Zach Abdo

Not sure how to predict the success of Insta’s new “Instants” based on what everyone is doing rn with it — taking ugly ass selfies

In our Anti-Social Century (@DKThomp), I think it’s so smart what @myfirstmilpod and @ChrisWillx podcasts are doing The MFM pod decided to double down on just Shaan and Sam chatting, because the audience wanted to feel like part of the hang, as opposed to watching an interview Chris’ Modern Wisdom podcast started a 4-person format instead of only a 1:1 interview style As people keep searching to fill the void of IRL social interactions, I think podcasts that are able to nail this dynamic of adding a social element will have continue to have more success and command more loyalty from their audience

Pretty sure @itslittlemich easily creates the best ads out there as short form content

Money, from @a_m_mastroianni

It’s like the scene in Madagascar where the penguins finally make it to Antarctica. “Well, this sucks.”

What’s so odd is that, based on all the talk and hype I hear about cities like St. Louis and Detroit, you would’ve guessed that they increased in population

Like what @george__mack said on @ChrisWillx pod — there’s a strong case for optimism with technology

Add “mitochondrial” to the influencer buzz word bucket of meaninglessness

I wonder if this divide in views of journalists has to do with a few cultural idiosyncrasies — for example, Americans’ passion for freedom of speech, combined with the near total absence of “tall poppy” syndrome. Americans generally love feeling like they’re witnessing someone speak truth to power, and journalists still represent some of that, despite their declining popularity

I love how Sam Sulek has continued to lean more into his sense of whimsy over time

Goes without saying much of the evidence we have of people’s behavior during disasters is altruistic-leaning, contrary to famous works like Lord of the Flies

Well @Noahpinion on this front I wish you were wrong more often

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Curious what you think of this @money_cruncher

New newsletter: HOW THE 2020s BROKE OUR BRAINS It's the Tragic Twenties, and Americans can't stop feeling like hot garbage. - The UMich consumer sentiment survey is now at its lowest rate on record - The Fed's job satisfaction survey is at its lowest rate on record - Both the General Social Survey and the World Happiness Survey have found that happiness in the US plunged in 2020 and has since been mired at levels significantly below previous decades You shouldn't assume that your favorite pet issue is the main culprit here. Conservatives might point to cultural changes, like the decline of marriage and religiosity, but those have been going on for decades. The left might reach for wage inequality, but that has actually narrowed in the last six years. This can't even primarily be about phones, since what's most clear in the data set is something that changed this decade, not last decade. I spent a long time reading, talking to people, and doing my own research, and I think the most parsimonious explanation I can provide is this: The Pandemic Never Ended. This thesis has three parts. TPNE 1: The biological antagonist of COVID gave way to the economic antagonist of inflation, and after decades of coming to rely on lowflation and meager wage growth for low-income workers, price levels have increased 3x faster this decade than in the previous 40 years, and economists simply have to accept that inflation makes people angrier than it used to. This isn't even a strictly American phenomenon. Around the world, incumbents have lost power faster than any post-WWII period, as affordability concerns bludgeon their electorate. The few countries where happiness levels have increased in the western world in the last 6 years have had some of the lowest levels of inflation. TPNE 2: Institutions down, individualism up: The 2020s have seen trust plummet for practically every institution, along with growing distrust in strangers, and rising alone time and at-home time. At best, community offers a buffer in times of crisis. But today, the absence of community—and the triumph of a tech-enabled, hyper-introverted atomism—makes every crisis feel more existential and unsolvable. And that's a problem bc... TPNE 3: The 2020s have been the permacrisis crisis decade. It's really been one fucking thing after another, hasn't it? Pandemic, inflation, interest rates, Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, AI. Meanwhile, phones give us constant contact with both the scary news cycle and the panic-inducing fears and anxieties of the commentariat. Inflation makes today's life feel harder to live. The news cycle makes tomorrow's world scarier to live through. And the post-pandemic decline of institutions and acceleration of toxic individualism weakens our socio-emotional immune system to deal with all of it. TLDR: The pandemic never ended, and it's left us with the Tragic Twenties.

When @NatBullard pulls up to the convo

@danielcberk @thesamparr Congrats!!! You’ll crush

Big news: I am the new host of the Moneywise podcast. I met @thesamparr a couple years ago and started getting to know him after interviewing him on my own podcast. I love what he’s doing with Hampton and have a ton of respect for what he’s built across his different businesses over the years (The Hustle, My First Million, etc). Moneywise has the potential to be a top 10 podcast (I genuinely believe it), and I’m excited to play a part in that. Now I’m looking for $50M+ guests to come on the podcast who want to be radically transparent about their finances and personal spending. Moneywise divulges the spending habits and financial details of the world’s wealthiest individuals in a way you can’t possibly get anywhere else on the internet. The concept is amazing, but finding wealthy people who are willing to share all the tiny details about their money is way harder than you’d expect (go figure). When you do it right, it’s gold for both guest and listener. The average listener is a highly successful founder themselves, so guests often experience a lot of serendipity and network expansion from coming on the show. And in the event someone wants to share their details but remain anonymous— good news. They can! Some of the best performing episodes to date are from billionaires who changed their name and voice on air to remain entirely anonymous. If you know someone who might be a good fit to come on Moneywise, please connect us. And if you’re not already listening to the show, now’s a great time to start.

Very keen to know @zriboua ’s opinion on this 👀