Happy Tuesday, fam. The news cycle moves fast. As the media fixed its gaze on the Republican National Convention to cover Donald Trump’s first speech since Saturday’s shocking assassination attempt, the former President announced his running mate, kicking off a new round of headlines. It may be the perfect distillation of how quickly people need to ingest current events these days — no matter how consequential.

In other news… Cosm invites attendees to a premium livestream, the UN details a peaking population, and Longlegs becomes a horror smash.

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• YouTube – Anora 

• X (Twitter) – Linda Ronstadt

• Google – Natalie Portman on Bluey

• Reddit – June Squibb

• TikTok – “Draco” - Kahleation

• Spotify – “Floating Parade” - Michael Kiwanuka

.ENTERTAINMENT.

Cosm eventizes livestreaming

The Future. Immersive entertainment firm Cosm hopes to put people at the center of the next great sporting event or concert… even if they’re not at the venue. Think of it as a diet version of Las Vegas’ Sphere venue. If the company is able to get their venues off the ground all over the world, it may become the IMAX of livestreaming.

Planetarium programming
Cosm CEO Jeb Terry says the company’s venues are introducing a new format called “shared reality,” combining immersive media with the experience economy.

• Their venues, which can accommodate 2,000 people, have a 180-degree, 12K LED display stretching all the way to the roof of a three-story dome.

• They’ll show live sports programming (UFC fights, NBA games), entertainment offerings (Cirque du Soleil’s O), and various documentary and educational titles.

• The ginormous display, which Fast Company says incorporates “real-time processing through cloud computing and Epic Games’ Unreal Physics Engine,” is 150x brighter than the average planetarium (so, this is no school field trip).

• Each 65,000-square-foot venue (one is already open in LA and another will open in Dallas this summer) will also include fine dining options, multiple bars, and an outdoor deck where attendees can hang out before and after shows.

The company hopes Cosm will eventually become a global network of venues that act as offsite overflow options for everything from sold-out concerts to the Super Bowl, with tickets costing anywhere between $20 and $200.

In other words, the perfect date night for those who want to attend an event but not deal with the crowds.

86.4% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Will you tune into the 2025 Olympic Esports Games?

“Not sure I would call this a sport. Like I would not call baking or chess a sport.”

“I’m just not into video games overall.”

“Love to watch.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT PUBLIC REC.

Pants built for the Future (Party)

Odds are, some of you are reading this in uncomfortable pants.

Public Rec’s best-selling Daymaker Pant is available in over 40 different sizing combinations and can fit men anywhere from 5’8” to 7’.

Now, your favorite lounge pants can also be your go-to for work, happy hour, and the gym. 

Public Rec spent years engineering the perfect blend of softness, stretch, and durability. Their pants have all the performance benefits you love with added style for more formal occasions. They also have zipper pockets, so your phone or wallet won’t fall out when you sit down… you know who you are. 😊

Public Rec also makes elevated shorts, T-shirts, polos, jackets, and even golf gear.

Guys want clothes that are comfortable and look good on them. It’s that simple.

So, don’t wear pants the old way. Wear them the Public Rec way.

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• Longlegs, which made $22 million in North America this weekend, isn’t just the biggest box-office debut for indie distributor Neon, but it’s also the biggest opening for an original horror film in a decade. [Read More]

• The manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin over the accidental shooting of Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins was dismissed with prejudice. [Read More]

• Full House star John Stamos was named the Chief Innovation Officer of streaming service Zeam, which focuses on local programming like sports, news, and weather. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• Amazon’s Prime Day starts today and is expected to hit a record $14 billion in sales — 10.3% more than last year. [Read More]

• F1 superstar Lewis Hamilton designed a menswear collection for Dior. [Read More]

• Houseplant, Seth Rogen’s cannabis brand, has teamed up with Kith on a collection of homeware pieces. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• Google is in talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for $23 billion — its biggest acquisition ever. [Read More]

• Savor, a Bill Gates-backed food startup, has found a way to make butter out of carbon dioxide pulled from the atmosphere. [Read More]

• Italian astronomers have discovered what looks to be a cave on the surface of the Moon — a potential game-changer for lunar colony development. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• Chloe Sappern and Lydia Berry have founded the referral-only social media agency @Darlington, which already counts Miranda Kerr and Sofia Richie Grainge as clients. [Read More]

• MrBeast has officially crossed 300 million subscribers on YouTube… and celebrated with a video of 50 top YouTubers competing for $1 million. [Read More]

• YouTube Music is rolling out a ton of new features, including the ability to search for songs just by humming and an AI-generated conversational radio. [Read More]

.CULTURE.

The UN says the world’s population will peak in 2080

The Future. The United Nations released its latest global population report and forecasts that the world will hit its peak population of 10.3 billion by 2080… and then start to decline after that. While the population has skyrocketed since the 1950s (from 2.6 billion to over 8 billion), the report may inspire the governments of developing countries to roll out incentives for families to have more children.

Crowd control
What’s more fascinating than the global population decreasing is how the population is shifting.

• The probability that the population will peak in the 2080s is 80% — much higher than the 30% probability that the UN gave 10 years ago.

• What changed? The populations of many countries, including China, Germany, and Japan, have already peaked, while 20% of the world has “ultra-low” fertility (an average of 1.4 live births or less per woman; 2.1 is needed to maintain a population).

• In those countries, the populations are expected to decrease by 14% over the next 30 years, leading to a demographic of smaller families and people who live longer.

• Meanwhile, the populations of countries like Nigeria, Angola, and the Congo are expected to double by 2054.

The report concludes that, in 2080, many developed countries will have populations in which people over the age of 65 will outnumber those under the age of 18, and immigration will be “the main driver of future growth” — factors that will revolutionize work all around the world.

• Read: Dave Free, famed music video director and co-founder of pgLang with Kendrick Lamar, gives a rare interview in Elephant about his partnership with the rapper and the future of the culture brand.

• Listen: Decoder chats with Arati Prabhakar, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, about how the White House is thinking about AI.

• Watch: IHMC Robotics shows off its latest Nadia robot, which may be able to beat you at ping-pong… if you’re not too great at ping-pong.

Method acting can be delicious.

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

Today we get into a recent study on the digital habits and informational literacy of Gen Z, how the secondhand clothing market is struggling to maintain their popularity online, and the most recent updates on the Paramount Skydance merger.