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3 big takeaways from Pope Leo's letter on AI
In "Magnifica humanitas," Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, he warned about job losses, Big Tech's grip on AI, and had a message for developers.
What Norway’s dominance at the Winter Olympics can teach us about youth sports
The country’s focus for young people on ‘the joy of sport’ leads to much higher participation rates – and lots of Olympic gold Barry Finegold, CommonWealth Beacon EVERY CYCLE OF the Winter Olympics brings a familiar but uncomfortable storyline: The United States, with its vast population, enormous resources, and deep
Samsung TV Plus to Stream Monthly SM Entertainment K-Pop Concerts
Samsung TV Plus is expanding its collaboration with SM Entertainment to bring monthly K-Pop concert broadcasts to Samsung TVs and compatible devices
BUSINESS MONDAY: Spotlight on Hillsdale Workshop Alliance
The collective's Sixth Annual Hillsdale Workshop Experience Weekend is back by popular demand—and happening at various venues from May 30 to 31.
Silicon Valley takes its AI pitch to Pope Leo
As Leo XIV prepares his first encyclical, tech firms and Western diplomats have worked to make their case for AI inside the Vatican.
Golf ball-sized octopus discovered near the Galápagos Islands
‘Microeledone galapagensis’ lives at a depth of about 5,800 feet.
Kings, popes and the power to impress in a political world
When a powerful leader won't give his elected counterparts from other nations their due, sometimes it pays to pull out the pageantry.
It’s ‘Going Down Baby’ as Nelly rides with Hard Rock Sept. 18
With more than two decades of shaping the sound of modern hip-hop while crossing into country, pop and beyond, three-time Grammy-winning artist Nelly is taking a ride from “St. Louie”
How to avoid garbage news on Google Search
'Preferred sources' ensures you're seeing the news outlets you want to see.
Flavored Vapes Are Becoming More Readily Available. How Safe Are They?
Recent FDA moves reverse a longstanding crackdown on fruit-flavored e-cigarette pods, popular among teens.
Your Brain Restricts Full Access to Reality. But Scientists Found a Way to Turn Off the Filter.
Could they be the key to unlocking higher consciousness?
Across the globe, female politicians are increasingly being targeted...
Across the globe, female politicians are increasingly being targeted with sexualized AI-generated content. For women in politics, sexualized deepfakes have become a tool for humiliation,...
A Democratic populist tries a comeback in a red state
Sherrod Brown, a lifelong politician, is trying to pull off a “change” message and reclaim a Senate seat in Ohio, which has trended increasingly conservative.
AI hallucinations are infiltrating expert work—and entering the permanent body of knowledge
Academic papers, popular books, and legal decisions are peppered with AI mistakes that are getting harder to clean up.
New Mexico health officials offer resources to educate people about heat stroke
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico health officials are reaching out to New Mexicans about how to help someone experiencing heat stroke, especially some of the most vulnerable populations. “Data …
AI scans 400,000 Reddit posts and finds hidden Ozempic side effects
By analyzing over 400,000 Reddit posts, researchers discovered that users of popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs frequently discussed unexpected symptoms like menstrual irregularities, chills, and hot flashes. The findings suggest AI could turn social media into a powerful early-warning system for spotting side effects that clinical trials may miss.
New box jellyfish name warns of ‘death from behind’
'Chironex blakangmati' lives in the ocean waters near Singapore.
The boat-billed heron looks fake but is very real
Their beautiful bulky bills are perfect for scooping up dinner.
Dear Abby | Delightful friend's 'wonderful' pup is no longer welcome
Dear Abby: A friend of mine calls first or pops by every few months. She's generous and brings homemade treats, something she has found at the grocer's or flowers from
10 images of Iceland’s changing landscape
A new documentary uses archival photos to tell the story of the land of fire and ice.
In a Groundbreaking First, Scientists Found a Way to Unlock Your Long-Lost Childhood Memories
It turns out that your body may remember more than your mind, researchers say
In a Groundbreaking First, Scientists Found a Way to Unlock Your Long-Lost Childhood Memories
It turns out that your body may remember more than your mind, researchers say
Scientists warn popular vitamin D supplement may have a “previously unknown” downside
A surprising study suggests vitamin D2 supplements may reduce the body’s levels of vitamin D3 — the more effective form of vitamin D. Researchers found D3 not only boosts vitamin D status more efficiently, but may also play a unique role in helping the immune system fight off viruses and bacteria. The discovery is prompting scientists to rethink whether D3 should become the preferred choice for supplementation.
Bond breakout? Big effects of bad data. Immigration and thermostatic politics & dad-chat is coming for dad-books.
Thank you for opening your Chartbook email. Anna Airy, A Shell Forge at a National Projectile Factory, Hackney Marshes, London, 1918 Bond breakout - John Authers Across the developed markets, bond markets are staging a slow-motion car wreck. Looking at the drastic moves in the US, Japan, the UK and France, Barclays’ Ajay Rajadhyaksha commented: “Last week, long bonds broke. Not in one country. In all of them. Simultaneously. Four countries. Four different political systems. Four different central banks. But the same trade — “get me out of duration!”” Each country has its own contributing political problems, but the uniformity of the shift out of long-term bonds with high duration makes clear that something broader is afoot. For Rajadhyaksha, it is “simple and uncomfortable.” The developed world “has too much debt, too little fiscal discipline, and no political appetite for fixing either.” If there’s a trigger, it has been the Iran war and the resulting shock to oil supply. Source: Bloomberg G7 countries are now borrowing at rates that were enjoyed by EM in the early 2020s For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Trade between China and Russia has grown in recent years For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Big effects of bad data A decade ago nearly nine in ten Americans, when approached, agreed to fill out the Current Population Survey, which is administered to about 60,000 households each month and asks about, among other things, employment. Fewer than seven in ten do so now (see chart 1). For the Consumer Expenditure Survey, which tries to capture 3,700 households monthly, the response rate is down from 68% to 40%. … When the information becomes less reliable, investment decisions get more difficult to make. Some may be delayed, creating a potential drag on the economy. A new working paper by Nicholas Bloom of Stanford University, Erica Groshen, former head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) now at Cornell University, and Duncan Hobbs and Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank, hazards an estimate. Preserving trust in “the integrity and quality of official statistics”, the authors claim, generates economic benefits of about $25 for every $1 spent on the BLS, the agency with an annual budget of $700m that is responsible for many of these data. To arrive at their conclusion the quartet analysed an ignoble episode in the BLS’s recent history. On August 1st 2025 Donald Trump sacked Erika McEntarfer, appointed as the agency’s commissioner by his predecessor, Joe Biden. The president alleged, without evidence, that the BLS’s steep downward revision to recent jobs numbers had been “RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad”. In fact, it was the wanton dismissal that looked bad in the eyes of many observers. In the following seven days there was a 50% leap, relative to the week before, in the average value of the index of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU), which tracks the number of articles mentioning such uncertainty that are published daily in American newspapers. This was a discernible jump even when compared to the chaos caused by Mr Trump’s trade war in April 2025 and his real one in Iran in the past two months (see chart 2). Based on Mr Bloom’s earlier study with other colleagues of the EPU’s impact on business investment, industrial production and employment, the authors estimate that the jump reduced American GDP by over $100bn (0.3%) and non-farm payrolls by 168,000 (0.1%). Source: The Economist Immigration and thermostatic politics (Sarah O’Connor in the FT) A strange thing happened a year and a half ago. No sooner had Americans elected Donald Trump as president on an explicitly anti-immigration platform than US public opinion began to swing much more favourably towards immigration. … to political scientists who study “thermostatic” politics, this development is no surprise at all. Public opinion often moves against the prevailing party, especially if they are perceived to have gone “too far” in one direction. The phenomenon was first explored in the 1990s with reference to fiscal policy, but in recent years it has been particularly evident in the realm of immigration policy. While these swings in opinion polls can make it seem as if people don’t know their own minds, they can be a useful democratic check on governments by sending bright flashing warning lights when policies stray too far from the public’s comfort zone. The problem comes when politicians misinterpret those signals. When people tell pollsters they want less immigration, or think it is bad for the country overall (or the converse), they are often expressing an opinion about how things appear to be going in that moment relative to their preferences, rather than a deep shift in their underlying views. According to Alexander Kustov, a political scientist, most Americans’ views are quite stable and moderate: they support immigration that is controlled and in the national interest, and oppose flows that are disorderly or under-enforced. In the US, he argues the Trump administration over-interpreted dissatisfaction with high immigration under Joe Biden, and implemented policies that went too far for many voters. “People don’t necessarily change their idea about their ideal immigration policy, but they can react to what the government is currently doing,” he told me. “A lot of people are not happy with what the Trump administration are doing — right now we’re not talking about border enforcement, we’re talking about people not just getting harassed, but killed.” But similarly, he added, pro-immigration advocates would be making a mistake to interpret the recent, more favourable swing towards immigration as a deep-seated ideological shift in attitudes. The recent history of UK immigration policy offers another cautionary tale. After the 2016 Brexit referendum, public concern about immigration fell. This was partly because net migration statistics declined, but also because people felt a sense of catharsis and control, says Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, a think-tank. By 2019, the public ranked immigration as only the ninth biggest issue of concern, according to Ipsos polling. But when the Conservative government liberalised visa routes for students and care workers between 2019 and 2022, that helped net migration to surge. And so, too, did public concern. Today’s Labour government has implemented another sharply restrictive turn in immigration policy. As Kustov and researcher Caitlyn Yates argue, thermostatic public opinion should be a useful check on politicians. Instead it seems to have helped to magnify the pendulum swing in the UK. The government over-interprets and overreacts to a change in public opinion, which reacts in turn, prompting a sudden swing the other way. Source: Financial Times HEY READERS, THANK YOU for opening the Chartbook email. I hope it brightens your day. I enjoy putting out the newsletter, but tbh, what keeps this flow going is the generosity of those readers who clicked the subscription button. If you are persuaded to click, please consider the annual subscription of $50. It is both better value for you and a much better deal for me, as it involves only one credit card charge. Why feed the payments companies if we don’t have to. Subscribe Anna Airy, Shop for Machining 15-Inch Shells: Singer Manufacturing Company, Clydebank, Glasgow, 1918 Racing for a vaccine … we have been here before! The deadly Ebola outbreak in two African countries driven by a virus species with no vaccine has triggered an urgent search for a potential jab, in a test of troubled global efforts to avert threats posed by emerging diseases. A World Health Organization advisory group is due to would meet on Tuesday to recommend candidate jabs to prioritise for clinical trials, the global health body said. It will assess data including an analysis by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), which was set up after failures in the international response to a previous Ebola crisis. The latest Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has infected hundreds of people and killed more than 80, health authorities say. Cepi’s reaction will be a crucial indicator of its progress towards its wider goal of producing vaccines for pandemic threats in just 100 days, despite steep cuts to international health funding. “If there was ever a time that we could show the world why Cepi is needed and show the world why the 100-day mission is needed, it’s now,” Nicole Lurie, the organisation’s executive director for preparedness and response, told the FT. “We’re happy to accept that responsibility, but obviously we need help from partners — particularly financial help in the long run.” DR Congo and Uganda would make the final decision on whether to press ahead with any vaccine candidates endorsed for clinical trials by the WHO experts, the global health body said. “Other ethical and community acceptability issues will be considered,” said the WHO, which declared the latest outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday. “This will be important to make sure that the trial, if it happens, will be adequately communicated to the population.” Lurie said Cepi had provided information from a survey of research teams and companies working on drugs that might be effective against the Bundibugyo virus behind the outbreak. The organisation hoped soon to announce partners in the quest for a jab, she added, although she declined to give a timescale for when one might be developed. Cepi’s Nicole Laurie said global health bodies were ‘getting some live-fire drills’ with hantavirus and the latest Ebola outbreak. The hunt for a vaccine should be helped by scientific advances including the use of artificial intelligence to find drugs active against viruses, Lurie said. Existing jabs against the Zaire Ebola virus responsible for many previous outbreaks might provide a basis for tackling the Bundibugyo species, she added. “We’ll see how far and how fast we can get,” Lurie said, adding that Cepi had done preliminary work recently on a possible jab for the rat-borne hantavirus responsible for a recent fatal outbreak on a cruise ship. “Both with hantavirus and now with Ebola, [we] are getting some live-fire drills.” Source: Michael Peel in the Financial Times Dad-chat is coming for dad-books. (By Pamela Paul and Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg in the WSJ) They were the go-to gifts for Father’s Day: a book about some little-known chapter of World War II, the sweeping narrative of a shipwreck, perhaps the latest presidential biography. These days, dad books are a dying breed. Nonfiction book sales have been in decline for the past four years, and are now the most challenged segment of the print book market. Publishers say certain types of books still fare well—including celebrity memoirs and religious titles. But in recent years, print sales in such categories as biography, current affairs and business and economics—what publishers refer to as “serious nonfiction” and which tend to resonate especially with men—have fallen considerably. Sales of nonfiction print titles were down nearly 8% through May 9 this year, and sales of books about politics and current affairs were down 19%, according to book tracker Circana BookScan. Publishing has long been subject to cyclical changes, with trends in format and genre taking over bookshelves in grand sweeps. (Remember the adult coloring-book craze? Or the stratospheric rise of romantasy?) But many in publishing believe the decline in serious nonfiction is more existential. “The trend couldn’t be clearer,” said Jonathan Karp, the former chief executive of Simon & Schuster and publisher of the new Simon Six imprint. “This is a sea change and people should wake up and realize we’re living in a new world.” One culprit for the shift: a new media diet for fans of more serious nonfiction. … Sixty-two percent of men and 54% of women consumed a podcast in the prior month, according to a recent survey by Edison Research at SSRS, up from 46% and 39%, respectively, in 2023. “When we have internal meetings to talk about this problem, it always comes around to podcasts,” said Jonathan Burnham, president and publisher of the Harper Group at HarperCollins Publishers. “The man who wants to read American history is now tuning into one of the many good podcasts about history that lends the quiet attention to a serious subject he’s looking for. It makes the idea of sitting down with a 700-page Ron Chernow book less appealing. You’ve scratched that itch.” Source: Wall Street Journal Remarkable report by Novara from the nationalist rally in London in mid May. Anna Airy, Leopard Moth and Plums, 1915 If you’ve scrolled this far, you know you want to click: Subscribe
Poppi's cofounders on building $2 billion business, navigating wealth
Allison and Stephen Ellsworth took big risks and made sacrifices to build Poppi. They're determined not to let their wealth spoil their children.
FINN Partners and WifOR Institute Launch Global Initiative to Show Health Spending as an Economic Investment
For decades, ministries of health, finance leaders and policymakers have needed to defend health spending as a necessary cost to be managed. FINN Partners and WifOR Institute believe this framing is fundamentally outdated and increasingly harmful to public health in a world confronting aging populations, workforce shortages, rising chronic disease and widening health inequities.
Cardinal Michael Czerny on Pope Leo's first year as pontiff, politics and the church
The unexpected science hiding in Dante’s ‘Inferno’
The poem appears to have geophysics and geology that was not understood in medieval times.
World Health Assembly endorses resolution on precision medicine
At the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly, Member States endorsed a new resolution on Precision medicine: a path towards targeted, personalized and equitable care, taking an important step towards advancing precision medicine as part of efforts to strengthen equitable, effective and sustainable health systems. Precision medicine refers to the use of clinical, molecular, genomic and other health data to inform prevention, diagnosis and treatment, taking into account variability while applying appropriate ethical and legal safeguards. When integrated responsibly into health systems, precision approaches can improve outcomes across different disease areas and across the life course – from cancer and rare diseases to infectious diseases, maternal, newborn and child health, mental health and noncommunicable diseases. The resolution reflects rapid advances in genomics, diagnostics, data science and digital health, alongside widening global inequities in access to these innovations. Many populations – particularly in low- and middle-income countries – remain underrepresented in data and research, limiting the public health impact of precision medicine and risking the widening of health disparities if action is not taken now. "Precision medicine is not an aspirational idea for health delivery in the future – it is already transforming lives across the world. But its benefits remain out of reach for too many and the research driving progress is concentrated in high income countries. This WHA resolution gives global health leaders, ministries of health, and WHO a clear mandate: to act. From infant screening to setting up genomic databases WHO will work with countries to bring about the power of these innovations." Dr Meg Doherty, Director Science for HealthThrough the resolution, Member States commit to developing and strengthening national policies, infrastructure, workforce capacity and governance frameworks to support the safe, ethical and equitable integration of precision medicine into health systems, aligned with universal health coverage. This includes promoting affordability, ensuring inclusive research and data systems, strengthening regulation and data governance, and fostering collaboration across sectors and regions.WHO is requested to provide technical and normative support, review and coordinate existing guidance, facilitate global and regional collaboration, and develop a Global Strategy on Precision Medicine to guide equitable and context‑appropriate implementation. WHO stands ready to support Member States through tools such as a country maturity model for countries to self-assess capacity in implementing precision medicine depending on their context. In the immediate term WHO will map all existing guidance and frameworks and host extensive consultations with interest holders globally.By placing equity, inclusion and public value at the centre of precision medicine, the resolution reinforces WHO’s commitment to ensuring that scientific advances benefit all people, everywhere, and that no one is left behind in the next era of health innovation."By uniting people-centered healthcare with innovation, precision medicine has the potential to transform lives. This resolution helps ensure those advances serve the shared goal of health for all." Dr Sylvie Briand, Chief Scientist For further information please visit the Health Topic: Genomics
YouTube's Theorist launches new app to turn fans into paying members
Theorist, the company behind pop-culture channels like The Game Theorists, is launching a membership program to diversify away from YouTube.
A Simple Chore Could Help Calm Your Mind, And It's Popular With Zen Monks
"It can start to function more like a mindfulness exercise."
Inaugural K-Entertainment Summit Shares K-Pop Business Strategies, Insights
Industry insiders from Universal Music, HYBE, Disney, AEG and more gathered at CJ ENM's first K-Entertainment Summit to discuss the Korean entertainment business.
Inaugural K-Entertainment Summit Shares K-Pop Business Strategies, Insights
Industry insiders from Universal Music, HYBE, Disney, AEG and more gathered at CJ ENM's first K-Entertainment Summit to discuss the Korean entertainment business.
Popular weight loss drugs like Wegovy may also target arthritis inflammation
Researchers have discovered that the GLP-1 hormone targeted by drugs like Wegovy is present in very low amounts inside the joints of arthritis patients. That finding suggests high-dose GLP-1 medications could potentially reach the joints and influence inflammation directly, not just help through weight loss. Scientists say this could open the door to a completely new approach to arthritis treatment.
Department of Population and Public Health Sciences 2025–2026 Annual Report highlights innovation, discovery and community impact
Related News PhD student Angel Arizpe receives grant to study the implications of substance use among Hispanic cancer survivors May 24, 2024 Alumni Spotlight: Meet Iona Cheng, PhD, MPH, building […]
Popular Weight Loss Drugs May Have Surprising Side Effect: Stalling Cancer
A suite of new studies suggest drugs such as Ozempic and Zepbound might slow tumor progression and improve survival, but more research is needed to confirm the findings.
Something Good: Tallahassee business surprised with brand-new pressure washer after recent theft
Hill Top Country Store is a popular stop for locals and travelers along U-90 is thankful for a gift from a community member after a recent theft.
Mob Entertainment Expands ‘Poppy Playtime’ into Food & Beverage
Following a successful Tokyo café activation, Mob is opening new opportunities for licensees across FMCG and themed food experiences.
Surprising lessons for democracy from the Latin American left
Polarization is often created by political elites aiming to gain popularity, but it can also be caused by social conflicts rooted in extreme inequalities, according to a new book about Latin America politics co-authored by two Cornell professors.
RWJBarnabas Health Launches NJ’s First Ever Street Medicine Program to Serve Unhoused Population, Deliver Critical Care and Lowe
RWJBarnabas Health today launched New Jersey’s first Street Medicine Program at Trinitas Regional Medical Center (TRMC) to bring essential care and services directly to unhoused individuals across the City of Elizabeth with the goal of expanding to other areas in the state to improve access to care among a particularly vulnerable population.
Big science and uncanny prescience: Laurie Anderson’s greatest songs
Forty years since her pioneering concert film Home of the Brave, and ahead of a European tour, we count down the best of a surprisingly poppy avant garde catalogue
The Great Pyramid of Giza is surprisingly earthquake-proof
Seismologists found yet another benefit to ancient Egyptian engineering.
Cyprus: YouTuber takes direct democracy push to polls
Cypriot YouTuber and MEP Fidias Panayiotou wants to disrupt his country's political system. His digital-first Direct Democracy movement is seen by some as democratic renewal, by others as social media populism.
Scientists Think They Just Accidentally Proved String Theory
A new study just added an interesting twist to the complicated history of the physics theory.
New Flipper One Multi-Tool Computer Is Official, Built for Tinkerers
This doesn't replace the popular Flipper Zero. The One sits alongside it with advanced connectivity options.
These Popular Supplements Are Sold With Anti-Aging Claims. Here's What Science Says.
Experts explain what they can and can't do.
Oxford Population Health: Global study of HIV variants underscores challenges for vaccine development
The largest-ever study mapping genetic variants of HIV-1 around the world shows the regional distribution of different subtypes of the virus continues to evolve.
Where do citizen science data come from?
Citizen science projects are playing an increasingly important role in ecological and conservation research worldwide. In these programs, members of the public support researchers by submitting photographs, audio recordings, observations, or even by contributing to data analysis. In Hungary, no fewer than 17 such initiatives combined their datasets in a joint study. The authors aimed to understand which socio-economic and environmental factors influence participation patterns in Hungary. By comparing the spatial distribution of citizen science data with an independent administrative dataset (municipality level data on income, education, demography, density and protected areas), the researchers identified several general trends as well as numerous project-specific relationships. For example, they found more per capita observations from municipalities with higher proportions of protected natural areas and lower population densities. Furthermore, excluding Budapest, the capital, both the proportion of people with diplomas and the proportion of elderly people showed a positive correlation with participation activity. In contrast, no consistent general pattern emerged regarding wealth or the proportion of children, although several project-specific relationships were observed. The study not only reveals how citizen science data are distributed across Hungary, but also provides robust support for the view that various biases must be taken into account when analyzing such data. The authors hope that their findings will help researchers in other countries design more effective projects and produce more accurate analyses by accounting for some of these or similar biases.
Gov. Polis signs prison bill targeting Colorado’s overcrowding crisis
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday signed a corrections bill that seeks to ease chronic overcrowding in state prisons by expanding earned‑time credits and launching a new working group to overhaul population management. Senate Bill 159 establishes a working group to make recommendations for how the Department of Corrections can reduce overcrowding in its facilities. […]
Gov. Polis signs prison reform bill targeting Colorado’s overcrowding crisis
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday signed a sweeping corrections bill that seeks to ease chronic overcrowding in state prisons by expanding earned‑time credits and launching a new working group to overhaul population management. Senate Bill 159, sponsored by Sens. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, and Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, and Reps. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, and Matthew Martinbez, […]
Nearly 60% of college students with a psychosis diagnosis are not receiving the recommended mental health treatment
Despite a low overall prevalence of psychosis in the United States, affecting three percent of the population, this condition is a serious public health concern because people often delay seeking care ...
Gentoo Penguins Are Actually Four Different Species, Scientists Say, Revealing They're Not Quite 'Winners' of Climate Change After All
A new study indicates the adaptable birds evolved into distinct lineages as isolated populations shifted to match their environmental conditions over time. The work has implications for how conservationists assess threats to gentoos
Cows can tell humans apart, new study finds
Domestic bovines watching videos of humans will stare at unfamiliar faces longer than faces they know.
A Physical Warp Drive Was Supposed to Be Impossible. Then These Scientists Found a Loophole.
Scientists proposed a physical warp drive model that may avoid exotic negative energy in some cases, but faster-than-light travel remains far from buildable.
Xbox expands leadership team with major hires
Xbox has added two big names to its leadership team: Matthew Ball and Scott Van Vliet. The new recruits are part of an on-going drive from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to move faster, build better products, and make more focused business decisions. The Game Business can reveal that Ball is joining as Chief Strategy Officer. He is a popular industry analyst who is responsible for the annual The State of Video Gaming report, which is widely read across the business. His first job will be to strengthen the console side of Xbox, which is facing significant pressures, not least from the rising costs of memory and storage. In an interview with The Game Business earlier in the year, he admitted he was “pretty frightened” by the situation for the console sector. Ball had previously worked as head of strategy and planning for Amazon Studios, and wrote the 2022 international best-seller The Metaverse. He is currently CEO of Epyllion, a venture partner at investment group Makers Fund and senior advisor at KKR & Co. Meanwhile, Scott Van Vliet joins as Chief Technology Officer. He was previously in charge of Azure OpenAI and AI Core infrastructure at Microsoft, and he also led engineering for Microsoft Teams during the COVID 19 pandemic. But he has a games background. He previously worked across games for Amazon, including Alexa, Amazon Game Studios and the Amazon App Store. He directly worked on the Minecraft: Fire TV Edition. Prior to that, he was VP of Digital Play at Mattel, and worked across brands such as Batman, Barbie, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and Cut The Rope. His job will be to improve how Xbox builds products so teams can move faster and deliver stronger results. For more breaking stories, sign-up to The Game Business today Subscribe In addition to these new hires, Xbox has promoted Chris Schnakenberg to Corporate Vice President, Partnerships & Business Development. He was previously VP of partnerships and business development, and joined from Activision Blizzard, where he spent 12 years in various strategy, business development and partner relations role. His focus is on third-party games, publishers and developers working with Xbox. The news follows a number of new hires and promotions earlier in the month, including Jason Ronald taking leadership over Xbox’s upcoming Project Helix console. “These changes are about strengthening our foundation by creating more clarity and improving execution,” Sharma said in an email to staff. “As we head toward Showcase and beyond, we’ll continue making the changes needed to position XBOX for the future.” Matthew Ball is speaking with Christopher Dring at The Game Business Live on Monday, June 8. More details on the event can be found here.
Xbox expands leadership team with major hires
Xbox has added two big names to its leadership team: Matthew Ball and Scott Van Vliet. The new recruits are part of an on-going drive from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to move faster, build better products, and make more focused business decisions. The Game Business can reveal that Ball is joining as Chief Strategy Officer. He is a popular industry analyst who is responsible for the annual The State of Video Gaming report, which is widely read across the business. His first job will be to strengthen the console side of Xbox, which is facing significant pressures, not least from the rising costs of memory and storage. In an interview with The Game Business earlier in the year, he admitted he was “pretty frightened” by the situation for the console sector. Ball had previously worked as head of strategy and planning for Amazon Studios, and wrote the 2022 international best-seller The Metaverse. He is currently CEO of Epyllion, a venture partner at investment group Makers Fund and senior advisor at KKR & Co. Meanwhile, Scott Van Vliet joins as Chief Technology Officer. He was previously in charge of Azure OpenAI and AI Core infrastructure at Microsoft, and he also led engineering for Microsoft Teams during the COVID 19 pandemic. But he has a games background. He previously worked across games for Amazon, including Alexa, Amazon Game Studios and the Amazon App Store. He directly worked on the Minecraft: Fire TV Edition. Prior to that, he was VP of Digital Play at Mattel, and worked across brands such as Batman, Barbie, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and Cut The Rope. His job will be to improve how Xbox builds products so teams can move faster and deliver stronger results. For more breaking stories, sign-up to The Game Business today Subscribe In addition to these new hires, Xbox has promoted Chris Schnakenberg to Corporate Vice President, Partnerships & Business Development. He was previously VP of partnerships and business development, and joined from Activision Blizzard, where he spent 12 years in various strategy, business development and partner relations role. His focus is on third-party games, publishers and developers working with Xbox. The news follows a number of new hires and promotions earlier in the month, including Jason Ronald taking leadership over Xbox’s upcoming Project Helix console. “These changes are about strengthening our foundation by creating more clarity and improving execution,” Sharma said in an email to staff. “As we head toward Showcase and beyond, we’ll continue making the changes needed to position XBOX for the future.” Matthew Ball is speaking with Christopher Dring at The Game Business Live on Monday, June 8. More details on the event can be found here.
Mars shines in ethereal photo from Psyche space probe
NASA's asteroid explorer is on a 2-billion-mile mission.
The Lessons of Thomas Massie’s Defeat
The president is deeply unpopular, but still the Republican kingmaker.
It’s make or break time for AI labeling systems
It’s time for SynthID and C2PA to prove they work.
News industry scion James Murdoch buys New York magazine and Vox
Other Vox titles, including Eater, Popsugar, SB Nation, the Dodo, and the Verge, are not included in the transaction. They will make up a second, independent company under a new name.
Apple’s Eddy Cue to Receive Entertainment Person of the Year Honor at Cannes Lions Festival
IMDb, the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
Scientists bring crop protection research to local science classes
As the world’s population continues to grow, farmers across the globe are working hard to feed more than 8 billion humans. Agriculture at that scale requires interventions, including herbicides and pesticides to keep crops healthy and free from disease and insect infestations. Chemical herbicides and pesticides were, and are, a common solution...
Scientists Discovered A Population Developed a Genetic Superpower—Thanks to Potatoes
A new DNA study found that Peruvian Andeans possess a high number of salivary amylase genes, or AMY1, for digesting starchy foods like the native potato.
How Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, toppled by Trump, charted his own way
There aren’t many lawmakers like Thomas Massie left in Congress. READ MORE: Massie's loss leaves no doubt about Trump's power over the GOP. 6 takeaways from Tuesday's primaries The renegade Republican who rose to prominence as an idiosyncratic and stubborn outlier in his party, popular in the Kentucky district that repeatedly sent him to the House, lost his primary bid for reelection Tuesday after a vicious and costly attack by President Donald Trump. The stunning
Detroit investors are leaving their mark on this Lake Huron vacation town
The village of Lexington, snuggled up against Lake Huron, boasts of only about 1,000 or so year-round residents, but the population swells by maybe two-fold or more during the warmer months.
A day in the life of Mingle Mocktails founder Laura Taylor
Laura Taylor started Mingle Mocktails after she quit drinking. She runs the company with her husband and son and ends every night with a Popsicle.
UNMC's NE SciFest spawns 'incredible celebration of science'
Take a look at some of the scenes from around the popular month-long science festival, presented by UNMC.
Broadcasters too reliant on vox pop interviews and failing to challenge politicians, says study
Researchers also question whether UK’s impartiality rules allow for proper scrutiny in era of multiparty politics
Pickleball and pizza: BTS’s Bay Area tour boosts local businesses
(KRON) — Members of global K-pop supergroup BTS were recently spotted playing pickleball in Campbell and grabbing pizza in Redwood City, leading to a significant increase in attention and cus…
Neural representation of action symbols in primate frontal cortex
Nature - A drawing-like task designed to study compositional generalization identifies a specific neural population in the ventral premotor cortex in primates that encodes action symbols.
Scientists use DNA from poop to save the world’s rarest marsupial
Scientists in Australia are using cutting-edge DNA techniques to help save one of the world’s rarest marsupials — the critically endangered Gilbert’s potoroo, with fewer than 150 left in the wild. By analyzing tiny traces of DNA in the animals’ scat, researchers uncovered clues about the elusive fungi the potoroos depend on for survival. The findings could help conservationists identify safer new habitats and establish backup populations before disasters like bushfires wipe them out.
Exhibit highlights the health impacts of online violence affecting children and adolescents
The World Health Organization (WHO) is drawing attention to the growing importance of addressing the impacts of digital environments on children’s health and development.
Unpopular opinion: The Office is insufferable!
The debate highlights the divide between cringe comedy fans and those who just want a traditional sitcom.
Apple announces return of popular MagSafe iPhone stand and grip
Apple today unveiled a suite of new accessibility features coming with iOS 27, visionOS 27, and more later this year....
Renderings Reveal Barclays Center Renovations In Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Renderings have been revealed for the $150 million renovation of Barclays Center designed by Populous in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
'A wave of enthusiasm' for 'another fresh start'
Part of the recipe for football's incredible popularity is the way that a summer break of buying and selling players and changing things around behind the scenes can convince any fanbase that things are set to improve in the season to come, no matter how badly the previous one ended. Chelsea are a perfect example right now. A big injection of hope can make all those intractable issues feel manageable again, and that is what the news about Xabi Alonso being appointed as the club's new manager has done.
At last, The Bullet Heaven genre - popularised by hits like Vampire Survivors - has been sanctioned by Steam
This update has introduced a variety of new game tags for different genres, which should help categorize upcoming genres.
Students With Chronic Illness Shouldn’t Have To Choose Between Health And Education
Autoimmune conditions like lupus are more prevalent among Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian populations
China's hottest brands like Luckin, Pop Mart aim to win over Americans
From Luckin to Pop Mart, China's hottest companies are trying to become cool, build stores in the US, and sell directly to Americans.
Audemars Piguet walks a fine line between hype and cheapening brand
Fans had to endure long lines, fistfights, and even tear gas to cop the $400 Audemars Piguet and Swatch "Royal Pop" pocket watches.
Why politicians struggle to read the public on immigration
The government overreacts to popular opinion, which prompts a pendulum swing the other way
DNA floating in seawater is now enough to let scientists monitor the health of America's dolphin populations
DNA is everywhere in the world's oceans—not only packaged inside cells from skin, scales, mucus, feces, and blood, but also floating freely. Sequencing such "environmental DNA" (eDNA) from open water ...
‘Barbie Girl’ pop group Aqua calls it quits after three decades
The 90s Danish-Norwegian pop band Aqua, known for its hit song “Barbie Girl,” is calling it quits after 30 years, the group announced Monday. “After many incredible years, we have decided to close …
DNA floating in seawater is now enough to let scientists monitor the health of America’s dolphin populations
Sequencing environmental DNA in seawater shows the local presence or absence of species, but until now could give little information about those measures of biodiversity that are the most useful in conservation. As a proof-of-principle, scientists in the US have now shown that mitochondrial DNA in water sampled near schools of dolphins contains enough information to measure their local effective population size and monitor the health of these populations.
Whoa! Netflix is Sending Narnia Heading to Theaters...What This Means for the Future of Film
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Here’s a funny thing about the debate over whether streamers should release their movies in theaters first: Both sides think the other side represents the “conventional wisdom”. If you’ve been reading me for any amount of time, or even just scanned my front page, you know I think movies make more money by having a robust theatrical window compared to going straight-to-streaming. I’ve published thousands of words on this topic. And for years, I felt like I was standing up to a wave of opposition. See, while the “put your films in theaters to make money” take was obvious at any point before 2019, post-streaming revolution, most of the trendy thinkers took the opposite point of view. Big names argued that Netflix putting their film straight-to-streaming (“S-to-S” from here on out) actually made more money. Netflix was “disrupting” theaters, just as they disrupted Blockbuster Video, and since innovation is always good, this too was a great idea. This thinking then leaked into the mainstream business outlets like the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. I read many articles whose take boiled down to “Netflix makes tons of money from S-to-S releases” and “theaters were in structural decline” anyways. Covid-19 shutting down theaters and the 2023 strikes shutting down film production seemingly justified this point of view, as the box office struggled to return to 2017-2019 heights. Yet I’ve also read folks arguing the opposite point: the conventional wisdom says to put films in theaters! From some writers’ points of view, “everyone” actually agrees/agreed with my “send your films to theaters” take—especially the stodgy traditional studios—and folks still didn’t understand Netflix’s genius. I feel like, for the last two years, many people have argued this point as if it’s conventional wisdom. You know what? I may have been wrong. At this point, the “S-to-S strategy makes money” might be the minority viewpoint. Especially with the news this month that Netflix will put at least one film—Greta Gerwig’s Narnia film The Magician’s Nephew—in theaters in 2027 for a full 49-day run is big news. So that’s the story of the week, but I’ll also explain why they’re making this move now and why Netflix may not completely embrace theaters, along with other topics, like how I don’t buy Disney’s “super app” strategy, the latest good news out of the unions, my take on the latest attacks against free speech, and a whole lot more. Let’s get started. Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - Netflix Goes to Theaters! Listen, I promise not to victory lap too hard today. As I just wrote, I’ve argued against sending films straight-to-streaming for—checks calendar—eight years now. Since 2018. Yikes. That’s a long time. And for years, others painted my thinking as “conventional” in that I was standing up for the status quo against trendy, cool disruption. And that’s not cool! But math is math, and I never could make the S-to-S numbers work. The only thing that ever enabled that model was Wall Street’s brief exuberance for it. It seems like the heads of Netflix now agree with me. (There were always rumors that former head of film for Netflix Scott Stuber argued internally for theatrical releases as well.) As they announced: “The Magician’s Nephew_—the first film in a Narnia series of films—will open on 12-Feb-2027, with a 49 day theatrical exclusive run.”_ I’m a little surprised at how little coverage this big change actually got. Credit to Bloomberg for leading with it and Matt Belloni’s The Town for highlighting it with the provocatively titled podcast “Hell Hath Frozen Over”. But after that? Instead of getting as much coverage as, say, the FCC’s latest egregious crackdown on free speech, this news story got crickets. But it’s massively more important for the future business of entertainment. So let’s start with the obvious question… Why Put Your Movies in Theaters? So…why should Netflix put (some!) of their movies in theaters? Well, I’ve already written that in a very, very, very long article from 2022: [ ](https://entertainment.substack.com/p/the-data-is-in-theatrical-films-massively) [ The Data Is In: Theatrical Films Massively Outperform Straight-To-Streaming Films ](https://entertainment.substack.com/p/the-data-is-in-theatrical-films-massively) Entertainment Strategy Guy · April 5, 2023 [ Read full story ](https://entertainment.substack.com/p/the-data-is-in-theatrical-films-massively) To summarize, theatrical runs make much more money, especially blockbusters, because they earn more money per viewing,1 and that helps boost home entertainment sales. Theatrical films also perform as well or better than the streaming-only films. Now, partially this is driven by increased marketing for said films, but said marketing ultimately boosts the awareness of the movies and drives improved streaming and library performance as well. Again, I’ve made this case after reviewing the economic models and streaming data for years. Just last week, Emily Horgan also made the case for kids films! Yes, it is probably conventional wisdom, but that’s also because it’s true! I’d also argue we’ve seen a lot of data in the various studios’ behavior. As I’ve noted before, the more a studio needs to make money, the likelier they are to put films in theaters. As such, Disney, Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount and Sony all send their major films to theaters. Even if they once made a big S-to-S push (*cough* Disney *cough*), they’ve since relented and returned to theaters. The tech companies don’t need to make money, per se, so it took them years to embrace theaters. Apple doesn’t need to make money because it doesn’t disclose their (likely) Quibi-sized losses each year. (They fear bad press more than losing money.) Amazon announced two years ago that they planned to make Amazon-MGM Studios/Prime Video profitable on its own, and guess what? Now they’re putting films in theaters. That leaves Netflix. They’re in between the “no need to make money at all” and the “desperately need to make money to offset linear TV declines”, so they had less pressure to put some films in theaters. Plus, for years, they were the sexy disruptor, and Wall Street rewarded them for that. (Honestly, they still do.) Yet, even Netflix likely saw the money they were leaving on the table (I’ve estimated it at an easy billion dollars before) so they changed their course. I heard one pundit argue that, because Netflix already makes so much money, they don’t need to make more money, which sort of goes against everything I’ve ever learned about business and economics. Again, to be super-nuanced, sending “films to theaters” does not mean EVERY film. TV movies have been a thing for decades. Lifetime films, Hallmark holiday films, Disney Channel Original Movies, and so on, don’t need theatrical runs. But films above a certain budget level (say $25 to 50 million) almost certainly need theaters to maximize their revenue. The Scenarios (with a Dose of Skepticism) Now time for some skepticism: it won’t surprise me at all if Netflix re-changes course. Specifically, Netflix announced that their Narnia film will go to theaters. And I’d bet anything we see KPop Demon Hunters 2: The Huntering2 also goes to theaters, cause it’s the surest hit outside of a Disney animated sequel right now. But how much does Netflix truly commit to theaters? They’ve already tried to emphasize that this is a one-off move. I see three broad scenarios:
Neanderthals dined on shellfish much earlier than humans
Many of their harvesting techniques are similar to ones used today.
Popular Thai-inspired cocktail bar in Highland Park temporarily closed by health department
A popular Highland Park cocktail bar that serves Thai street food-inspired fare has temporarily closed its doors after county health inspectors cited it for health code violations. The Goldfish at …
Democratic leadership needs to stop with the Goldilocks politics
Despite the current political climate, Democrats are struggling to take a stand on important issues, leading to individual candidates rising in popularity by taking their own stands and calling for…
'It's kind of a no-brainer': Why pop band MUNA is tackling politics on album 'Dancing on the Wall'
“Dancing on the Wall” is a departure from MUNA’s previous work, trading the sunshine-y pop instrumentals, country influences and sweeping ballads of their self-titled album for gritty, atmospheric tracks influenced by 1990s punk and rave scenes.
Leg evolution made most humans right-handed
'Rightie' preference isn't seen in any of our primate relatives.
Business News: Royal Pop Sales Resume After Launch Rush For Audemars Piguet X Swatch Collaboration Forced Store Closures
This weekend's Royal Pop launch ends in disappointment and frustration at more than a dozen Swatch boutiques globally.
Scientists May Have Found the Blueprint of the Human Body at the Bottom of the Ocean
Scientists discovered that the brainless sea anemone build their bodies with a technique common in bilaterians... which is what humans are.
Dominion stock price pops on NextEra merger to create utility giant
Dominion Energy stock jumped on Monday after the company announced it's combining with NextEra Energy. The deal comes as power demand is surging in the US.
61 new beetles discovered in China
Turns out, scientists can overlook even flashy species.
Column: Jack up taxes on California's rich? Popular liberal mantra, but bad idea
Sticking it to the rich sounds nice, but doesn't fix the problem
Pop star Shakira acquitted in Spanish tax fraud case
The decision follows years of tax troubles for the Colombian superstar
Pop star Shakira acquitted in Spanish tax fraud case
The decision follows years of tax troubles for the Colombian superstar