☕ Candies crushed

Why we're not about to see more Joe Rogan-sized podcast deals... January 24, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [RAD Diversified]( Good morning. Today is National Compliment Day, which…isn’t a real holiday, but is an excuse to say something nice to someone today. But not all compliments are created equal. While procrastinating writing the newsletter, we discussed the best types of compliments you can get. A few we came up with: - When someone asks for your recipe at the potluck - When a high school friend’s parents remember your name (or pretty close) - “I see you’ve been flossing!”—your dentist Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. Reply with the compliments that give you an especially potent dopamine high. —Max Knoblauch, Sam Klebanov, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 11,364.41 +2.01% S&P 4,019.81 +1.19% Dow 33,629.56 +0.76% 10-Year 3.521% +4.1 bps Bitcoin $22,938.05 +1.03% Wayfair $59.33 +26.80% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Tech companies helped [boost the market]( again yesterday, as investors started to let themselves believe that the Fed might really start slowing down rate hikes soon. Wayfair’s stock soared after multiple analysts smiled on the online furniture seller in the wake of its layoff plans.  PODCASTS [Peak podcast may be behind us]( [Spotify ]( Hannah Minn The corporate podcasting boom may be ending, not with a too-long preamble before the guest, but a whimper. Spotify [announced]( yesterday that it will lay off about 600 employees, or 6% of its workforce, in the latest Big Tech recession hedge. The shakeup could signal a pivot in the company’s podcast strategy. Like most of the other major tech companies making cuts, Spotify cited overly ambitious pandemic growth as the primary cause, and CEO Daniel Ek took “full accountability.” Along with the layoffs, Ek announced a major departure from the audio streamer: Chief Content Officer Dawn Ostroff, who was the driving force behind the company’s $1+ billion podcasting arms race to sign deals with companies like Gimlet and high-profile talent like Barack and Michelle Obama, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and Joe Rogan. Although the layoffs don’t specifically target Spotify’s podcasting staff, the departure of Ostroff is yet another sign that the company is slowing down its full-steam-ahead approach to the space. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Spotify froze its US budget for new podcasts. The company also didn’t re-up its exclusive deal with Brené Brown, and back in October it pulled 11 originals from the platform. Overzealous for pods The podcast megadeals of the pandemic may have been premature—podcasting made up just 7% of total listening on Spotify in Q1 2022, the company said, despite the massive investment in tentpole shows. And the exclusive show model that makes popular shows available only to subscribers of a given streamer hasn’t proven wildly successful. The Gimlet and Parcast unions announced that making certain shows Spotify exclusives reduced their listenership by as much as 75% in some instances. Zoom out: Sirius XM and Amazon Music have also hit the brakes on pods, reducing signing offers and increasing their share of [advertising revenue](. On the whole, 2022 just wasn’t the best year to talk into a microphone. According to data compiled by Chartr, the number of new shows created last year dropped 80% from 2020.—MK �  �  �  TOGETHER WITH RAD DIVERSIFIED [REIT 101: Please take your seat]( [RAD Diversified]( First, a quick lesson. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) own real estate properties that generate income, equity, or both. There are public and private REITs, which trade on and off the stock market. And there are public, non-traded REITs. These aren’t traded on the stock market, but are SEC-qualified and regulated to give investors more transparency. Introducing [RAD Diversified]( and their flagship RADD REIT: - Stock price has grown 122.22% (as of Oct. 26, 2022) since October 2019 - Amassed over $100m in properties and offered 13% in distributions back to investors in 2022 The minimum investment is $1,000 and investors can redeem their shares 2x/year. Find out how the [RADD REIT]( can help build your wealth into a legacy. WORLD Tour de headlines [A person places flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the scene of a deadly mass shooting in Monterey Park, California] Another mass shooting in California leaves seven dead. In the second [mass shooting]( in the state in three days, seven people were killed yesterday in California’s Half Moon Bay. The victims were Chinese farmworkers, according to a local official, and 67-year-old Half Moon Bay resident Zhao Chunli was arrested in connection with the attack. The incident came as authorities continued to investigate the motives of the 72-year-old shooter who killed 11 people at a ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park during a Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday night before being disarmed by an employee at a second dance studio and dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Covid shots might get more like flu shots. The FDA released a proposal yesterday to streamline the [immunization schedule]( for Covid-19 that would treat the jab like your annual flu vaccine. As with the flu, a group of experts would meet yearly to determine which variants should be targeted, and then a once-a-year shot would be made available to the public. The agency is mulling the shift at a moment when only 15% of Americans who are eligible for the most recent Covid booster shot have gotten one. On Thursday an FDA committee will vote on whether to recommend the plan. ChatGPT passes one business school exam, gets billions in investment. Microsoft announced yesterday that it had made a “multiyear, multibillion dollar investment” [in OpenAI](, the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot whose latest [accomplishment]( is getting a grade in the B range on a Wharton Business School test. The Windows-maker—which recently laid off 10,000 humans and wants to use the AI to make Bing a real competitor to Google, among other things—didn’t give an exact figure for how much its sinking into the business, but earlier reports said it was looking to invest ~$10 billion on top of the $1 billion it already gave OpenAI in 2019. CRIME [A trial worthy of a true crime series begins]( [Alex Murdaugh on trial]( WFLA News Channel 8 A murder trial fit for a true crime podcast [began]( yesterday (those are still a thing, right?). Alex Murdaugh, a prominent lawyer and the scion of an important South Carolina legal dynasty, is accused of murdering his wife and son. The trial is happening in Walterboro, SC, a small city located in the jurisdiction where three generations of Murdaughs had served as prosecuting attorneys. Murdaugh’s alleged crime resume In 2021 Murdaugh’s wife and son were shot and killed at the family’s hunting property, and a year later prosecutors charged him with the crime. They contend he committed the double murder to win sympathy and divert attention from his shady financial dealings and legal troubles stemming from a fatal boating accident involving his son. Murdaugh maintains his innocence. But it doesn’t stop there: In total, Murdaugh is facing over 100 charges. Besides the alleged murders, he has also been accused of a litany of financial crimes, including: - A multimillion-dollar fraud scheme that siphoned money away from his family law firm and its clients - Diverting funds from the estate of his housekeeper who died at his home from a “trip and fall accident” - Insurance fraud related to an alleged attempt to have his cousin murder him so his older son, Buster, could claim a $10 million life insurance payout Looking forward: Murdaugh faces life behind bars if convicted of the murder charges.—SK �  �  �  MARKETING [Not The Onion: M&M’s pulls candy mascots over controversy]( [An M&M character standing in front of a retirement sign]( Illustration: Dianna “Mick” McDougall, Sources: M&M’S, Getty Images Layoffs are hitting the confectionary industry: M&M’s announced yesterday that it’s sending its colorful cast of candy characters into “[indefinite](” retirement. In [explaining]( why it cut its “spokescandies,” brand owner Mars didn’t point to a looming recession or hiring too many candy spokespeople during the pandemic. It appears these characters became too much of a PR headache for the company over criticism that they had lost their sex appeal. The backstory: Last year, M&M’s began to make changes to its candy spokespeople to be more “representative of the customer” and to keep up with cultural trends—for instance, by replacing the green M&M’s high heels with sneakers. To some right-wing commentators, these changes reflected the “woke” movement’s hijacking of American culture. Fox News host Tucker Carlson has been the most vocal critic of the M&M’s makeover, saying on his show last January that “M&M’s will not be satisfied until every last cartoon character is deeply unappealing and totally androgynous. Until the moment you wouldn’t want to have a drink with any one of them.” In its statement, a defeated-sounding M&M’s acknowledged “even a candy’s shoes can be polarizing.” It said it will replace its spokescandies with former SNL star Maya Rudolph.—NF �  �  �  TOGETHER WITH HUEL [Huel]( What’s eating you? Caught up in the busy day-to-day with no time to give your stomach some TLC? Well, workaholic, [Huel Black Edition]( is for you. A meal with 40g of plant-based protein, 27 essential vitamins and minerals, plenty of fiber and phytonutrients—served up in 30 seconds. Just add water + two scoops, then shake. [Get a free shaker + T-shirt with your first order](. GRAB BAG Key performance indicators [Homer Simpson at the gym]The Simpsons/20th Television via Giphy Stat: If you’ve been seeing even more spandex-clad people than usual lately, they might actually be going to work out rather than making dubious fashion choices. [Fitness studios]( are seeing 40% more foot traffic this January than in 2021, according to retail analytics firm Placer.ai. Still, gym traffic remains 3% below pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Quote: “There is some karma around 420 although I should question if that is good or bad karma at this point.” Elon Musk insisted in front of a jury yesterday that in his 2018 tweet saying he had funding secured to take Tesla private at [$420 a share](, the number was “not a joke” but instead a 20% premium over the stock price. Testifying as he defends himself against a lawsuit from shareholders who claim the tweet cost them money, the Tesla CEO maintained that any other association was mere coincidence. Still, it wouldn’t be the only time Musk sneaked an apparent marijuana joke into his business dealings: His offer to buy Twitter was for $54.20 per share. Read: The many ingenious ways people in prison use (forbidden) cell phones. ([The Marshall Project]() NEWS What else is brewing - [The FBI’s]( former head of counterintelligence in New York City was arrested yesterday and accused of violating sanctions against Russia to help an oligarch, accepting cash from a former foreign intelligence official, and laundering money. - [Poland]( said it will ask Germany for permission to send German-made tanks to Ukraine. - [The big banks]( behind Zelle are cooking up their own digital wallet to compete with Apple Pay and PayPal. - [Warren Buffett]( is not a fan of the plan to put streetcars in Omaha. - [Splash Mountain]( has closed for good in Florida, and Disney has begun to renovate the theme park attraction to transform it into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (the California ride will follow suit soon). BREW'S BETS Connecting the dots: See how corporate power is intertwined with this [interactive visualization]( of boardroom overlaps. Tiny, slimy models: If you’ve ever wondered what [snails living in a miniaturized human world]( would look like, this artist has you covered. Get ready for the future. Did you know that Microsoft is one of the world’s biggest solar buyers? Or that GM is developing computerized cars? Learn more by subscribing to [Emerging Tech Brew](—it’s free. Fit for you: Fitness isn’t one size fits all, which is why [Future]( offers personal training that revolves around you—complete with your own certified coach + a one-of-a-kind workout plan. [Get your first month for $19](.* *This is sponsored advertising content. GAMES The puzzle section Brew Mini: Neal solved this Mini in 43 seconds. Think you can beat him? [Give it a shot here](. Name those cities Can you identify the following North American metropolitan areas from the light they emit at night? [Satellite picture of North America at night] NASA AROUND THE BREW [Navigate the healthcare industry]( [Navigate the healthcare industry]( Telehealth, tripledemics, online pharmacies—the healthcare world is moving fast. Luckily Healthcare Brew, the [Brew for health industry pros](, is here to be your guide. Let’s face it: Most of us could use all the help we can get when it comes to Excel. Excel Dictionary will get you up to speed fast with the top Excel keyboard shortcuts and productivity hacks. [Get the course today](. Join CFO Brew for a [virtual event]( analyzing how finance departments can stay sane when unpredictable events impact supply chains. SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. 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