TODAY, WE TREAT YOU TO:

• The latest porn-inspired optimization trend: nutmaxxing

• A disturbing pattern of woman-hating on the fall fashion runway

• Why you probably don’t want to follow the “betrayal list” trend

• The badass results of Gen Z’s global political activism

• A promising cultural advancement for fans of the Irish Goodbye

• Instagram’s latest updates to make it even harder to connect on their app

This episode is brought to you by The FIXR Series, a monthly workshop membership from Sam MacKinnon. Each 45-minute workshop tackles one specific friction point in your business — whether that’s scattered priorities, messy workflows, or systems that just don’t fit anymore. If you’re ready to stop patching holes and start running your business like it’s built to last, head to ⁠samanthamackinnon.com/fixr-series

IN THIS EPISODE ↓

• A follow-up re: Taylor Swift and why the album may be growing on us but the intent behind it is not

• The dangers of tying your income to your art and whether or not it’s possible to make money from things that matter to you

• What Barcelona has taught us about collaborative vs. competitive business models

• The “intimacy economy” and how folks are exploiting TMI-style content as an attempt at fake connection

• Why banning social media for minors is an optimistic vote for the future

• The concept of the “consideration span” and what it means for keeping attention on your long-form content

This episode is brought to you by Constellations, Scorpio Season: a group experience for holistic support through potent energetics so you can own the transformation that’s in store for you — while tapping into to your intuition, and emboldening your hope in humanity. Visit http://hollismm.com/constellations to sign up today.

Well, Taylor Swift’s worst album just dropped and we are giving our fulllllll review. That's alongside some updates we’re making to our business (and the podcast!) this quarter, a truly brutal FMK surrounding french delicacies, and Xanthe’s passionate take on read receipts in relationships. ENJOY.

Finally, some optimism! Online dating is dying! Flex culture is just faking it! Butter yellow is still in style! We don’t have to move again for a long fucking time! Also, we ask a question at the end that we’d genuinely love to know: what are 3 things you can talk about for 3 hours with no prep? Send Xanthe a DM at @xanthe.appleyard once you have your answer!

Except, no we don’t! Today’s episode goes deep into:

• The implications of government censorship in the U.S. as Jimmy Kimmel gets taken off air

• Trump’s new TikTok project and what an insular MAGA-led social platform could mean

• How to keep our private spaces safe from hateful viewpoints

• Why it can be valuable to follow people who don’t share your politics

• Impacting positive political change by taking your head out of the sand

• We also share a little update around our move to Barcelona as we get setup and settled!

LINKS:

The Nutshell

Social Life

This week's episode gets into ↓

• Why Xanthe’s had a violent change of heart about re-entering TikTok

• Another super creepy initiative from Meta’s AI department

• How social media is informing the way books are written and promoted

• “Performative intellectualism” and Taylor Swift’s role in it

• The new Sabrina Carpenter album and its influence on the youth of today

• Alo Yoga’s alarming foray into luxury handbags

• The ghosts of the cottage trying to keep us from leaving

Annnnd, Social Life is launching to the waitlist right now and so you can save major money! Hop on it here.

Just a full-on LIFE UPDATE EPISODE detailing the BTS of securing our long-term lease in Barcelona, a status report on the cottage Airbnb launch, and everything we’re focusing on for the week before we officially relocate to Europe! ENJOYYYY.

XANTHE’S MOM IS ON THE PODCAST!!! We cover:

• Her career journey from pregnant college student to CEO of a major healthcare organization

• How she balanced being a present single parent, healing herself, and making ends meet

• Living below the poverty line and resourcing community as “her village”

• Our family dynamic of loving roasts, self-awareness, and intellectual intimacy

• Her experience as an artist whose relationship to creativity has evolved over decades

• Being the parent of an entrepreneur and how she really feels about all the risks we take

And so, so SO much more.

Sue Phipps is the CEO of Hamilton’s Canadian Mental Health Association. You can learn more about their work here.

UMMM WTF — THIS IS OUR 50TH EPISODE!! We didn’t do anything special for it but you will be graced with a chat that goes in every possible direction which honestly feels like the BEST way to celebrate. We cover:

• Frank’s birthday weekend recap! Ft. pregnancy smut fetishes

• Being ~perceived~ in a tiny town and the rumours we’re hearing about… ourselves

• How we’re managing coming up $75K short on our pre-move money goal

• Being in our “no goals” era and letting our Spain chapter surprise us

• How to find your way in a new city by following what feels good without expectation

• The collective decline in BOOK READING (for which we blame TikTok, obviously)

PS. The Social Life content creation membership is launching again this month! Make sure you’re on the waitlist here to get first dibs + lowest pricing!

The banter is on POINT this week if we do say so ourselves!! Including:

• Money check-in one year since we did our “Spending Diet” and started actually budgeting!

• DEEEEP analysis on the entire Taylor and Travis Internet-breaking situation

Plus lots of life/cottage updates because there may not be much to do around here but let me tell you, WE ARE DOING THINGS.

LOTP IS $800 OFF ‘TIL THURSDAY ↓

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FRANK’S BDAY SALE ↓

Get 38% off the Leisure Ethic template with code HBDFRANK this weekend only, starting Friday, August 22!

Get it here.