Hi!! This might be a ‘me’ issue but I’m only getting audio into my left earbud. I tested with a podcast and Spotify and can hear through both left + right. Flagging just in case I’m not the only one!
The DFW quote also reminds me of how prescient Courtney Love was about capitalism in the 90s and how she saw the writing on the wall. Great piece, KGT!
cried multiple times in that camp mystic piece ... phenomenal writing. also love a katie essay!!! reminds me of the DL episode about the "dont be a litterbug" campaign and how we shift responsibility onto individuals.
love this newsletter because you always combine your stellar insight with other fantastic things that i would have missed. amazing job creating & curating!!! mwk4evr fr fr
In my view, once a company appears to "take responsibility", they seem to transfer all responsibility to the consumer. We warned you, and you did it anyway. That's on you. Their false show of goodwill releases them of liability. It give a false sense of security, as if the corporation actually cares for the people.
I would LOVE to hear a deep dive on why Americans humanize corporations (more in depth than the fact that corporations are people here).
We need to impose a sin tax on Meta. Assuming it would be difficult to pass down the tax burden to us consumers (free to us), it would eat at their profits. Some eye opening needs to be done on Zuck's end and he probably only responds to the bottom line.
The camp Mystic piece was incredible. There's so much I could say, but the one thing that sticks with me is the fact that the other campers and parents had more loyalty to the camp owners than their fellow campers.
What’s striking here is how consistent the incentive structure is across completely different industries. Whether it’s trading apps, social platforms, or gambling, the model depends on a small group engaging far beyond what’s considered “rational,” while the system publicly disavows that behavior.
Markets reflect that dynamic more than people realize. Price often isn’t driven by the average participant, but by the marginal one—the one willing to push further, size bigger, stay longer.
That’s why things can look stable on the surface while risk quietly concentrates underneath. The system doesn’t break when everyone participates responsibly. It breaks when a small percentage carries the weight for too long.
Katie!! Essays are so BACK. Loved the piece, and the recording... a cool side effect of listening and reading along was seeing your editing/editor's work for the final publication. A cool insight into your writing process. Hope all's well!
Incredible essay! Your ability to dissect the enmeshed realities of social class and economic trends is first rate. I’m curious if you have any thoughts as to how the gambling-adjacent memecoin and NFT schemes of the early 20s relate to the casino economy? Or are they a separate phenomenon?
Hi!! This might be a ‘me’ issue but I’m only getting audio into my left earbud. I tested with a podcast and Spotify and can hear through both left + right. Flagging just in case I’m not the only one!
gah, that's so annoying, I'm sorry! I may re-record it today, I'm a rookie lol
Oh no need to apologize, I just wanted to make sure you know!! 🫶
I had a similar issue, only the left side works.
consume responsibly’ but everything is designed so you don’t… got it 😂
Love the dramatic reading this week. :)
The DFW quote also reminds me of how prescient Courtney Love was about capitalism in the 90s and how she saw the writing on the wall. Great piece, KGT!
cried multiple times in that camp mystic piece ... phenomenal writing. also love a katie essay!!! reminds me of the DL episode about the "dont be a litterbug" campaign and how we shift responsibility onto individuals.
love this newsletter because you always combine your stellar insight with other fantastic things that i would have missed. amazing job creating & curating!!! mwk4evr fr fr
I loved the audio essay and also I am so excited about the caro episode
Here's another take on the "Casino Economy" from one of my favorite thinkers, Joan Westenberg, if anyone is interested. I highly recommend checking out the rest of her posts as well. https://www.joanwestenberg.com/everythings-casino/?ref=westenberg-newsletter
In my view, once a company appears to "take responsibility", they seem to transfer all responsibility to the consumer. We warned you, and you did it anyway. That's on you. Their false show of goodwill releases them of liability. It give a false sense of security, as if the corporation actually cares for the people.
I would LOVE to hear a deep dive on why Americans humanize corporations (more in depth than the fact that corporations are people here).
We need to impose a sin tax on Meta. Assuming it would be difficult to pass down the tax burden to us consumers (free to us), it would eat at their profits. Some eye opening needs to be done on Zuck's end and he probably only responds to the bottom line.
The camp Mystic piece was incredible. There's so much I could say, but the one thing that sticks with me is the fact that the other campers and parents had more loyalty to the camp owners than their fellow campers.
What’s striking here is how consistent the incentive structure is across completely different industries. Whether it’s trading apps, social platforms, or gambling, the model depends on a small group engaging far beyond what’s considered “rational,” while the system publicly disavows that behavior.
Markets reflect that dynamic more than people realize. Price often isn’t driven by the average participant, but by the marginal one—the one willing to push further, size bigger, stay longer.
That’s why things can look stable on the surface while risk quietly concentrates underneath. The system doesn’t break when everyone participates responsibly. It breaks when a small percentage carries the weight for too long.
Katieeeeee this was so good
Katie!! Essays are so BACK. Loved the piece, and the recording... a cool side effect of listening and reading along was seeing your editing/editor's work for the final publication. A cool insight into your writing process. Hope all's well!
Fantastic
Love the audio!
Incredible essay! Your ability to dissect the enmeshed realities of social class and economic trends is first rate. I’m curious if you have any thoughts as to how the gambling-adjacent memecoin and NFT schemes of the early 20s relate to the casino economy? Or are they a separate phenomenon?