Caleb and Adriele tackle several big stories from the past two weeks, including states suing Meta over child safety, retailers using crime to justify closing underperforming stores, the EV market bubble, new data on the investor backlash against ESG, and AI news from the White House to the Global UK Summit. Then, they go deep into potentially troubling research that says content creators are surging past legacy media outlets as the place where people get their news online.[32:55] Next, Adriele shares simple but transformative guidelines for inclusive sourcing and hiring practices to help leaders build a candidate pipeline that will diversify their workplaces. [45:38] All that plus Discord’s reform movement and unions are on a winning streak for the first time in decades. [1:01:55]

Please note that the original audio for this episode was uploaded by mistake.

Discussed today:

BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street turned against environmental and social proposals this year, a clear sign of backlash | Fortune

Content creators surge past legacy media as news hits a tipping point | The Washington Post

Editors’ Note: Gaza Hospital Coverage | The New York Times

Caleb and Adriele answer another round of listener-submitted questions. Why do people expect every company and person to take one side or another? [1:57] How can we mitigate the negative effects of the internet on employees? [19:55] How can non-union workers get corporations to align to their needs? [24:58] Plus, what podcasts, newsletters and other media do they pay attention to and what’s the best album for considering who’s getting it right and who’s stepping in it this week? [31:22]

Hosts: Caleb Gardner & Adriele Parker

Producer: Dave Sandell

Discussed today:

Subscribe to Adriele’s Newsletter

Subscribe to Caleb’s Newsletter, Pocket Change

Adriele’s YouTube channel, DEI in 5

Dave and Caleb’s other podcast, Best Album For

After unpacking the latest news from Israel and Gaza, Caleb and Adriele check in on several ongoing stories including Jim Jordan’s failing bid to become the new House speaker, Elon’s latest plans to make X financially viable, and another round of return-to-office announcements. Then, they go deep on corporate responses to global crises, and which companies are obligated to speak up and when. Next, they react to a “Techno-Optimist Manifesto” from Marc Andreessen that left both of them speechless (not in a good way.) All that, plus the Fed is rethinking debit card swipe fees and Caleb’s other podcast is determining the best album for becoming a Swiftie.

Discussed this week:

The Techno-Optimist Manifesto | Andreessen Horowitz

Fed to Propose Lowering Debit-Card Swipe Fees | WSJ

Best Album For Podcast

Caleb and Adriele reflect on a difficult week of news out of Israel and Palestine—including how leaders should or shouldn’t be responding—before diving into proposed AI-generated content watermarks, the latest in politics and strike news, and CEOs predicting we’ll be back in the office five days a week by 2026. (Good luck with that.) Then they return to the war in Israel as a case study to talk about the state of the social media information ecosystem in 2023. Then, they go deep on a new study that shows low quality feedback makes employees want to quit. All that, plus California is mandating diversity data from VC firms and a new A.I. tool is helping with surgery for brain tumors on the operating table.

Discussed today:

CEOs: you'll be back in office 5 days a week by 2026 | Fortune

KPMG 2023 U.S. CEO Outlook

The War in Israel Shows How Social Media’s Idealistic Era Has Ended | Bloomberg

Language Bias in Performance Feedback 2023 | Textio

Caleb and Adriele work through a host of news stories, none bigger than the end of Kevin McCarthy’s short tenure as Speaker of the House. They also get into news about the economy, AI (Tom Hanks! Oh my!), Meta’s ad-free option, the UAW and Kaiser strikes, and Fast Company’s series on out of control CEO pay. Then, they have a wide-ranging conversation with author, speaker, and “Tech Humanist” Kate O’Neill. [19:06] They talk about how the future of technology and AI can be an opportunity if we can align it with humanity’s goals, her formative experiences as one of the first 100 employees at Netflix, and the ethics of data collection. All that, plus Governor Newsom appoints Laphonza Butler to Diane Feinstein’s senate seat, and a whole bunch of good and fascinating climate news. [55:48]

Discussed today:

Learn more about Kate O’Neill’s work

Special Report: Understanding out-of-control CEO pay—and why it’s a problem | Fast Company

It's not all bad news: Wonderful and wild stories about tackling climate change | NPR

Caleb and Adriele run through the week’s many news stories, including strike updates from Hollywood and from Detroit (where President Biden joined the UAW picket line). They round up a host of new AI-related stories, and discuss the FTC’s lawsuit against Amazon and Rupert Murdoch’s retirement. Then, they go deep on a major climate report that says tech solutions to climate change are over-hyped, including unproven carbon capture and hydrogen technologies [27:46]. Next, Adriele shares the insights she gathered from Fast Company’s Innovation Festival, including a recurring theme of authenticity as a leadership skill [37:04]. All that, plus Starbucks’ reusable cups experiment and a report that says there have been huge increases in hiring people of color from S&P 100 companies since 2020.

Discussed today:

Highly Negative Views of American Politics in 2023 | Pew Research Center

Techno-fixes to climate change aren’t living up to the hype | The Verge

Fast Company Innovation Festival

6 things Starbucks learned from its reusable cup experiments | GreenBiz

After BLM, the S&P 100 Added Over 300k Jobs. 23% Were Black Workers | Bloomberg

Caleb and Adriele go through this week’s big news stories, including Jann Wenner’s racist ad sexist comments about musicians, the UAW and WGA strikes, and a surprising study that says Gen Z is optimistic about the future. Then, they go deep on the misuse of the phrase “DEI,” and how “DEI training” gets used interchangeably with “implicit bias training” [23:41] and why the word “feedback” has become so scary. [36:31] All that, plus cash bail ends in Illinois, and global data on why you should keep your DEI person [58:07].

Discussed today

Gen Z's surprise optimism about the future | Axios

Why DEI training doesn’t work | WSJ

Bosses Say ‘Feedback’ Is Too Scary for Some Workers, So They Use This Word Instead | WSJ

Caleb and Adriele run through a litany of stories from the past week, including the AI summit on Capitol Hill, Canada’s travel advisory for parts of the United States, a new study that says two-thirds of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, and how workers fear technology is making their jobs obsolete. Also, after the success of Barbie, where does Mattel go from here? Then, they ask the age-old question, “Does Nissan really need to know about our sex lives?” as they go deep on why new cars are a privacy nightmare. Next, a new survey finds that workers feel a sense of belonging at their jobs—but most people are uncomfortable sharing all aspects of themselves. Why are people “covering,” and what can (and should) employers do to include them? All that, plus the gap between men and women in the workplace is at a record low, and a poll that says 81% of consumers are more likely to purchase products or services from brands whose values align with their own.

Articles discussed today:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, study finds | Fortune

More U.S. Workers Fear Technology Making Their Jobs Obsolete | Gallup Poll

‘Privacy Nightmare on Wheels’: Every Car Brand Reviewed | Mozilla.com

Redesigning Belonging’s Key Findings

EY survey finds global workers feel sense of belonging at their workplaces, yet most are uncomfortable sharing all aspects of their identities | ey.com

The gap between men and women in the workplace is at a record low | Axios

Why Inclusivity Matters | Adweek

Caleb and Adriele are joined by leadership coach, activist and attorney, Karen Walrond, whose new book, Radiant Rebellion: Reclaim Aging, Practice Joy, and Raise a Little Hell, is an investigation in how we can reclaim aging and live a light-filled life along the way. They talk about navigating ageism in the workplace, how marketing has damaged our ability to thoughtfully approach getting older, and how to not be biased against our future selves. Before that, Caleb and Adriele look at new research on CEOs’ internal communication skills, more research on remote work being here to stay, and the new trend of “quiet cutting.” All that plus medicare spending in the U.S. has gone way down and studies showing overwhelming support for corporate diversity initiatives across racial, ideological, and generational lines.

Discussed today:

Karen’s website: CHOOKOOLOONKS

Pre-order Radiant Rebellion

GE-Ipsos poll: Employees want more authentic internal communication | AXIOS

Survey: Remote Work Isn’t Going Away — and Executives Know It | HBR

You’ve Heard of Quiet Quitting. Now Companies Are Quiet Cutting. | WSJ

The American workplace's bias against age | AXIOS

Corporate Diversity Initiatives: Overwhelmingly Supported Across Racial, Ideological, and Generational Lines

A Huge Threat to the U.S. Budget Has Receded. And No One Is Sure Why. | NYT

Caleb and Adriele react to the first Republican debate and recent moves by the GOP to undermine our democracy, plus lots of other news from the past week: Royal Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales sexually assaulting a member of the Women’s World Cup championship team; US job openings declining to their lowest point since 2021; and a new study that says companies that offer flexible work are hiring twice as quickly as those that don’t. Then, they go deep on recent lawsuits against two major U.S. law firms over diversity fellowships, and what it means for DEI efforts moving forward. Plus, LinkedIn presented new data that says contract and freelance workers “hope” for vacations while full time workers actually take them. How did we get here and what can be done? All that, plus the Medicare drug negotiations and family leave for grandparents!

Leadershit’s new website: https://leadershit.show/

Leadershit’s new Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/leadersh_t/

Adriele’s new DEI in 5 newsletter: ⁠https://www.adrieleparker.com/⁠

Articles covered today: