Creative Control

In 2022, The Bored Ape Yacht Club was kind of inescapable on some parts of the internet. People—including a range of celebrities from Gwyneth Paltrow to Eminem—were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to acquire some monkey jpegs store on the blockchain as NFTs. The conglomerate overseeing the collection along with other NFT series, such as CryptoPunks, is called Yuga Labs. VCs including A16z flocked to invest in it, valuing the company at $4 billion. Yuga’s stated ambition at the time was to create an interoperable gaming metaverse, where NFT holders could game on a browser.

Lately, though, it seems that things haven’t been going so well for the company. ‘Fast Company’ tech editor Max Ufberg joined us to interview Yaz and ‘Fast Company’ staff editor, Connie Lin, about what happened and whether NFTs are even still . . . a thing.

Then, Bubble Goods founder and CEO Jessica Young wanted to create an online marketplace where you could find the best—and best-for-you—foods right at your fingertips. Bubble Goods carries only packaged goods that are free of preservatives, artificial dyes, and fillers, plus no refined or cane sugar. And everything it sells comes from small, indie makers that Bubble Goods taste-tests first to make sure its worthy of its consumers. We spoke to Jessica about what led her to create this space for food products, the vetting process for items to be on the site, and what are some of her favorites on the platform.

The Super Bowl is set to kick off this Sunday, and we’re taking a look at some of the ads that are already out there. ‘Fast Company’ senior staff editor Jeff Beer joined us to share what he thinks about this year’s slate of ads. He’s noticed how brands are evolving to use the Super Bowl itself in their teasers and ads, which shows the trajectory of the way brands are going . . . they used to go for funny or emotional but now it’s an ad about being an ad. Using the game itself to help advertise a product is creating a very meta approach.

We also talked about what’s going on with those Stanley cups. ‘Fast Company’ senior staff writer Liz Segran explained how the trendy tumblers do contain lead but more importantly, how this revelation will impact the company’s dominance in the very crowded reusable water bottle market. Also, how sustainable are these containers when they’re being marketed as a fashion accessory?

For more MIC behind the scenes, check out Yaz at @yazzyg on Instagram and Josh @joshuagchris on TikTok!

Yaz wrote a story about an upstart wrestling league called All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its founder and CEO Tony Khan. ‘Fast Company’ deputy editor David Lidsky joined us to chat about Yaz’s piece on Tony, why he formed AEW in 2019, and how he was a huge wrestling nerd who grew up doing e-wrestling.

And here are some more wrestling updates:

Then, our producer Blake Odom sat down with Vuori founder and CEO Joe Kudla. They chatted about the company’s $4 billion valuation, its most prominent investor (SoftBank), and how it jumped into the very crowded athleisure space.

And that's a wrap on 2023. Join our podcast hosts, Kathleen Davis, KC Ifeanyi, Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen as they look back on this past year. Happy New Year!

From YouTube to late night to actor to writer, Lilly Singh has always been a storyteller. In that vein, she started a company called Unicorn Island Productions a few years ago. The company has both a production arm and a nonprofit arm, which is Unicorn Island Fund. Singh told us that the company's mandate is simple. It's making stories that look like the real world. That means making stories that highlight underrepresented voices—which, more and more that's becoming South Asian voices—and ensuring that women are at the center of the stories. The company recently released a kids' animated series called The Mindful Adventures of Unicorn Island. The series comprises a quick 10 episodes that teach kids one mindfulness exercise each episode. And they're free on YouTube.

"And it's so meaningful to me because [. . .] it's kind of like a love letter to younger Lilly, because in my adult life, meditation and mindfulness and mental health are so important. But admittedly, when I was younger, I knew nothing about this. It was never discussed in school or at home. If kids could learn how to meditate and regulate their emotions . . . just know that feeling things is okay and how to deal with that and how to reconcile that, that would be amazing."

For more MIC behind the scenes, check out Yaz at @yazzyg on Instagram and Josh @joshuagchris on TikTok!