Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🎙️ AI “podslop”
• 📝 Purported Epstein suicide note
• 🤔 Is photographic memory a myth?

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.60-minute read (958 words).

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"Ideas do not reach perfection in a day, no matter how much study is put upon them."

–Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)

The age of “two dudes talking into microphones” is evolving into “two robots pretending to be two dudes talking into microphones.”

• A growing number of tools are now able to turn text, links, or notes into realistic conversations between two or more AI-generated “hosts.”
• The result is a flood of new podcast shows and episodes created with little to no human involvement.

By the numbers

An estimated 39% of all new podcast episodes published over a nine-day period in April were likely AI-generated—4,243 out of 10,871—according to a Bloomberg report (gift link) citing data from an open-source tracking platform called the Podcast Index.

A startup named Inception Point AI is at the forefront, reportedly producing 3,000 episodes/week across 4,000+ different shows at a cost of $1 or less per episode, according to a recent CNN interview.

But…It’s not exactly quality listening. The recent trend has given rise to the term “podslop,” used to describe fully automated content with no human review, often marked by inaccuracies and oddly-familiar-sounding synthetic voices.

Platforms are rushing to respond. Apple Podcasts now requires creators to disclose when a “material portion” of a show is AI-generated, and also bans deceptive content. Spotify hasn’t issued any specific rules discouraging AI-generated content, but it enforces broader policies around misleading material.

Zoom out: AI-generated content is becoming increasingly common online, with similar increases in AI usage seen across the music, artwork, and even social media influencing industries.

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If your last McDonald’s run felt more like a Starbucks order, that wasn’t an accident.

Beverages are becoming one of the most profitable parts of the restaurant business, as consumers increasingly look for small, affordable treats instead of full meals.

The fast-food industry is taking notice. In recent weeks, several major chains have rolled out new drink-heavy strategies:

• McDonald’s yesterday officially launched six new specialty drinks, including boba-style refreshers and crafted sodas like Sprite Berry Blast.
• Dunkin’ recently introduced new refreshers, frozen coffees, and a “dirty soda,” leaning into customization.
• Wendy’s dropped a lineup of new watermelon drinks, including a sparkling energy beverage and a Sprite-based option.

Taco Bell, KFC, Dutch Bros., and 7 Brew are also expanding into energy drinks, shakes, boba-style offerings, and protein-packed drinks.

Driving the trend: Fast-food chains have seen their margins squeezed by rising food costs, especially the price of beef, making drinks—which offer higher profit margins—a more attractive growth play. These higher margins also allow restaurants to offer more discounts to bring in customers, who often buy food as well.

Zoom out: The non-alcoholic beverage market is already a ~$100 billion/year category in the US, and growing faster than the rest of the dining industry, according to Axios.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 US stocks close up across the board, with Nasdaq and S&P 500 setting new record highs for the second straight day (S&P: +1.5% | Dow: +1.2% | Nasdaq: +2.0%)
• 🤖🚀 Anthropic signs deal to use all of the compute capacity at SpaceX’s Colossus 1 data center in Memphis (300+ megawatts); SpaceX says Anthropic also expressed interest in working to develop orbiting AI data centers.
• ⛽ Average US gas prices climb to $4.54/gallon, up 31 cents over last week; the all-time high is $5.01/gallon, set shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🙏 Ted Turner, the CNN founder who pioneered the start of 24-hour cable news and once owned the MLB’s Atlanta Braves and NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, passed away at 87.
• ⚽ PSG and Arsenal will face off in the UEFA Champions League final on May 30.
• 🍿 Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey releases new trailer ahead of July 17 release. | The Bear drops surprise flashback episode ahead of fifth and final season (premiere: June 25).

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🤖 OpenAI releases GPT-5.5 Instant, a new default model for ChatGPT that the company says reduces hallucinations in technical fields like law, medicine, and finance.
• 🐁🗣️ Alston’s singing mouse, a small rodent species famous for its unique, chirp-filled song, has the same mutation that allows humans to develop spoken language, per new study published in Nature.
• 🪐 Astronauts could complete a round trip to Mars in as little as ~5 months—cutting current mission timelines in half—when both planets align in 2031, new study suggests.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 💥 US and Iran are reportedly nearing potential agreement on a 14-point memorandum of understanding to end the war; among the provisions are a suspension on Iranian nuclear enrichment, the lifting of sanctions, and restoring free transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
• 📝 Purported suicide note written by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is unsealed by a federal judge at the request of the NY Times.
• 🗳️ Tennessee Republicans unveil new proposed congressional map that would carve up the state’s lone majority-Black (and Democrat-leaning) district.

👆 Fans of the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards crowned Alison Tuck’s image of a windblown bird—looking like it just lost a fight with a leaf blower (👆top left)— as the People’s Choice winner, beating out 40 other finalists.

🤔 Did you know? If you don’t harvest asparagus, it will keep growing into a tall, feathery plant up to 11 feet high. Some even produce bright red berries that look harmless—but are toxic to humans.

📰 Worth a read: Is the ancient practice of “Earthing” an antidote for the Digital Age?

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• Is photographic memory actually a myth?
• Need a college grad gift? Here are 62 ideas
• The artworks that inspired eight Met Gala looks

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Yesterday we covered how the recent Supreme Court ruling that outlawed drawing political maps based on race has poured gasoline on an already heated redistricting fight ahead of November’s midterms.

❓ Our question to you: Do you support or oppose the recent trend of states redrawing their political maps mid-decade in an effort to gain House seats for their party?

• Support: 11%
• Oppose: 78%
• Unsure/other: 11%

Click here to read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 642 votes and 75 longform responses.

✈️🛋️ Sofas in the sky: Check out 15 innovative and wacky airplane seat designs to make flying feel less torturous.

🤐 Cracking the zip code: After a 40-year wait, technology has finally enabled the three-sided zipper design.

📖 Read: I asked ChatGPT to manage a stock portfolio. Here’s how it did.

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*A message from our partners

This river provides cheap transportation for Europe's industrial heartland and runs through Germany, Switzerland, and The Netherlands. Can you name it?

🎶 Disney debuted its new Songs in Sign Language program last month, with songs from Frozen II, Encanto, and Moana 2 that show the characters performing in American Sign Language in honor of National Deaf History Month.

The Rhine River

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