Happy Thursday, party people. Our podcast, Future Forecast, is off this week, but we’re taking it as an opportunity to get your feedback. We’ve done over 20 episodes of our weekly show and, so far, the response has been awesome. But we want to know how awesome, which is why we’re launching this survey. And for those of you who have yet to listen, well now’s your chance! Click here to take part → survey

In other news… European vacations get civil, Americans get more and less sleep, and the MLB recruits stats from the last century’s Negro League.

We hope you enjoy this and all upcoming issues, but we have one request: please share your feedback. If you have any thoughts at all about our new look, format, and direction, please reply to this email. It’ll go straight to us. Do not hold back.

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• YouTube – Moana 2

• X (Twitter) – Knives Out 3

• Google – Willie Nelson

• Reddit – Bruce Willis

• TikTok – “How You Like That” - BLACKPINK

• Spotify – “The Cosmos” - Sylvan Esso

.TRAVEL.

Hot vacation destinations now want the right kind of tourists

The Future. As tourism hits record numbers, so has bad behavior… and top vacation destinations around the world have had enough, issuing several new roadblocks to entering and enjoying their most popular sights. To ensure tourism remains sustainable, expect countries to start targeting people who they want to visit… and discouraging those who they really don’t… based on their search history.

European restriction
The party’s officially over at some of the world’s top travel destinations, especially in Europe.

• Places like Barcelona, Venice, Ibiza, Amsterdam, and Bali have introduced tourism tolls (from $5 to $100 per day), removed bus routes from Google Maps, and restricted access to alcohol.

• And countries like New Zealand, Iceland, and the Canary Islands are trying to market to travelers who aim to be more respectful of the land, culture, and customs instead of treating locales like their own playgrounds.

• Amsterdam, which has a long-standing reputation for being a destination for rowdy tourists, even wants to control the number of hotel beds available to tourists and cap construction on hotels to curb overcrowding.

The changes come as travel has skyrocketed post-COVID. It’s not necessarily that people are that much crazier or more disrespectful than they used to be — it’s just that there are more people now than ever. The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates that 2024 will be a record-breaker.

Now, cities just don’t want people literally breaking things.

59.9% of you voted for Vinyl in yesterday’s poll: Vinyl records or CDs?

“Especially if it’s jazz music.”

“The process of playing a record and the deeper sound that emerges... heaven.”

“[CDs] because the audio is flawless. I do agree that the analog sound of a vinyl record is really good, but it’s super duper hard to remove sound intrusion from physical things like smudges, scratches, lint, fingerprints, whatever.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT FOCL.

Need more sleep?

With FOCL Deep Sleep Gummies, you’ll get legit Zzzs.

We can prove it, too. FOCL did some third-party clinical studies, and three out of four gummy munchers fell asleep way faster. They also said that Deep Sleep was the best sleep aid they’ve ever used.

Their gummies work; plus, they’re non-GMO, vegan-friendly, and gluten-free.

Don’t sleep on this. Use the code ‘Futureparty’ to score 30% off when you buy two or more.

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• Comcast has launched its “StreamSaver” bundle, which combines AppleTV+, Netflix’s ad tier, and Peacock for $15 per month… but it’s only available to Xfinity customers. [Read More]

• Nelson Peltz, the Trian Partners head who went head-to-head with Disney in a proxy fight, sold all his stock in the Mouse House for a billion-dollar profit. [Read More]

• The MLB is officially adding stats from the now-defunct Negro League, which means several previously held records may now be beaten by players who were the victims of segregation. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• PayPal announced that it’s building an ad platform based on PayPal and Venmo data that tracks users’ purchase info and shopping habits. [Read More]

• Private brands from retailers like Walmart, Target, and Trader Joe’s are starting to outsell products from name brands as customers search for deals. [Read More]

• Forget smoothies: Erewhon is partnering with Chef Nobu Matsuhisa on a limited-edition bento box. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• OpenAI has struck deals with Vox Media and The Atlantic, which gives the AI startup more training data in return for premium sourcing and information attribution. [Read More]

• While Discord was all about expanding its platform for all-purpose conversation and community during COVID, the company has redesigned the app to put a greater focus back on gaming. [Read More]

• Entrepreneur and investor Alex Taub believes that the next frontier in startups is memetech… starting with his Meme Depot platform. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• YouTube is expanding its Playables games (over 75 titles) to all users after a beta test with Premium subscribers. [Read More]

• Dancing is going viral on TikTok again… but this time, it’s parents showing off their moves they learned in the 80s. [Read More]

• The CEOs of esports giants FaZe Clan, 100 Thieves, and OpTic are set to compete in a Call of Duty tournament today. [Read More]

.HEALTH & WELLNESS.

Americans struggle with sleep

The Future. Americans love sleep and are very, very stressed about it. Our obsession with sleep — which some people are calling the new coffee — may lead some forward-thinking businesses to roll out perks that prioritize (or optimize) their employees’ sleep habits.

Snooze obsession
The American Time Use Survey found that Americans across the board are sleeping longer than ever — a change brought about during the pandemic and the rise of remote work.

But that’s not the whole story, per Bloomberg.

• A Gallup poll found that, while people are sleeping longer, they’re less satisfied with how much sleep they get and the quality of that sleep — 57% said they would feel better if they got even more sleep.

• While most people are sleeping more, a higher percentage is also getting only five hours of sleep or less per night — 20% today, compared to 14% in 2013.

• And the National Institutes of Health found that 50 million Americans now struggle with sleep disorders, while many more wrestle with “sleeplessness” (the inability to fall or stay asleep).

Those troubling stats have led to a cottage industry of devices, hacks, and concoctions designed to help people sleep more… but the jury’s out on whether they actually help or just produce a restful placebo effect.

What probably would help is looking at our phones a lot less before bedtime.

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NIKE.

Have you heard about Nike’s clearance sale?

Refresh your athletic wardrobe with Nike at unbeatable clearance prices, up to 40% off.

• Listen: Ezra Klein chats with musician and technologist Holly Herndon about ethical ways of collaborating with AI.

• Read: Blogger Michael Andersen falls down a rabbit hole of Taylor Swift’s long-standing love of puzzles and how she uses them to secretly announce or tease projects.

• Watch: WSJ details how Google Translate leans on mathematics to instantly translate over 134 languages.

MrBeast, the transparency king?

JOBS OF THE WEEK

Explore a weekly curated list of the latest and greatest opportunities in business, tech, and entertainment. For more listings, check out the complete job board.

Jr. Designer - Email Creative & Digital
Roku
Austin, TX

AI Engineer
Cohere
San Francisco, CA

Senior Content Designer, Member XD
Netflix
Remote

Associate, Corporate Development
Spotify
New York, NY

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