A December To Remember in the news
Now trending, student loans, pardon me?!, Slack, and The Undoing
I hope you had a safe Thanksgiving weekend! It’s time. She has awakened. You can now officially play some Mariah until December 26th or listen to her interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen - she dishes out some gossip on one of her Christmas spats. This week, I am going to test keeping the recommendation blurbs short vs. my longer explanation. Going with a lot of trending news this week - let’s see how that pans out... If you like the email, don’t forget to share it!
On to my picks this week…
Trending now: Spotify Unwrapped
Spotify: For The Record - 2020: That’s a Wrap! (2020)
If you use Spotify, you’ve probably already received your Year in Review. New this year is the addition of a deeper look into podcast listening. I use several podcast apps and so most of my Spotify listening revolved around exclusive content. Michelle Obama, Oral History of the Office (hosted by Kevin from the office), 10 Questions with Kyle Brandt (recommended from Brewster), and now Joe Rogan Experience exclusivity (started December 1st).
This episode of Spotify: For The Record gives you insight from Spotify directly, featuring a convo with the artist that scored the Top Streamed Artist of 2020.
On the flip-side, Apple Podcasts released their top listens locally and internationally via the Apple Podcasts app. You can check out the list here or in your Apple Podcast app.
Trending News: Presidential Pardons
The Daily - A New Path for Presidential Pardons (2018)
Bloomberg Law - Mueller Prepares for Pre-Emptive Trump Pardons (2017)
Pod Save America - Pardon Me? (2020)
Bloomberg Law - Trump Can't Pardon Himself, But Will He? (2020)
Making the news rounds this week: President Trump federally pardons Michael Flynn and considers pre-emptive federal pardons for his kids. I didn’t think pre-emptive pardons were true, but then I did a search, and yes it’s true.
The Daily (Start at the 10 minute marker) - Spotify Apple Google
How pardons can happen.
Bloomberg Law (Start at the 2 minute marker) - Spotify Apple Google
Preemptive pardons. Here is a short clip I made.
Pod Save America (Start at the 26 minute marker) - All Platforms
Recent events including the bribe for pardon.
Bloomberg Law - All Platforms
Trump potentially pardoning himself.
Trending News: Student Loan Debt
EdNext Podcast: Can Biden Forgive Student Loan Debt? (2020)
TaxGirl Podcast: Student Loans: Everything You Need To Know About Student Loan Repayment And Student Loan Debt (2020)
Student loan debt forgiveness has been gaining steam as a Day 1 initiative for the Biden team. Yes, I want the rest of my student loan gone. Sue me.
EdNext
Discusses the potential pros and cons of student loan forgiveness under a Biden administration.
TaxGirl Podcast
Background and breakdowns of student loans in general. In depth show notes if your podcast app supports it.
Trending Tech: Salesforce buys Slack for $27.7 billion!
TechCrunch’s Equity Podcast: Equity Shot: Salesforce's $27.7 billion-dollar Slack message
Slack, the work messaging service, just got bought. Read about it here. Jeebus that’s a lot of dough. My concern is what Salesforce will do with it since I use the platform as well. Also, what does Salesforce even do anymore?
Anyway, TC’s Equity Podcast talks about the deal, why Slack decided to sell, the competition, and Salesforce growth.
Trending TV: The Undoing
Still Watching: The Undoing Podcast
What is the Undoing on HBO? Why are people talking about it so much? Friends, other podcasts I listen to, and the Twitterverse are all talking about it. The season finale just aired and Vanity Fair’s after-show podcast discusses it.
Still Watching: The Undoing Podcast
Interview with Nicole Kidman and the show’s director, Susanne Bier.
Once you are done, write a review of the podcast episode here!
In podcast news, Wondery, producer of many great podcasts like Dr. Death, Dirty John, Business Wars, and Joe Exotic is looking for a sale between $300-$400 million. Potentially Amazon? Read about it here.
Follow up: Last week I posted a Marketplace episode on Janet Yellen being nominated to be Head of the Treasury. She just joined Twitter! https://twitter.com/JanetYellen
XOXO
Captain Ron
P.S. I failed in keeping it short. 🤭
Editor: Brewster