Good morning. Today we have a little soul-baring to do.

Over the past few months, we’ve been growing like a weed taking an expertly designed cocktail of steroids and HGH. Which is great (the subscriber growth, not the ‘roids) – but it also causes things to break. Sometimes a lot of things.

One of these broken things appears to be the process for how our ambassador prizes are claimed (quick context: if you refer others to this newsletter using the unique link found at the bottom of this email, you accrue points that can then be used to claim prizes). So if you’ve reached a referral milestone and haven’t yet received an email from us containing instructions on how to claim the prize you earned, just hit reply and we’ll take care of you.

Please accept our humble apologies for this issue. All 125,000+ of you are the reason we do what we do, and we’re forever grateful for your support🙏.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.59-minute read.

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"Do one thing every day that scares you."

–Mary Schmich (b. 1953)

Primary elections across the US are typically divided up by state, then political party (ex: the Iowa “insert political party” caucus). And many are only open to voters who identify as either Democrat or Republican.

But some advocacy groups and experts say America’s current electoral system is less than ideal, since it results in a small number of voters – often those who lean strongly toward one party – selecting the vast majority of politicians who end up in office.

Only 10% of eligible US residents voted in a primary election in 2020 – but those primary results effectively decided the winners for 83% of all congressional seats, due to deep-red or deep-blue districts where general elections aren’t competitive, per advocacy group Unite America.

• The low voter turnout can be partially attributed to laws in 16 states which “close” the primary process, meaning only registered Democrats or Republicans can participate in their respective elections.
• Unite America argues these closed primaries end up disenfranchising the US voters who identify as Independent, a part of the population that rose to a record-high 41% last year (including 50+% of Gen Z).

The group also points to data showing voters who identify as “strongly conservative” or “strongly liberal” are 2x-3x more likely to vote in primary elections compared to those who hold more moderate political views.

💡 A potential solution: Unite America is advocating for states to adopt a nonpartisan primary election system in which candidates aren’t separated by party, as is currently the case in California, Nebraska, Washington, Alaska, and Louisiana.

• In these states, all candidates from all parties are listed on the same ballot, and all residents can vote for any candidate, with the top two (or more) vote-getters moving on to the general election.
• Unite America argues this system leads to less extreme candidates across all districts – both purple and deeply blue/red – since politicians are incentivized to build a wide base of support that includes Independents and members of the opposite party.

📊 Flash poll: Would you be in favor of your state holding a nonpartisan primary election in 2024?

Yes

No

Unsure/other

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🇩🇰 A Danish artist was ordered to repay a museum after submitting blank canvases as commissioned works. In 2021, the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg paid artist Jens Haaning the equivalent of $76,000 to recreate two of her earlier artworks that used tens of thousands worth of banknotes to represent average incomes across the EU. Instead, Haaning sent over two blank canvases in a submission titled Take the Money and Run (lmao), which the museum ended up exhibiting in its show alongside a caption. A Danish judge yesterday ordered Haaning to repay the museum most of the money, with an artist’s fee and viewing fee deducted from the judgment.

🇺🇳 The UN General Assembly kicked off in NYC this week. President Biden delivered an address yesterday calling for more international support for a range of issues including Ukraine, food security, and global infrastructure. Biden was followed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who asked UN nations to support his 10-point peace plan to end the ongoing war against Russia. The US was the only permanent UN Security Council member in attendance, with officials from several countries – including France – suggesting the UN is no longer worth the diplomatic effort.

🇨🇳💒 Chinese marriage rates fell to their lowest level in decades last year. A recent report from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs found some 6.8 million couples registered for marriage in 2022, representing a 10.5% decrease from the previous year, and the lowest figure since Beijing started tracking such data in 1986. Chinese birth rates also reached a new record low last year, prompting government officials to propose a series of programs aimed at increasing the amount of marriages and children in the country.

Disney announced on Tuesday that it would be nearly doubling its planned investment in its parks and cruise business to roughly $60 billion over the next ten years.

And if you said – with that kind of money they could create a small world after all, you wouldn’t technically be wrong. A few of the expansion possibilities, per Disney:

• Wakanda from the Black Panther franchise could be “brought to life” (one small world✅).
• Frozen and Zootopia could have a presence at Disneyland Resort (two more small worlds✅).
• The company also plans to roll out more cruise ships, and establish a new home port in Singapore (helping to make a big world smaller✅).

📸 Big picture: Disney’s announcement underscores a large and ongoing shift in its business model, which for years has relied primarily on income from its traditional cable TV business to subsidize costly bets like the 2019 launch of Disney+, the WSJ reports.

But things have changed. For the last three quarters, operating income from Disney’s parks division has exceeded that of its so-called linear TV business by hundreds of millions of dollars – which could signal a lasting shift in the balance between the two divisions, per the WSJ, and is probably a big reason why Disney is exploring a sale of ABC and its affiliates (including FX and National Geographic).

💬 Quoted… “We pushed the accelerator to the maximum.”

• They say when one door closes, another one opens. And after many Western nations cut off Russia’s energy supplies following the invasion of Ukraine, the door of opportunity was pushed open for countries like Algeria, Norway, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, whom Europe and others are increasingly turning to in order to replace the hole created by a lack of Russian energy supplies.

Go deeper: The unexpected new winners of the global energy war.

🚫🥳 Stat of the Day: Airbnb’s “official party pooper” in charge of enforcing the site’s worldwide ban on hosting parties has overseen a 55% reduction in such activity over the two-year period ending August 2022.

🤔 Did You Know?... The world record for longest period someone has gone without sleep is 11 days and 25 minutes; the record was set as part of a medical experiment in which the 17-year-old patient experienced hallucinations, paranoia, and short-term memory loss (from us to you: pls don’t do this).

📰 Worth a Read: Intelligent vs. Smart → (Collab Fund)

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• ☝️ The Northern Lights were visible overnight Monday across large portions of the northern US and Canada, ​​after a powerful solar eruption supercharged particles in the Earth’s atmosphere near the poles.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Spoak

• 💰 US markets closed down across the board (S&P: -0.2%; Dow: -0.3%; Nasdaq: -0.2%); the Fed will announce later today whether it’s decided to raise rates.
• 🛒 Instacart shares began trading on the Nasdaq yesterday; they closed up 12% on the day, valuing the grocery delivery company at ~$11 billion (it last raised money at a $39 billion valuation in 2021).
• 📝 The DOJ is reportedly investigating any personal benefits Tesla may have provided CEO Elon Musk since 2017; the move comes as part of a criminal investigation examining issues that include potentially using company resources to build a proposed glass house for Musk.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 📺 Warner Bros. Discovery will offer a live sports tier on its Max streaming service for $9.99/month starting October 5; the new tier will feature sports events that already appear on WBD’s traditional TV networks, TNT and TBS. (Background)
• 🎤🤝 Katy Perry sold the music rights to her last five albums to Litmus Music in a deal worth a reported $225 million.
• 🎮 Microsoft said its future plans for the Xbox were “unintentionally disclosed” as part of the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit over its acquisition of Activision Blizzard; unredacted documents revealed plans for a new disc-less Xbox Series X, a gyro controller, and a next-gen hybrid Xbox in 2028.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Tugboat

• 🧬 A team of Swedish scientists recovered RNA from an extinct species – the thylacine, aka Tasmanian tiger – for the first time in recorded history.
• 🏥🫄 All pregnant women in the US should be screened for blood-pressure disorders at each prenatal visit, a panel of government-backed experts recommended yesterday.
• 💎 Most of the world’s pink diamonds, a rare and valuable subcategory of jewels, were formed when the supercontinent Nuna broke up roughly 1.3 billion years ago, per a new peer-reviewed study.

*From our partners: 🌪️ Over 120,000 Hurricane Ian claims were denied last year... Let Tugboat be your guide for negotiating with large insurance companies – the average user increases their settlement by $10,000! Save 15% on Tugboat’s Claim Support Tools with code DONUT.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🗳️ Pennsylvania became the 24th state to implement automatic voter registration when residents obtain or renew IDs and driver licenses; yesterday was also National Voter Registration Day.
• 🏫🏆 The Department of Education recognized 353 schools across the country as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2023; the awards are based on overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps.
• ⚖️🏛️ Ray Epps, a former Marine accused by some of being an undercover federal agent who encouraged the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was charged with a single count of disorderly conduct for his role in the Capitol riot. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🧓 The No. 1 personality trait linked to a long life.

Albert Van Limbergen never travels unless he has a very good reason to. But last year, the Belgium man rode his bike ~900 miles to the town of Nice, France, for...🥁🥁🥁... a purple croissant. 

💜 Lavender love... Albert's favorite plant, flavor, smell, and color is lavender. So when he discovered a small bakery in France that infused their fluffy croissants with locally harvested lavender water, he knew he had to try it. 

• The trek took him two weeks, but it was all worth it when he finally took that first buttery bite. 
• "We chatted for a few hours about lavender, nature, and life in general," the baker, Frédéric Roy, said. "He came back the next day, and we spoke for a few hours more."

🤔 Today's message?... Love yourself like Albert loves lavender. Then all will be right with the world🤗.

How it works: We provide an incorrect stat. Then you guess whether the actual number is over or under the stated value.

1. 🌊 8 inches: The length seaweed can grow each day under optimal conditions.
2. 🌞🌎 600 seconds: How long it takes for sunlight to reach Earth.
3. 🛌 40%: The share of Americans who fall asleep on their side.

(keep scrolling for the answers)

👆 Check out the referral prizes you can get, just for introducing people you know to little old us. 

What to do: Copy your unique link below, then send it to anyone who you think would like the DONUT. Once you hit each milestone, you'll get an email with a link to claim your prize. (Pro tip: there's no need to ration points, you're entitled to a prize at each tier.)

Start referring.👇

1. 🌊 Under, 6 inches
2. 🌞🌎 Under, ~500 seconds
3. 🛌 Over, 74%