Sometimes our kids say something tiny, and it's cosmic. Plus, Coca-Cola's 'fridge cigarette' rebrand đ„€
Issue 92 â Friday, July 24, 2026
The exhale is taking four weeks off.
Over the past 22 months, Iâve written 91 of them: 69,532 words.
Each essay just grew, one after the other after the other. Like a patch of wild flowers â poppies, cosmos, the odd blue cornflower.
Seen by over 6,000 of you now.
While itâs away, Iâll pick an exhale from the patch each week.
Maybe two.
The world is changing. You and I, too. Letâs see what survived the seasons, and what looks different now.
This weekâs choice is from May.
A stadium of graduates booing former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, at their commencement speech.
Ask not what AI can do for you. Ask what you can do for AI.
Since then, the current CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, has given his Stanford speech, sidestepping AI. More than a hundred students walked out, anyway.
For the organisers of the walkout, Amanda Campos and Eva Jones, AI is a tangential concern. Pichai refused to comment after.
The piece also foreshadowed SpaceX going public. As of today, it trades 42% below its post-IPO peak.
Noteworthy updates, but I didnât choose it for those.
I chose it for last weekâs exhale, on social media. Re-read together, theyâre the same story.
A technology with too tight a grip on our kids. And in the background, us parents, holding on just as hard.
Especially me.
In May, trying to find a goodbye with my son before his school trip, I was back in the doorway where my parentsâ divorce began. Last week, a game of garden cricket.
âThis is fun,â he said.
The words popped out. Something cosmic. Something that reached in and pinched my heart between thumb and finger.
Set them free.
If only I could.
Letâs rise together with every issue. âĄ
PS. If you did Cannes last month â the rosĂ©, the panels on authenticity, the awards about ads â youâll have seen the realest thing on the red carpet: Romeo Bingham, clutching her Silver Lion.
Reminder: Romeo is not a creative director. Sheâs never worked at an ad agency. She wasnât even a creator.
Sheâs a caregiver from Tacoma who took Dr Pepper viral singing in the front seat of her car.
Keurig Dr Pepperâs CMO, Drew Panayiotou, says heâll never need to hold another agency pitch. Credit to him for getting out of the way. Other CMOs will find themselves doing more and more of that. Less comfortably.
From the shelf
Did it take a stadium of booing kids to tell us AI is holding us too tight? | Issue 89, May 2026
We canât be alone. It was never just the screens. | Issue 91, July 2026
Dr Pepperâs $36 billion jingle is putting CMOs out of a job | Issue 82, February 2026
Markets
US grocery slowdown deepens as shoppers buy fewer items, pressuring food companies | CNBC
Oil hits $100 a barrel: what consumers should expect next | Fast Company
UK inflation falls to 2.6%, boosting Burnhamâs cost of living agenda | The Guardian
Brands
Stanford students walk out on Sundar Pichaiâs commencement speech | Wired
Teen drops Meta lawsuit over mental health harms days before trial | Reuters
Substack launches AI detection tool to identify machine-generated content | The Verge
Netflixâs final transparency report reveals three key lessons for streaming | Puck
Christopher Nolanâs The Odyssey crosses $124.5 million at box office | The New York Times
Coca-Colaâs controversial âfridge cigaretteâ rebrand sparks debate | Fast Company
American Eagle rewrites back-to-school strategy for fragmented Gen Z | Adweek
Kayak targets the friend sabotaging group trip plans with new campaign | Creative Review
Metaâs apocalyptic David Bowie ad takes an optimistic spin on world ending | Wired
Watch Vibeâs new ad, a love-in between CMO and CFO | X
Burger King offers free Whopper if burger fails to meet your expectations | Quartz
Target partners with Pacsun for three-year tween apparel line | Glossy
How Smuckerâs $5 billion Hostess acquisition became a costly mistake | Wall Street Journal
McDonaldâs UK chief vows to tackle harassment and abuse at restaurants | The Times
Startups
Travis Kalanickâs robotics startup secures $1.7 billion in funding led by a16z | TechCrunch
7-day working week startup Corgi hits $4 billion valuation, third fundraise within months | Forbes
Poolhouse raises $55 million to modernise the pool hall experience | The New York Times
Lululemon invests $30 million in nylon-recycling startup Synteticaâs Series A | TechCrunch
Moth margarita maker secures ÂŁ11 million as canned cocktail market booms | The Times
10 essential books for founders to read poolside this summer | EU-Startups
Tech
US lawmakers propose AI âkill switchâ requirement after model safety concerns | BBC
OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health nationwide with bold clinical reasoning claims | The Verge
Publishers reconsider Google partnerships as AI threatens their traffic and revenue | Wall Street Journal
Army exhausts yearâs AI tokens in one month despite unlimited access push | Slashdot
Neill Blomkampâs AI film signals desperation, not innovation, for struggling directors | Futurism
Money
Tesla loses $214 billion in market value over Muskâs spending plan | MarketWatch
Judge halts $110 billion Paramount and Warner Bros. merger deal | TechCrunch
Study of 100,000 venture capitalists reveals 4% generate 90% of returns | NBER
Reformation eyes $1 billion valuation ahead of planned IPO | Business of Fashion
Intersnack Group to acquire Utz Brands for $14.25 per share in 91% premium deal | Yahoo Finance
Donald Trump Jr.âs investment firm claims 200% returns in latest filing | The New York Times
Design
Hinge CEO Jackie Jantos on inclusive design, trust and creative leadership | Itâs Nice That
Artist transforms Pittsburgh pickleball courts into playable geometric mural | Design Milk
Ellen Gallagher explores Londonâs maritime history for TfLâs Art on the Underground | Wallpaper
Happiness
How Ice-T evolved beyond survival mode into purpose-driven life | Big Think
Matt Damonâs gruelling physical transformation for Odyssey role | Vanity Fair
Research reveals which junior employees thrive working alongside AI | Harvard Business Review
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