Edition 70
The deepfakes in schools situation is worst than you think; your hands and eyeliner are giving your age away; a weird banana accessory that people are nuts for; a big discount on annual subs.
I love writing this newsletter and keeping people up to date on how the world is moving beyond the headlines. If you love receiving it, consider upgrading to a paid subscription, which for this week only—to celebrate Edition 70—I’m offering for $70 instead of the usual $100. That’s just over $1 a week. Paying readers make it possible for me to keep doing this even when my real job/s makes it challenging to find the time or energy to do so. Plus all the best stuff is below the paywall. And don’t forget, if you’re a single mum, drop me a line and I’ll comp you a year long paid sub x
Straight into the links this week:
Don’t forget your other face
Hands are the latest beauty category to see a boom, says BOF, not just in skincare creams and lotions, but gadgets like LED hand mitts and aesthetic treatments like laser for pigmentation and fat transfers, which one cosmetic surgeon in the U.S. claimed to the WSJ “is now a near-constant add-on for his facelift patients, for an extra five-figure price”.
When it comes to anti-ageing and rejuvenation treatments, “the magic word is harmony”, [aesthetic doctor Dev] Patel says. “We have four faces: face, neck, chest and hands. There’s no point just working on one. If it’s not matching and there’s no harmony, then we pick up on something else, which is a lack of authenticity. I liken it to a car. You wouldn’t clean the front half of your car and leave the back half.”
(I mean, I would but that’s probably just my undiagnosed ADHD.)
Two very good hand products for anyone scared of old lady hands:
1. The hand version of Omilux’s famed red light mask (a personal fave of mine), $495.
2. Nécessaire The Hand Retinol, which seems to be sold out pretty much everywhere except here, $99.75.
Connected PSA: It’s not as obvious as the contrast between a naturally aged hand and a taut, facelift-enhanced visage, but according to Gen Z (via the NYT), winged eyeliner is an age tell. First they came for our high rises, then our ankle socks, then mascara, now this…
Rage incoming
After CNN’s report on what they’re calling the global ‘rape academy’ where thousands of men were found to be discussing how best to drug and rape their partners while they sleep on a site that had 62million visits in the month of February alone, I didn’t know if I had the constitution to deal with a Wired story called ‘The Deepfake Nudes Crisis in Schools Is Much Worse Than You Thought’, but here we are (as exhausted and enraged as ever):
Across North America, there have been nearly 30 reported deepfake sexual abuse cases since 2023—including one with more than 60 alleged victims, one where the victim was temporarily expelled from school, and others where pupils at multiple schools have allegedly been targeted simultaneously. More than 10 cases have been publicly reported in South America, more than 20 across Europe, and another dozen in Australia and East Asia combined.
The true scale of deepfake sexual abuse taking place in schools is likely much higher. One survey by United Nations children’s agency Unicef estimates that 1.2 million children had sexual deepfakes created of them last year. One in five young people in Spain told Save the Children researchers that deepfake nudes had been created of them. Child protection group Thorn found one in eight teens know someone targeted, and in 2024, 15 percent of students surveyed by the Center for Democracy and Technology said they knew about AI-generated deepfakes linked to their school.
That’s bananas
Now that all the Labubus have been donated to the toy boxes of your nearest primary school aged kid where they should have always been, there’s a new contender for most unserious (yet somehow essential) bag accessory: the hyper-realistic banana keychain. According to Jing Daily, China’s social platforms are deep in a “simulation food” era, where resin bananas, plastic oranges, and crochet peas dangle from handbags, the more realistic—albeit adorably tiny— the better. On some platforms, the hashtag, #bananakeychain is racking up hundreds of thousands of views, all part of a broader shift toward ugly-cute micro-accessories that are low-cost, a little bit absurd, and framed as “healing items” (small, mood-lifting purchases that offer a hit of joy or calm). I think we can also call it the next evolution of the fashion fruit obsession after Loewe’s tomatoes— bolstered by Rhode’s banana-esque Peptide Eye Prep patches collab with Justin Bieber and Prada’s tiny banana ring charm.
If you have no manhood to prove, turns out you can skip the cold plunge
Experts are questioning cold therapy’s benefits for women, recommending “gentle contrast therapy”—involving less extreme temperatures, alternating between hot and cold exposure, and shorter sessions—instead. From Goop (ironic, given that it’s the site that probably started us all on the cold plunges in the first place):
If you already have a baseline level of stress (and who doesn’t?), jumping into an ultra-high heat sauna or freezing cold tub of water might act as a negative stressor rather than a recovery tool. Going for a gentler approach (especially during more sensitive phases of your cycle, like luteal and menstrual) may help support your well-being without overtaxing your nervous system
[Functional medicine expert Robin Berzin, MD] notes that this is especially important for women who are already dealing with fatigue, cortisol dysregulation, or hormonal transitions (like perimenopause). What’s more, she notes that the longevity benefits of contrast therapy are tied to frequency and consistency, not extreme temperatures.
“Women’s bodies are extraordinarily sensitive to perceived stress. While ice baths and extreme protocols have become a kind of badge of honor in wellness culture, many female bodies interpret that level of intensity as a threat, not a tool…especially in times of hormonal transition, under-fueling, or chronic overextension,” adds Jessica Sharratt, DAOM, Lac, an integrative health expert and co-founder of Heal LA, which recently started offering gentle contrast therapy in their longevity studio.
Below the paywall:
Nonnamaxxing is the only maxxing trend we can get behind
Young men think having a baby is the same as getting a puppy. Young women know better.
The new matcha
Prenups are having a moment (and not just for the rich)
The unworn wedding dress resale market is booming
40ths are the new weddings, groom or no groom
No more bracelet stack, now it’s all about the rings
Under 35s are suddenly collecting silverware and drinking Bordeaux like fancy retirees
The newest ugly shoe you’ll laugh at now, and no doubt be into in six months
Really, really good news for anyone with a tween or teen son
