallard needlepoints and eBay-sourced duck brooches, it takes on a different valence, but doesn’t feel out of place. “[The swan] shows up in fairy tales, ballet, decorative arts, and mid-century kitsch. It can be high society or slightly ironic depending on the context,” Richie and Kasell add. She is beauty, she is grace; she is kitsch, she is camp. How’s that for range? (Town & Country, 3/15)
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Extra Credit 🤓
Some newsletters I thought were excellent recently:
“Against Campism” from Charles McBryde of Refuse Dystopia
I thought that this articulation of “inverted American exceptionalism” leading people down deeply problematic paths was the most coherent I’ve seen
“I Paid a Stranger $12 to Tell Me What Was Wrong With My Face.” from Ali Kriegsman of New Motives
That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Friday!
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Campaign Director, Abortion, The Hub Project
JD HERE, $105,000-125,000 per year
Policy Research and Writing Associate, 5 Calls Civic Action
JD HERE, $32,000-35,000 per year (for 20 hours a week)
Policy Advisor, Transportation and Parks, Office of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani
JD HERE, $135,000-145,000 per year (had to include for the NUMTOTs!)
Thank you for sharing my work and also this which I did NOT see in the news - holy shit: “An engineer at Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, described how he had been told by senior management to allow more “borderline” harmful content - which includes misogyny and conspiracy theories - in user’s feeds to compete with TikTok.”