#41 The Weekend Download – Catching Up on What Matters
Essential insights you need to stay ahead
📩 Issue #41 – 29/11/2025
⚡ Quick Hits — What You Need to Know
📱 Altman Teases OpenAI’s “Peaceful” New AI Device
Positioned as calmer and less distracting than smartphones — a different vision for the future of interfaces.
Read More (TechCrunch)
🛒 AI Shopping Assistants Are Coming for Commerce
OpenAI and Perplexity jump into AI retail — but startups say they’re not worried.
Read More (TechCrunch)
🇫🇷 France Launches Voluntary Military Service Amid Rising Security Fears
A new program for young people follows tense debate after a top general warned the nation to prepare for possible wartime casualties — a sign of Europe’s growing alarm over Russia.
Read More (NYT)
🔥 Top Insights
📂 2026 Trend Reports — curated by Amy Daroukakis
A collection of the year’s most important trend reports ready for your reading.
Read More
📺 Gen Z Is Huge — So Why Are Their TV Shows Flopping?
Their fragmented consumption habits are reshaping entertainment economics.
Read More (The Ankler)
📊 How Americans Use Social Media in 2025
Pew’s latest data shows shifting habits, shrinking attention, and platform fragmentation.
Read More (Pew Research)
🧘 The Biggest Wellness Travel Trends of 2026
Sleep tourism, nature immersion, digital detoxing — wellness goes deeper.
Read More (Condé Nast Traveller)
📺 Stranger Things Still Dominates Streaming
A data-rich look at how mega-hits continue driving platform behavior.
Read More (NYT)
📊 Movements to Watch
🤖 MIT Says AI Could Replace 11.7% of U.S. Workers
One of the strongest estimates yet that automation isn’t a future threat — it’s happening now.
Read More (CNBC)
🇲🇾 Malaysia Considers Social Media Ban for Under-16s
A bold move that could spark a global wave of age-restriction policies.
Read More (TechCrunch)
🛍️ Economic Anxiety Shifts Black Friday
Consumers are prioritizing basics over luxury as uncertainty rises.
Read More (NY Post)
💼 Gen Z Turns Business Trips Into Status Symbols
Work travel is becoming performative, aesthetic — and aspirational.
Read More (Business Insider)
🤖 Character.AI Cuts Off Under-18 Users, Prompting Teen Backlash
The company is blocking minors from its chatbots over mental-health concerns — leaving many teens distraught and searching for alternatives.
Read More (WSJ)
💡 Something to Think About
🧠 Technoference and Parenting
Princess Kate spotlights how screen use disrupts early childhood development.
Read More (The Modems)
🐕 The Climate Paradox of Having a Dog
New research quantifies the surprisingly high environmental footprint of pets.
Read More (Wired)
💬 The Words You Can’t Say Online Anymore
Creators are convinced certain words trigger algorithmic suppression, fueling a coded language called algospeak.
Read More (BBC Future)
🌀 Offbeat & Unexpected
🦃 Startup Founders Explain Their Jobs at Thanksgiving
A charming look at tech-world realities meeting family confusion.
Read More (Business Insider)
🍽️ Weight-Loss Drugs Are Changing Thanksgiving
GLP-1s are quietly reshaping food culture — even holiday traditions.
Read More (WSJ)
🧪 People Are Using Psychedelics to Boost Workouts
Performance meets microdosing in one of the strangest crossovers in fitness.
Read More (Dazed)
🏠 Millennials Don’t Want Their Parents’ Stuff
Boomers are passing down too many possessions — and younger generations aren’t taking them.
Read More (Business Insider)
✨ The Best Holiday Ads of 2025
A masterclass in emotional storytelling and brand craft.
Read More (Ad Age)
🎁 Bonus
📚 Bill Gates’ 2025 Holiday Reading List
Science, business, and big-idea picks for your 2026 stack.
Read More (Gates Notes)